Filed under: animal rescue, dogs | Tags: animal rescue, dogs, grooming, homeless animals, labrador, pet adoption, poodle, princess, shadytales, yappy
Ummmm, excuse me….we’ve been talking for a while now right? You trust me don’t you? May I show you something please? It might be a little disconcerting but please take a look anyway. Look at the face in this photo.
Before: Yappy!
Does this dog look happy to you? Of course she doesn’t! This is a little then-homeless poodle my Mom met at adoption event a few years ago. She was found as a stray and her hair was so matted down all over her body that she was in constant pain. If you even tried to touch her, she’d start barking to keep you away because she knew it would hurt. This earned her the very unflattering name “Yappy”. For these long-haired breeds even a few missed salon appointments can cause excruciating pain, like having dozens of pins in your skin at the base of each follicle.
Whew, I am lucky to be a short-haired breed, because I do not like water or soap or clippers or anything like that.
This was back in the days when the township did not have a proper shelter, just a garage to use as a holding facility. This meant there were no facilities’ readily available to bathe the animals or even tend to their most basic medical needs. They relied on several vets and groomers to donate their services and this meant it had to be done on their schedule. Today was Sunday, and “Yappy” would have to wait till Tuesday. Still they did not want her to miss a chance to get out and be seen by potential adopters so they marched her out there anyway. It soon became apparent she was not winning anyone over with her incessant barking and she was even ruining some of the others dogs chances by running everyone off. No one stuck around long enough to understand why she was yapping, they just ran by with their ears covered.
The adoption event was held outside of a pet supply store with a full service grooming salon and vet. They were very generous to the animals in lots of ways but had some hard and fast rules about grooming and vetting the shelter dogs—they simply could not do it. Their reasons were valid from a business standpoint and handed down from a corporate office but it was very frustrating to be so near a professional groomer and not be able to give Yappy some immediate relief. Given the extent of her pain, an amateur job from one of the volunteers was out of the question. So, Mom and the other volunteers cooked up a plan. They waited until there seemed to be a lull in the salon’s traffic and then they brought in a ringer.
A friend was called to the scene, someone the groomers and store managers would not recognize. She strolled into the salon and innocently inquired, “May I bring my dog in today? Do you have an appointment open for a small poodle?”. Sure enough they said “yes”. Mom and the others ponied up the money from their own pockets (being part of township animal control and not a regular nonprofit group, they were prohibited from collecting donations at the events) and sent the woman back in with Yappy. She got a little push back but I think the groomers did truly want to help (and let’s face it, they probably wanted the yapping to stop too) so they eventually accepted her story, that this was indeed her dog, and let her have Yappy groomed on the spot.
“Groom” might be too generous a word—mostly they just bathed and shaved her. She looked and felt like a new dog instantly. Take a look at this face now. Is that not a smile on her face?
After: a "Princess" is born!
Yappy’s name was quickly changed to a more appropriate one, “Princess”. She got to show her friendly, grateful and gentle side and she was placed with a foster family that very day. The “before” and “after” pictures were featured in the local newspaper and she ultimately ended up in a new forever home with a retired couple that had plans to dote on her. Mom made sure the store was mentioned and praised in the newspaper for their grooming skills and generosity even though they barely knew what was going on. The reporter made sure the press was so flattering that the store manager would not get in any trouble for it. Instead he got a big pat on the back from his corporate office. While they could not completely change their policy, the store did find another way to make a difference. They placed donation can backed by their corporate nonprofit division in the salon and plastered it with the pictures from the paper. The funds collected were designated to defray the cost of grooming the town’s animal control dogs, albeit with different groomers. There was also an unspoken agreement formed and every now and then, in extreme cases like Yappy’s…I mean Princess’…the manager would look the other way and make an exception. The donations and the exceptions made a big difference for a lot of other dogs that would come after Princess. It may sound to you like all these changes were born of a simple desire to stop all the yapping, but to me it sounded more like divine intervention…you know, the part that goes “and a little dog shall lead them”.
Filed under: dogs | Tags: animal rescue, golden retriever, guide dogs, husky, labrador, shady, shadytales
While my blog is primarily a way for me to raise awareness about homeless animals and all the reasons they should be homeless no more, it serves another less obvious purpose. I need a job. That’s right me, a dog, needs a job. I am what they call a sporting breed and while my instincts clearly went awry (I am gun shy and a bit neurotic) I still like to keep busy. I don’t just want to keep busy, I need to keep busy. All dogs should have something to rest “from” — something to do the 2-10% of the time when we are not napping or else we are just gonna find trouble. And trust me, I can find a whole lot of trouble in that 2-10% of the time. Just ask my Mom why she does not have a working remote to her car anymore, or what exactly happened to that vintage Gucci bag she cherished so much. Or why her cell phone…well never mind, maybe bringing those things up to her again is not such a good idea after all.
The point is, dogs are good at lots of thing besides companionship. Since I am still pretty new here, I spent some time today reading other blogs to find out what other dogs are up to out there. I found a lot of blogs I want to visit again, and a lot of bloggers my Mom should really be talking to about working together. I’ll be back with another dog story soon and in the meantime I have some links to some different kinds of dog stories for you. These dogs are doing great things for the disabled and their humans and just to show I am not prejudiced at all, they are not even both retrievers.
Now remember, the next time your dog is sitting around looking bored….he just might be looking for something to do after all. Your car remote or handbag might be in jeopardy. Maybe you don’t drop everything and teach him to lead the blind, but a little ball might be nice.
Enjoy!
Filed under: animal rescue, dogs, Senior pets | Tags: animal rescue, beethoven, dogs, labrador, pet adoption, retirement, Senior pets, shadytales
Getting older is no different for pets that it is for humans. We face medical issues like you do and also circumstances beyond our control that can turn our well-deserved retirement upside down. Beethoven knew something about this. No, not the composer, but a 12 year old chocolate Labrador that was surrendered to a shelter when his family lost their home to foreclosure in 2006. He was very unhappy there and clearly suffering from a broken heart. The shelter called on one of their star volunteers but she already had 4 fosters dogs in her care. She had a gift for “marketing” and placing animals but even she had a hard time finding the forever home for this elderly gentleman.
Beethoven, the first official "resident pet", enjoying his retirement in NJ.
Luckily, the facility manager was a “dog person” and he gave Beethoven a chance. His facility was part of a much larger network and it was not easy to get the permissions in place. After a short stint in a foster home, he was “approved” and moved into the assisted living community. The residents there took to him quickly and soon his broken heart was healed. He spent his final years being spoiled in the lap of luxury and spreading goodwill and comfort to seniors who needed it more than anyone realized. He made the local newspaper and tv news for his positive impact. He had access to all the residents but the Alzheimer’s residents in particular enjoyed his company. They seemed to always have a toy or treat for him and remembered his name and the details of each of his visits with them. Beethoven gave them company, a common interest and something to look forward to. His placement helped to raise awareness for the plight of senior animals in shelters all over the state.
More important, Beethoven started a trend. Most of the facilities in this senior network now boast “pets in residents” and the program has been formalized. Many senior adults and pets have and will continue to benefit from the senior pet program in this large chain of communities and all the pets are adopted from shelters. This is a great start, but there are still many more senior dogs just languishing in the shelters…cats too. They are older, wiser and waiting for a chance to age gracefully after years of loyal service. If you want to feel younger, consider sharing your life with a new furry friend of any age. Don’t wait till your retirement to have all the benefits of unconditional love!
Filed under: animal rescue, cats | Tags: animal rescue, cats, labrador, pet adoption, shadytales
I don’t have a pet story today. I would just like to take a moment to talk about something else, something that you may think I do not care about: cats. You know, because I am a dog and all. Now, I will admit I do not know much about them. That is partly because Mom is allergic to them. She did care for a stray for a long time when I was younger. He was known to us as Mr. Cat and he left us for a forever home–but that’s another blog altogether. I never really saw him or any other cat up close. Oh, this may also be because they scare the crap out of me, even on TV (but then again, so does the vacuum, my neighbor’s garden flag and a host of other inanimate objects so that is really not a reflection on cats per se). Still, I want to tell you 5 things I know for sure about cats:
1. It appears that cats are totally allowed to “do their business” in the house. That’s crazy.
2. They think they are so cool…and let’s face it- night vision, jumping really high and those happy purring noises are really cool.
3. Those “I can has cheezburger” pictures on the web? Now, that’s funny.
4. 7 out of 10 of the cats that end up in shelters don’t ever make it out (compared to 5 out of ten dogs).*
5. Cats are welcome on my blog anytime. If you have adopted a cat and would like others to know how extraordinary he or she is, please let me know. C’mon, I know you’re out there, you cat people! Maybe I can tell your story or help your favorite animal rescue group so more needy homes can find their cats. Just remember that while on this blog, no matter what species you are, the bathroom is outdoors.
*Source: http://www.aspca.org/about-us/faq/pet-statistics.html
moar funny pictures
Filed under: animal rescue, dogs, pet loss | Tags: animal rescue, dog, homeless animals, labrador, pet adoption, shadytales
When Mom first met our rescue dog LoJack, she thought she would only be fostering him for a while. As you may recall, he adopted us in no time, but in the brief time before that was a fate accompli, arrangements were made for Mom to bring him to adoption events closer to our home than the 90 minute shelter where he was found. It was there that Mom met the animal control officers in our very own town, and learned that (at that time) we had no shelter for our homeless animals here. There was a “holding facility” in a garage that a private company let them use to temporarily house the animals. It was not open to the public and the dogs and cats brought there had to be turned out into homes, rescues or something else pretty quickly. Despite this, residents still surrendered their animals without much regard for where they’d end up and strays were still found and taken in regularly.
The animal control officers used to bring their vans to the local pet supply store and park, with animals in tow as sort of a mobile adoption unit to help the animals be seen and adopted. They were in dire need of volunteers to hold leashes and promote the event that was the only chance each week these animals had to find their forever homes. They recruited Mom right away. She was glad to have a way to help, be hands on with the animals and assist at such a local and personal level. Several others were recruited too and for a few weeks they had a great turnout of volunteers.
Soon though, attendance waned and Mom found herself the solo volunteer one week. She was handed a leash with a medium sized dog at the end of it, a portable kennel with a few cats and the customary “adopt a pet, save a life” sign, and a folding chair and left at the front of the store while the animal control officer responded to a call. The medium sized dog was a small black, white and brown spaniel- border collie mix who had been found stray and dubbed “Jake”. I don’t have a picture of him because this was before Mom started documenting some of the animals and convinced the local paper to do a weekly feature about the animals that needed homes. Mom recalls Jake’s story well though, because he was the dog that made her want to start writing the stories down.
Jake was thin, but a very attractive dog with soft brown eyes and he seemed pretty calm. He also wasn’t very affectionate or overly energetic. He looked young but did not have that puppy earnest that often grabbed the attention of the passers-by. Despite his good looks, he had an aloofness that can be detrimental to pets looking for new families. It meant he was not the kind of dog the kids ran up to yelling “Mommy!!! Puullleeeeeaaasssee”. Whenever I was lucky enough to get out of my pet store cage and meet a prospective family, I always made sure to lick their faces and wag my tail extra fast so they’d know I would love them forever, but Jake had a different and much riskier style.
Early in the day a middle aged woman and her husband entered the store, but the woman quickly turned back around to see Jake and Mom. Mom did what she always does, and talked up the plight of the dog and the town with no shelter, but the woman was more interested in talking about her recently deceased golden retriever. She was clearly still sad over the loss and Mom listened politely as she pulled out pictures from her wallet and told stories about him. By this time Mom had been left alone almost an hour and was glad for the company. The woman sat beside her on the curb, also very aloof in her own way, and pet Jake gently while she spoke. When her husband exited the store with a bag of cat litter, she stood up and announced to her husband “I am taking this dog home, why don’t you go pick up Lindsay (her daughter) and bring her here to meet him while I fill out the paperwork?”. Then to Mom she said “He is okay with cats, right? He does not seem to mind these that you have here”.
This took Mom by surprise. While they seemed like a lovely family, they had not set out that day for a new pet that day and frankly, Mom had not seen any extraordinary bond built with Jake on that curb. She was a little concerned that this might not be an ideal match. Mom explained that she would have to wait for the animal control officer to return to process the adoption. That woman sat with Mom with Jake for three more hours. That was how long it took the officer to return. Her family came to meet Jake and went and came back again but she sat with him the entire time. After the small talk with Mom was exhausted, she focused on him solely and spoke gently about all the things waiting for him in his new home. She talked about his lovely eyes and the big yard and soft beds that would be all for him. Jake might have needed a home, but this woman clearly needed this dog in her life much more—and more importantly she wanted him. As it turned out, the bond was formed right there in front of that store. Jake’s new Mom must have known that would happen eventually, if not today then over time. By the time the adoption was complete and they left, Jake was re-named Eddie and the woman was grinning from ear to ear.
A few months later Mom got to see Eddie at the pet store again…if not for the woman next to him he would have been barely recognizable. He was keenly alert, had put on some much needed weight and gained back a youthful bounce in his step. Mom tried to engage Eddie’s Mom and ask how he was doing, but the place was really busy. It was picture day—a holiday event where patrons donate a dollar to have their pets pictures taken with a Poloroid camera on Santa’s lap. Mom took over 180 photos that day. The woman remembered her but they did not get to say much. While her sadness seemed to have lifted, she did not seem overly anxious to regale Mom with details of his transition. Both she and Eddie had put his short stint as “Jake” well behind them. They found each other at the perfect time and were able to shed their less-than-happy recent past. He was her dog now, her Eddie, and always would be.
Filed under: animal rescue, pet loss | Tags: animal rescue, companion animals, dog, dogs, homeless animals, labrador, pet adoption, pets, shady, shadytales
I am the newest and rarest designer breed of all dogs…a “blogdog”. Well, okay, I am actually an 8 year old Labrador. My blog is not really about me though; it is a spotlight for many formerly homeless dogs and cats. My family has always tried to help shelter pets get a fair chance, including over a year spent documenting their stories for small features in the local papers and working adoption events. Those stories are the basis of my “tales” and this is my very first one…
You may be wondering what shelter I came from. The truth is, I came from the mall. A little pet store right by the parking garage. I was a meant to be a playmate and adopted sister to a very active then-4 year old Labrador named Nikki. Shortly after I came to live here our vet explained to Mom where I really came from. A place called a puppy mill. Once she became more aware of these places and in turn the overwhelming shelter populations she knew she wanted to help.
She found many different ways to do that, but we can talk about that another time. Today I want to talk about our own personal success story. His name was LoJack, and although we lost him to cancer this past summer there is no question that adopting him into our already over-dog-populated home was a much better deal for us than him.
A little over four years ago, Mom was volunteering with several rescue groups. A lot of times she got to meet and spend time with the homeless dogs, but she managed to avoid getting too attached and coming home with any of them in tow since our house was already a little crowded. Then one day she got a call about LoJack from a volunteer in a high volume shelter. Pat, the volunteer, remembered Mom had a “thing” about Labradors (can you blame her? We are awesome.) and told her about a senior Lab mix fellow that was dumped there and did not have much time. He really was dumped too, not “surrendered” but not quite stray either. LoJack’s then-family showed up with him and two other dogs and acted like she wanted to surrender all of them properly. When the Pat stepped away to get the forms, his Mom took off with the other two dogs. She left behind only LoJack and all they knew about him was his name.
Soon it became clear why perhaps the other two got another chance…he had a tumor the size of an orange protruding from his chest. Maybe that was her warped way of trying to get him help—who knows how some crazy humans might think that would work out? Pat had the tumor checked by the vet and was told it was nothing serious. In the time Pat spent with LoJack she saw that he was very soft spoken and well behaved and just the kind of dog that would not fare well in her shelter. Being an older, wiser dog he still clearly expected that his family was coming back for him. Why wouldn’t they, right? These kind of dogs have it the worst in those little shelter cages. They are patient and calm but it can look to others like old and sick and prospective adopters would likely pass right over him. He’d be on the short list to a very unhappy and undeserved ending just as soon as they needed the kennel space for a younger dog. LoJack never liked to talk much about it but I suspect Pat was right.
LoJack
Pat asked my Mom to take LoJack in him in while he recovered from having that tumor removed so he could avoid “checking in” at the shelter a little longer. Mom agreed, on Pat’s say-so that this dog was special and really would get along with all of us. When Mom went to pick him up she knew Pat had been telling the truth. From day one LoJack did all kinds of neat tricks my Mom was not used seeing from me or Nikki. He didn’t drag her around on the leash or push ahead of her when walking through a door or on stairs. He sat up and rode nicely in the car, not even trying to slobber on the windows or jump in the front seat. He let her eat her meals in peace without begging or trying to steal. He slept late and woke her nicely without clawing her for breakfast as if he had not eaten in days. LoJack never barked much either, he just sat patiently at the door, the bowl, or wherever, always trusting somebody would get to him and his needs eventually.
Do you know what else he did? He came when she called him, on the first call. I have been to, like, two expensive dog trainers and obedience classes and still never saw any point in that. Mom never had a dog or a friend these days for that matter that was so interested in spending time with her that he’d just drop everything and do that. It didn’t matter about that soon though because she rarely had any need to call him after a while. He lived up to his name and became a Mom tracking device.
Along the way we figured out that LoJack had trouble with is liver. After a few weeks on some supplements he was like a new dog…still doing all the tricks I described above but now he had the energy to follow Mom everywhere. His coat grew shiny and full and his form filled out quite a bit, so much so that Dad wanted to change his name to “Tank“. He’d barrel through the house like a great big puppy, always stopping short just in time even when you felt sure he’d plow you (or the table, the lamp, a guest, whatever) down.
LoJack was always at Mom’s side after that and with his big thick tail wagging about a hundred miles an hour about it. It was pretty clear after just two “adoption events” that we were the only ones who were gonna do any of the adopting. We knew almost nothing about him, not even his real age, but LoJack was here to stay.
During his time with us he was the only one who got to do much visiting with her (hey, it is not my fault I am a submissive pee-er! Can I help it if all her friends have carpeting and they don’t it want ruined? Excuuuusssee me!). When she started working later, he got to go to the office with her. He had to go to the vet a lot too, he always had some minor but totally weird things going on where she’d have to nurse him back…more lumps to be removed, a recurring foot infection, ear infections, some skin issues and of course the cancer in his mouth that finally took him from us. Each time he’d come back with a bandage or that goofy collar that looks like a funnel and they got a little closer each time.
LoJack never complained about any of it and he spent a lot of time trying to watch out for her too, as best he could. If she was sick or even just resting, he’d stand guard outside the door to make sure no one bothered her. As a matter of fact, he sat intently by any closed door if he knew she was on the other side of it. When she went out without him, he’d be in the window waiting practically the whole time she was gone. He stayed in the kitchen to keep her company while she cooked and afterward for clean up when the rest of us wandered off to play or sleep or watch tv. I used to catch her singing (God help us all) to him all the time too. She’d change the words to most any song to suit him, but my favorite was to the tune of “Copacabana”. ”His name was LoJack, he was a showdog…”.
He went to bed with her every night no matter how early or late it was. When Mom was done for the night, LoJack was done for the night and the ritual of pills would begin. He took 6 in all and each was offered one by one from her hand. LoJack accepted them dutifully, as if he was doing it solely to please her and not because he needed them. When it was over, he’d get comfortable on the floor by her side in a dog bed and he did not wake during the night her trying to jump on and off the people bed or running in and out all night long on his own schedule like I prefer to do. Mom always said her good nights to LoJack last and a good morning to him first. For a dog to be given a chance to age gracefully like LoJack was and for us to be rewarded with the love and companionship he gave us is the ultimate success story.
Nikki and I have always been pretty secure in our place here. We never really got jealous of the old guy. He made Mom very happy and that was a good thing for the whole family. As was his way, LoJack even made his final illness as painless for all of us as possible (that is a story for another blog). Losing him was a terrible blow but there is doubt that LoJack took care of all of us all to the very end. Even more recently we lost 12 year old Nikki too. I am an only dog now for the first time ever. I miss them both a lot and was not sure Mom would be able to handle going through with Nikki what she had to for LoJack again so soon. I now know that one of the many the insights a person gains from this whole human-dog bonding thing is that you are somehow given the wisdom to know when it is time to let go.
For me as a dog I can trust her to do what is best for me for me if I get that ill, but I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I have all of Mom’s her notes and old photos out and am working hard on these blogs. This is my way of working through the grief and getting ready, because sometime soon, the next needy little face out there will surely find us and we will open our home again for another pet to live and love here.
Filed under: animal rescue, dogs | Tags: animal rescue, cat, cats, companion animals, dog, dogs, homeless animals, labrador, pet adoption, pets, shady, shadytales
Coming soon…
Author Shady is the the newest and rarest designer breed of all dogs…a “blogdog”. Well, okay, she is actually an 8 year old Labrador. This blog is not really about her though; it is a spotlight for many formerly homeless dogs and cats. Although she is a pampered pet-store-purchased pup, she hopes to raise awareness about pet rescue and adoption. Her family has always tried to help shelter pets get a fair chance, including over a year spent documenting their stories for small features in local papers and working adoption events. Those stories often end in true success and they are the basis of these tales.
Shady believes that by replaying these successes over and over, everyone will begin to see the rewards and importance of turning to the shelter and rescue animals for companionship. This blog is dedicated to making those success stories viral, to spread them so that every shelter and rescue group everywhere is able to realize its ultimate dream—too many willing families and not enough pets. Shady she has had her ear to the ground and is always looking for more animal stories to share from her own unique perspective. She knows that if everyone understood the love and loyalty a rescued animal companion rewards their new forever family with, the shelters would be empty. If you would like Shady to tell a tale about a dog or cat that you know, please contact her via her website.
When Shady is not working on her blog, she enjoys long naps on the softest and most inconvenient surfaces in her home, an occasional cheese filled kong toy and barking at the neighbors when they have the nerve to use their own driveway. Shady does not enjoy and goes to great lengths to avoid fireworks, being within sight of the vacuum (even if it is off) and any new item that is brought into her home whatsoever with the exception of groceries. She recently became an only dog, after losing two of her dog siblings to age and disease in the last 6 months. Her blog has helped her to work through this loss.
“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made.” ~Roger Caras
