Friday I’m in Love

This happened a few Fridays ago (January 25th, to be exact).

I’m sitting at my desk at work, minding my own business, getting actual work done. I notice a couple dog hairs in my sweater, and I fold the cuffs over to preserve them better.

On a whim (or maybe because writing about insurance really isn’t the most exciting topic in the world), I find myself on the Animal Humane Society website.  And on that page is a sweet fawn Boxer named Layla. She’s about a year old and has uncropped ears.

I look at the clock, and it’s about 11:15. The shelter opens at noon. That would give me just enough time to get there. In a matter of seconds, I decide to go. I figure that I’ll see what happens, and call Tim later.

My car starts after a few hiccups, and I weave in and out of traffic. Not driving dangerously, but with a little more urgency than usual. For once I’m driving toward something.

I arrive at the shelter in Golden Valley just after noon. After a few frantic dashes around the cat area, I find the dogs and there she is. She is beautiful. I ask one of the volunteers if I can get to know her a little better, and we go into a small room.

She is more interested in the people passing by outside at first, but she settles down and lets me give her lots of affection. She knows how to sit and shake. She shows a lot of interest in the kids that walk up to the glass partition.

At this point, we only have three weeks until we go on vacation. It’s been two weeks since we’ve had a dog in the house. I know it’s too soon, and I know that it wouldn’t be the best situation to send her to the vet for a week if we were to take her in, but I take a chance and put a deposit down anyway. At the very least, it will be a donation to a good cause. I fill out some paperwork and place her on hold until the end of the next day. I know that the probability of taking her home is slim, but I also knew that if I didn’t put the deposit down, I might be missing a chance I wouldn’t otherwise get.

When I get back to work, I notice fawn-colored hairs embedded in my sweater, mixing with the white ones that were there earlier. My coat and hat are colored with golden dog hair too.

I take a deep breath and call Tim. I ask him about a hypothetical situation. What if there was a Boxer available right now? He cuts me off before I can go any further and says, “I know what you’re going to say.” And then there’s silence. I can hear him breathing deeply, and I know he’s upset. Then I get upset for making him so upset. I apologize profusely, then let him go because my rambling isn’t helping his emotional state.

That evening, I gently bring up the subject again, just to make sure, but he isn’t ready. The next day, I call to release the hold because I know Saturdays and Sundays are their busiest days, and she has a better chance of getting adopted the sooner she gets back out on the adoption floor. So Layla, I hope you found a fantastic home and that you’re showered with affection every day.

In retrospect, I know it would have been too soon. And even though we would have had three weeks to bond, it would have been disruptive to leave her at the vet. And most importantly, Tim wasn’t ready. I’m not even sure if I was ready, but it was a step I had to take, to know that I could eventually open my heart to another dog.

Getting Back Out There

Last Sunday, I dropped off Abby’s leftover food and medication at the Humane Society in St. Paul. I hadn’t been there in months, since we found out Abby had lymphoma and I’d been instructed to stay away due to her lowered immune system.

I used to volunteer there quite regularly. I started out as a dog bather, and then they began a new program to help with play groups in an enclosed outdoor dog run. I’m meeting a friend later today to help put together dog groups. It will be so good to get out of the house and interact with dogs.

We  look over the dogs on the adoption floor, and pair them up according to size, age, and breed. Young male dogs tend to work pretty well– they have tons of energy and curiosity, and they haven’t learned to be territorial yet. They’re just a couple of adolescents goofing around.

Age doesn’t matter as much as size. You don’t want to put a toy dog with a large dog because the toy dog might feel like prey. If we put a young puppy with an older dog, it might bring out some playful instincts in the older dog.

There are certain breeds I’m wary of putting in play groups. We’ve had some interesting experiences with Chows and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. We’ll take them out as solo dogs so they can spend some time running around, though.

The goal is to get two dogs (sometimes three) who interact with each other well. This usually involves play biting and wrestling and chasing each other. Those are the most fun to watch. But if we get two dogs who are comfortable with each other and don’t interact as much, that’s okay too. The goal is for them not to eat each other.

Sometimes we get dogs who ignore each other completely, or sometimes one dog is much more interested in having a buddy while the other one isn’t having any of it. We want to make it a positive experience for both dogs.

Of course, the minute we get a play group together, that’s usually the sure sign at least one of them will be adopted. But that’s okay– it’s the goal. And then we start the process over again the next week.