This Saturday I'll be walking with A. in the Oregon Humane Society Doggie Dash. My team is The JabberWalkies. I've never been good at raising money for anything. I was a Brownie for about 2 hours, before deciding I wasn't cut out for actually knocking on doors and selling cookies. I'm not a salesperson, and so I quit the Brownies. Luckily, mom didn't care about that sort of silly shit. No offense to any former Brownies out there.
My point being, there's a reason you might want to donate a little money, even five bucks, to this cause. There is a reason I'll be walking A., dragging her along at points, downtown this weekend, wishing I was reading a book or eating brunch. I found A. at a humane society in Vancouver, WA. While her story is a sweet one: she had a very short stay at the shelter, they played classical music for the dogs, and she was doted upon by the many, wonderful volunteers - this isn't always the case.
My true love story. Here it goes. I saw A. on the petfinder.com site and was intrigued. A terrier mix with a fuzzy face? I'd been wanting a dog a long, long time and with a recent break up, I felt ready. Plus, my brother kept gently nudging me by saying things like, "When are you going to get a dog already?" I put my hold on A., like a reservation at a restaurant. When I met her at the shelter she weighed 12 lbs less than now and was 9 months old. We went outside together and sat on a bench. I liked her immediately - with her fluffy white hair, tan spot, black eyes and white eyelashes, funky tail, who wouldn't?
But what I really loved about her was her spirit. I'd warned myself going into this endeavor not to select the saddest looking pup, not to go for the one with the toughest story or one who had physical ailments. Not unlike boyfriend shopping, I'd need to tell myself: pick a healthy one! I was a single woman and I needed to realistic about my own limitations.
A. and I hung out for a while outside until she spotted a squirrel. She leapt from the bench and into the air - front paws straight out in front, back paws in the other direction, like wheeeeeeee! And I knew she was mine. I told the volunteer I'd take her. She wasn't house-trained and her name was Princess, two hurdles that were fairly easy to overcome. When I picked her up a few days later, after being fixed, she was still sedated and went limp in my arms. Immediately, she hopped into the car, and stole the driver's side - as she still does now. Soon enough she would be at home with me and my housemates, rolling around in each of the three beds at some point. Shortly after the shelter experience, she developed pneumonia. She slept for four nights at Dove Lewis and each day I visited her in her oxygen tenet/cage, sometimes with a roommate, T., and A. was so excited to see us, she couldn't contain her wriggling self. I left my sweater for her and I never did get that back, but I didn't care because A. survived when the vet said she might not have.
I remember one time I called Dove Lewis to check her status, I told the guy on the phone I was A.'s owner and wanted to see how she was doing. He thought he put me on hold but he hadn't and I heard him call out, "A's mom is on Line 1. Again."
I was a mom. When I brought A. home I was instructed to perform percussion on her every day, twice a day, to help her cough up fluids. I'd need to create a steam-room out of the bathroom. Those mornings and evenings in the hot, steamy space together sealed a bond. She sat, quietly on my lap, without question, and allowed me to press and clap my hands along her back and all over. And soon she got better and discovered her neighborhood again. A band of friends at Laurelhurst Park, other neighbors at a nearby coffee-shop, my other roommate, J., took her too. A. met people I never did!
So, this is a shameless promotion, as I mention, because dogs can't type, they can't ask you to help them out in this way, but I can. And it's important.
Here is the Doggie Dash website:
http://ohs.convio.net/site/TR?fr_id=1070&pg=entry
Click on Sponsor a Friend and then select Team and please type JabberWalkies
Thank you! From both of us!
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