Today I spent about 40 minutes at the humane society. I walked a new dog for about 30 minutes, then sat with Rufous, an Australian Cattle Dog puppy, for about 10 minutes.
The new dog had just been surrendered on Saturday, and had been quite confused then. He—his name's Skylar—is a beautiful young border collie. He's about a year old, and very sweet-tempered. He's a touch submissive, a little shy, but very affectionate.
His humans surrendered him on Saturday because their landlord had changed the terms of their lease. He switched the entire apartment complex from allowing pets to not. I saw the couple drop Skylar off. They were young, maybe 20-21, and didn't look like they had much money. They definitely didn't have enough to move to another place, so Skylar get given away.
When they left, he was put in one of the cages, and he got very confused and lonely. He was stretching his paws through the chain line door at anyone who came by.
He hunkered down when I put the harness and leash on him, but was very obedient. In fact, he was so malleable that when I gave him slight corrections (pulling him out of traffic), he sat down. He wanted to please, and was kind of scared.
So we walked and we ran and we walked, and by the end of it he was smiling and wagging his tail. It sprinkled while we walked, and I had to towel him off. He cuddled up against me and licked my chin.
Then, when I played with Rufous, Skylar got sort of jealous. He made the first sounds I've heard, tiny little barks, and did a lot of head cocking. When Rufous and I played tug of war, Skylar went and got his toys…which had been sitting unused in the corner. He played with them and tossed them in the air, sort of saying, hey, if you're going to play, I'm here, I'm ready, pick me, pick me.
Skylar was a lesson in the dog bond. He looked so confused and punished when his people left him, like he was trying to figure out what he did wrong. Today, it was like he bonded to me in 30 minutes of attention. He's a dog with a bruised soul.
But…Rufous got adopted! My little buddy's going home.
Yeah!
Greg
2 comments:
Obviously, I have a soft spot for border collies from shelters, especially shy ones.
I'm glad you got to help during his stay. I hope he finds a new family soon.
P.S. Major boos for the landlord. Rotten decision at a rotten time.
Thanks for sharing your experience. My precious 6 1/2 year old chocolate lab, Chev, has osteosarcoma in his right rear leg. We are enjoying every moment with him. It's been three mo. since diagnosis (by Kim) and he's still going strong on three legs (no amputation). Your story has encouraged me.
Pamela, Bellingham
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