We went back to the shelter on our lunch hour, and Brenda again escorted us to kennel #88. The dog was lying in his inside kennel, up against the wall, away from us, but there was also another dog, a male Pit Bull, inside the kennel with him. Brenda indicated they were full to capacity, and that’s why they had another dog in his kennel with him. They seemed to be getting along just fine though, and neither one was showing any aggression towards the other.
Brenda was able to get the Pit Bull to go into the outside kennel, and she then shut the slider door so he was kept separate from our dog, who was still in the inside kennel. We threw him some hotdog pieces, but he wasn’t interested in eating them at this time. He laid with his head on his paws, and put his face in the corner of his kennel. It was heartbreaking for both of us because he looked so sad.
Brenda explained that the vet had come in to examine the dog; however, he was not able to as the dog would not let him near him. She said it would probably take another couple days for the dog to come around. Brenda then said the dog would be available for adoption on Monday and suggested we get him out of the shelter as soon as possible because he was depressed. I asked Brenda how she thought we could get him in the car since he didn’t really know either one of us, and we had no idea how he would react in a car or if he had ever been in one. Brenda said she would be off on Sunday and Monday, but when we came on Monday to adopt him, we needed to ask the staff to sedate the dog so we could transport him home. At this time, Claudia asked Brenda, “Since he actually has until the 27th, should we leave him here until then and come by every day and feed him so he’ll get used to us and get to know us?” Brenda immediately replied, “No, you need to get him out of here as soon as possible. Look at him. He’s depressed.” I agreed and said, “Yeah, this is no place for him. I’m sure all the noise is freaking him out.” (There was not only noise due to all the other dogs barking whenever someone walked by, but there was also a train that ROARED by several times a day, and it was only a couple hundred feet from the shelter. Whenever it went by, the sound from it was deafening.) We then assured Brenda we would come on Monday to adopt the dog. We spent a few minutes with the dog and then left as we both had to get back to work.
We returned to the shelter that evening after work. At this time, we were told we could go on back to kennel #88 and didn‘t need to wait for an escort. We found the dog lying in his outside kennel, with the Pit Bull in the inside kennel. We closed the slider to separate the two, and we again threw hotdog pieces on the floor of the kennel. This time, the dog started eating them immediately and while doing so, he moved closer to us. I coaxed him even closer and said, “Come on buddy. Come here, boy. Come closer.” He finally came up to the bars, and I was able to feed him some canned dog food using a fork. He picked up on how to eat from the fork immediately. I also gave him some liverwurst, and he really seemed to like that. He wasn’t quite ready to eat from our fingers, but he did slip once and ate one hotdog piece from my hand.
We fed the dog as much as he would eat, and by this time, he was lying up against the bars. I slowly reached in between the bars and gently stroked his forehead. He seemed to like it as he didn't pull away. I then reached in and scratched him behind his ear, and watched as he started closing his eyes. Again, he didn't pull away but left his head close enough to the bars so I could continue him behind his ear. Claudia joined in and we both sat for quite some time, reaching our fingers in between the bars and petting him wherever we could reach. Eventually though, it was closing time, and we had to leave. We felt we had crossed a milestone in just being able to touch the dog though.
Brenda was able to get the Pit Bull to go into the outside kennel, and she then shut the slider door so he was kept separate from our dog, who was still in the inside kennel. We threw him some hotdog pieces, but he wasn’t interested in eating them at this time. He laid with his head on his paws, and put his face in the corner of his kennel. It was heartbreaking for both of us because he looked so sad.
Brenda explained that the vet had come in to examine the dog; however, he was not able to as the dog would not let him near him. She said it would probably take another couple days for the dog to come around. Brenda then said the dog would be available for adoption on Monday and suggested we get him out of the shelter as soon as possible because he was depressed. I asked Brenda how she thought we could get him in the car since he didn’t really know either one of us, and we had no idea how he would react in a car or if he had ever been in one. Brenda said she would be off on Sunday and Monday, but when we came on Monday to adopt him, we needed to ask the staff to sedate the dog so we could transport him home. At this time, Claudia asked Brenda, “Since he actually has until the 27th, should we leave him here until then and come by every day and feed him so he’ll get used to us and get to know us?” Brenda immediately replied, “No, you need to get him out of here as soon as possible. Look at him. He’s depressed.” I agreed and said, “Yeah, this is no place for him. I’m sure all the noise is freaking him out.” (There was not only noise due to all the other dogs barking whenever someone walked by, but there was also a train that ROARED by several times a day, and it was only a couple hundred feet from the shelter. Whenever it went by, the sound from it was deafening.) We then assured Brenda we would come on Monday to adopt the dog. We spent a few minutes with the dog and then left as we both had to get back to work.
We returned to the shelter that evening after work. At this time, we were told we could go on back to kennel #88 and didn‘t need to wait for an escort. We found the dog lying in his outside kennel, with the Pit Bull in the inside kennel. We closed the slider to separate the two, and we again threw hotdog pieces on the floor of the kennel. This time, the dog started eating them immediately and while doing so, he moved closer to us. I coaxed him even closer and said, “Come on buddy. Come here, boy. Come closer.” He finally came up to the bars, and I was able to feed him some canned dog food using a fork. He picked up on how to eat from the fork immediately. I also gave him some liverwurst, and he really seemed to like that. He wasn’t quite ready to eat from our fingers, but he did slip once and ate one hotdog piece from my hand.
We fed the dog as much as he would eat, and by this time, he was lying up against the bars. I slowly reached in between the bars and gently stroked his forehead. He seemed to like it as he didn't pull away. I then reached in and scratched him behind his ear, and watched as he started closing his eyes. Again, he didn't pull away but left his head close enough to the bars so I could continue him behind his ear. Claudia joined in and we both sat for quite some time, reaching our fingers in between the bars and petting him wherever we could reach. Eventually though, it was closing time, and we had to leave. We felt we had crossed a milestone in just being able to touch the dog though.
As we walked towards the lobby, we stopped by kennel #60, which contained a black and white male Pit Bull. Both Claudia and I commented how cute he was as he had this little face with these three little wrinkles on each cheek, and it literally looked like he was smiling at you. When he wagged his tail, which was constantly while we were talking to him, his whole body wiggled! We let him lick our fingers and we petted him as much as we could between the bars. He was the sweetest thing, and we both commented how cute he was and how we wished we could take him home too. Little did we know ............
On the way home, I told Claudia that since I had been referring to the dog as “buddy” whenever I talked to him, I suggested we call him Buddy for now. She agreed and said that was a good idea.
Posts
That shelter must be horribly disturbing to the dogs because of the trains roaring by. Poor dogs! It's bad enough not knowing where they are, not having a home, and having to live in conefinement. I just can't walk into a shelter, it breaks my heart. Thankfully all of my rescues have been delivered to me or I pick them up from a vet.
ReplyDelete