Meet the luckiest dog in the world!
'Benny' a young, English Shepherd.
"There's a dog coming."
Last time I heard that whisper in my 'all-knowing-inside-ear' we got little Piper Lou, all eight weeks of her spit-fire self. But this time, I kept this curious secret to myself: no reason to alert my husband when I didn't even know why I was 'hearing' this.
While I certainly wasn't looking, at all, for a third dog, I understand 'meant-to-be' situations and stay flexible. With my curiosity piqued, I carried on with my week.
"There's a dog coming."
Wednesday dawned humid with cicadas buzzing. I got my coffee, opened Facebook, and there it was. A post from Ana Greer of the National English Shepherd Rescue, stating they needed someone in Georgia to assess a male English Shepherd in a kill-shelter.
I'd heard of this task, 'assessing' a dog. I had wondered what it entailed. Could I be bitten? Would the shelter smell bad and I'd look at all those forlorn, brown eyes, and drive home with eight happy, slobbery, faces hanging out every window while I cried, saying, "What have I done, what have I DONE?!"
Ana sent me some clear information on what an assessment looked like, and she explained in a friendly phone call the role I would play. The assessor would meet the dog, go through several meet-and-greet assessments, and assuming all goes well, drive straight to a vet appointment for a full health check.
I could do this. It felt right.
I called my husband and let him know about what I'd been hearing all week, who the dog was, and how we would play a role. I respect his right to say 'Oh no you won't', but he never does. (In fact, IN FACT, in this particular instance, he flat out refused, at first, to meet the dog because as soon as he hears a dog needs a home, he starts making room in his heart in the shape of that very dog.)
I began a flurry of phone calls. First, the vet. Then, I called Gloria who runs No Place Like Home Kennel in Senoia, Ga. Could she house this pup until we could work out foster/adoption details? Even though she was having a personal situation she was attending to, and no doubt her kennel was full, she said,"We can work him in."
No Place Like Home isn't really a 'kennel'. It's more like summer camp for dogs, with vast fenced green fields, a clear, summer pond with a fountain and dive dock, sofas and lazy boy chairs for sleeping and I dare say, they even make time for arts and crafts or photo sessions in fields of flowers. This dog was leaving a county shelter and going straight to heaven on earth.
I made a list of what I needed: A crate, leash, topical flea treatment, directions, and a mindset that sometimes you help out, but the dog is somebody else's heart dog. It's easy to get the emotions involved, but sometimes it's good help and then step back, and let another family be the one to foster or adopt.
I called the shelter to make sure they knew I was coming. This was a kill-shelter and even though the dog had been there for two months, TWO MONTHS, they were full and that can mean a death sentence to the next dog on the list. And this dog's time was up.
I drove fast.
When I arrived at the shelter, they brought him up front, put in an ID chip, gave me the records showing the necessary shots, parvo, distemper, bordatella had been given, and put us into a meet room. (Can I pause for a moment here. Do you have a pet? Is that pet chipped with an identification chip? If not, stop reading now, and go to your vet and get your animal chipped. There is literally no excuse for not chipping your pet.)
He was clean, alert, and very energetic. Not jumping on me, but VERY concerned about where his 'person' had just gone. I realized how attached he must be to the ones taking care of him in this concrete 'home' where he had lived for eight weeks.
At this point, I realized I hadn't brought my list of assessments. In the flurry of activity, I had left it in the printer. I sat down and called him to me, and he came, but he was still very anxious. Everything he had known, day and night, in his current life, was suddenly turning upside down and he was extremely confused. I petted him and spoke calmly, and assured him he was about to get all the love he was due.
He was friendly, alert, happy, strong, healthy looking, and I felt no fear from him (or myself).
This dog was leaving with me.
We went out to the car and I opened the Outback lift gate and said, "UP!" He just looked at me. "Up!" He turned circles around my legs. It never occurred to me he wouldn't know how to jump up into a car.
I looked around for a man to help hoist him up, but just then he leapt up and went right into the open cage.
We were running late to the vet but they graciously made room for us once we arrived. They took him to the back and when they returned, he was smiling and happy and began to give me that 'You are my new person' attention. "What a GOOD BOY he is!" they said.
Three ticks were removed, the rabies shot given, heartworm and parasite tests done (all negative) and we were good to go! They said he was young, definitely under two years old. At this point, he was so happy, leaning into my legs, looking up with a smile. What a beautiful dog!
We drove to Petsmart where I bought him a collar and some good food. He walked past men and women, calm dogs, misbehaving dogs, and he showed no reaction. He only wanted to please me. Good boy!
Then we headed to the kennel, where he would live until his new family, foster or permanent, could be found. I was posting heavily on facebook to pages that celebrated English Shepherd adoptions, and Ana Greer of NESR was working with applicants who were showing interest.
At No Place Like Home, Gloria met him with kisses and pets and he was slowly introduced to the other dogs, first with small calm dogs, then bigger calm dogs, then medium energetic dogs, and finally larger, run-around happy dogs who were leaping and flailing balls of energy. He was curious, happy, and more interested in returning for pets, than getting into trouble with another dog.
The following day was spent with communications and phone calls as references were checked and applications reviewed. So many folks were interested in this beautiful young dog! A wonderful family who only lived three hours south was chosen to adopt. They had lived with English Shepherds and had a wonderful country life waiting for this pup.
Based on how agreeable he was, how great he acted with other dogs, people, men, women, changes in environments, the family's experiences, situation and references, Ana Greer chose to allow him to bypass fostering and go straight to his permanent home. I have so much respect for her discernment and ability to make calls based on her knowledge and experience. Each case, each dog, is truly unique and it's an algorithm that goes beyond facts and figures and generalizations.
One day later, he met his new 'Mom' and 'Dad' and left for the adventure of his new life. He slipped into his place in their lives as if he had always been their heart dog, sleeping in a plush bed next to their bed, exploring the land with his Spaniel buddy, and showing off excellent manners.
At one point, someone on a facebook page, upon hearing of his successful placement said, "Whoever you are, I think you won the lottery." Which was ironic because the new 'Dad' said when he told his wife they had been chosen to adopt, she said "I feel like we've won a huge reward."
You did. In fact, we all did. Especially, the luckiest dog in the world.
National English Shepherd Rescue
