Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Not the Mama

But I worry about them just the same.  While I celebrate every adoption, a small part of me feels sad, envious, worried, frustrated for those not chosen, or the last ones picked, the ones overlooked, the long-term residents, my babies. 

My Glamour girl is a handful, make no mistake.  There were days when even I didn't feel up to visiting her knowing that I'd have to keep her from jumping and the first 5 minutes or so of the walk will be an exercise in pulling. Because of that, sometimes her walks were shorter than they should be but on the other hand when things are going well, her walks were longer than many of the others.



Lately, though, I see her getting "small" when she comes to the kennel door and when I enter, she knows to go to her bed and sit or I won't put her collar on her.  Once the collar is on, there's a fair amount of twirly-whirls which often involve a bounce or two off the wall.  She has spirit!

Our shelter usually doesn't have dogs in house very long.  Adoption rates are really good, so when a dog is there for over a month or more they usually get to become office dogs to help break up the monotony and keep up the socialization.  Glamour got a turn in one of the offices until she learned to jump the cubicle walls and ended up back in a kennel.  This week, due to some great adoption numbers, she finds herself in the front office area for awhile just as I am able to furlough her for a few evenings for even more of a break.



On the first particular evening, the stars aligned so that only Asia and I (and Ray) were home, so we orchestrated a little crate and rotate until we discovered that Glamour's surname is probably Houdini.  Yep, she busted slithered out of the crate and made her way downstairs where she and Ray met face to face.  Since it was just a sniff and wiggle fest, Asia and I got a hold of a dog each and I parked Glamour out in the garage until I could come in and talk with Asia about a game plan. 

They had met, so we decided to take them out on leashes and see if they were socially inclined.  It was completely outside the original game plan of Glamour and Ray not meeting, but it actually turned out well.  Really well.  All twenty-five pounds of muscle gal, matched up really well with my Big'un and for short little bursts they played, they  bowed, and had a great time.  My pride in both of them knew no bounds.



Because we wanted to keep it on a very positive note, they only played for two very short sessions before I took Glamour back out the gate and around to the front, up the stairs and into her temporary abode.

Before darkness fell, I found Ray's old harness and Glamour and I went out for a nice long bedtime walk where she explored nature, did her nightly toilette  and got nicely tired out before retiring with a drink of water and some soothing classical music.

Everyone settled in nicely for the evening and when that rude alarm sounded, I slipped out of bed, showered and woke Glamour from a sound sleep.  She unfurled herself from the nest of thick comforters and we headed down the stairs and out the back door for her morning relief.  She spent a few leisurely minutes reexploring the back yard off leash and then wiggled back to me for some pets. We sat by the pool and I rubbed her back and shoulders while she really seemed to be appreciative of her reprieve from the kennels.  She was so relaxed and calm and just .... peaceabull.

7 comments:

  1. I feel like we mother them whether they are ours or not! And I agree with you, when a dog has been at a rescue longer, I feel the need to champion them. Love, love, love that you got this glamorous magician out and about, outside of the shelter!

    ReplyDelete
  2. YAY! So glad for a good intro with Ray and for Glamour to get a night out of the shelter with you! I bet she was in HEAVEN!

    Emily @ Our Waldo Bungie
    www.ourwaldobungie.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's so cool that you rescued Glamour from another night in the shelter, I'm sure she appreciate the special time she got to spend with you. And, she got to meet Ray too which is pretty cool!

    And, you're not alone is feeling like a Mom to all of the sweet ones out there who need it, I feel the same way.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, how wonderful that Glamour got such a fun break from the shelter. Even the nicest shelters are stressful for pups. A little time in a good home can make us feel like brand new dogs :) And I'm really glad she had such fun with Ray too!

    Now I really hope she will find her furrever family soon!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. =) Glamour is a lucky girl to have a night out on the town with you! I'm so glad that all went well even with the surprise greeting with Ray. I also don't think that I knew she's only 25 lbs?!

    I'm with Remy and hoping she finds her forever home real soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! In pictures she almost seems bigger than Ray!

      Delete
  6. She sounds so lovely I really hope it isn't long before she has a forever family of her own!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
01 09 10