A few weeks ago we discussed the ways people choose shelter cats. I mentioned that the online forum that had raised the question seemed to attract mostly cat people, so I asked, at another forum that attracts dog people, how those people chose their shelter dogs.
Well. Most of them hadn't chosen shelter dogs...but the question was answered with some cute dog pictures and heartwarming rescue stories.
One respondent had lost a Labrador Retriever crossbreed, and went to a shelter expecting to choose another retriever, but the shelter staff called person's attention to a young pit bull terrier mix who "wasn't Pit enough for some and [was] too much Pit for others." The dog was called Ella. "Ella came home with me."
Another respondent's first impression was that "All the dogs were large and barking for attention." Then person noticed a small, thin spaniel "cowering at the back of her cage." After looking through the cages the person came back past the spaniel. The little dog "looked up with the saddest eyes," leaned her muzzle against the person's fingertips, and, when let out to do its "adopt me" act, sat down on the person's foot. Shelter staff "decided a home visit wouldn't be needed." The spaniel lived with this respondent for thirteen years.
A respondent who took per screen name from the name of per departed dog "didn't plan on another dog" after that one died, until a friend who fostered dogs invited them to visit a little old Shih Tzu Blind and panic-prone, the dog "would run in circles until he fainted" and was otherwise "depressed and listless," but something about being taken to a home of his own--was it a familiar smell?--seemed to comfort him as he was led inside. "Three years later we're all older and slower but very content."
Ya lo creo! Dogs have such ways of showing their appreciation.
A pair of dogs whose rescuer chose to share pictures rather than ask perself "why" may have been adopted because their relationship seemed interesting, the way relationships among social cats interest me. The larger dog, Bingo, was described as "an emotional support dog"--for the bigger one, "the Boss who orders Bingo around."
So an emotional reaction between the humans and dogs seems to outweigh a genetic type. This is probably good news, but it does complicate our photo contest. How can Petfinder tell you which dog will draw out that reaction from you? Not only do the ways a dog melts one person's heart leave another person cold; the dog has its own emotional reactions and may seem much friendlier to some people than it does to others. You just have to meet the dog and find out.
In honor of Ella, should we do terrier pictures? Meh. Shelters do tend to be oversupplied with terriers, especially the ones someone adopted when they were tiny helpless puppies, who then started to grow up and look like their adult selves, at which time somebody screamed "That dog looks like a PIT BULL!" and continued screaming until the owner put the poor dog in a shelter. A pit bull terrier who is kindly treated can be a friendly, lovable dog. The trouble is that by the time they land in a shelter dogs have probably been anything but kindly treated, so you have to get to know the dog, firsthand.
Also, didn't we do terrier pictures this spring?
Hmm. We've not done spaniel pictures recently. Spaniels are small to medium-sized dogs, known for their sweet, submissive personalities and big floppy ears. As with collies and terriers, there are different breeds of spaniels. All are typically loving and lovable dogs, who like to snuggle and don't mind having their coats groomed (which they tend to need, often). Bred for hunting, they get around more by a combination of scent and sticking close to a human than by sight, so a blind spaniel can still be a good pet. Which is fortunate for out first photo contest winner:
Zipcode 10101: Jake from Brooklyn
Jake is blind and obese. He's lost about half as much weight as a vet would say he needs to lose. Losing weight has not been a problem--he likes to walk and will jog if you let him. He even gets good references as a "quiet athletic coach." Jake's temporary humans describe him as just about the perfect pet, eager to please and loving to snuggle. He's only about six years old, and spaniels can live to age fifteen or older.
Zipcode 20202: Denim from Martinsburg
His web page: https://petfinder.com/dog/denim-65303926/wv/martinsburg/berkeley-county-humane-society-wv62/
This was not actually my first choice of photo. At least three photos looked cuter but the organizations keeping the dogs wanted preposterous amounts of money. Denim is a photogenic dog and I'm not saying I don't believe he's a spaniel and Dalmatian mix rather than an ordinary blue tick hound, but my inexpert eyes aren't seeing why. He's described as "a high energy boy," just seven months old when his web page was created. He is not recommended to families with cats or babies. With other dogs and/or teenagers they think he'll be just fine.\
But I don't think this overpriced pair of sweet little-old-lady dogs have fallen into the hands of real greedheads.
Their web page: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/booboo-64959282/pa/elizabethtown/2nd-chance-4-life-rescue-pa758/
Booboo is the one with the high-maintenance, pale, fluffy coat. Both Booboo and Lulu have those distinctive ears that start to stand up and then flop over. They've always been together and their late human made their rescuers promise that they'd be adopted together. They are described as old dogs who've needed some veterinary care and been placed in a special shelter for dogs with medical problems. At the 2nd Chance 4 Life shelter in Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania), adoption fees are high, but sponsors will help with the fees if adopters agree to stay in contact with the sponsors and let them know how the dogs are doing. It sounds reasonable, except that the writer of the web page does not explain exactly what Booboo's issues are or what needs to be done for her. That could just mean that explaining the shelter's situation used up the time and page space available. Just be cautious before giving information to people who aren't giving you as much as you need to go on.
Zipcode 30303: Julian from Duluth
This is a spaniel/collie crossbreed puppy, still a bit overexcitable, even dribbly. He's said to be a very lovable dog who sleeps in his foster human's arms at night. For me that would be a deal breaker, but for some people it might work.
The Petfinder page for spaniels in Atlanta is, as so often, pleasantly short. There aren't a lot of adoptable dogs who are believed to be part spaniel and, in some cases, that belief may be based on the dogs' docility rather than their looks.
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