The Year of the Dog, or ADOPTED: Missy

One year ago, we said good-bye to Chance. We walked around our town's annual street fair on the first Saturday in October and hid our tears behind sun glasses. 

In turns out it's not just dogs that deserve second chances; us people do too. In the year since then, we've fostered (or helped to foster) 10 dogs—Wookiee, Jack, Karina, Bella, Jagger, Chloe, Lucy, Bentley, Zazu, and Honey. We've met wonderful people in the process (both volunteers and adopters) and have come to believe what Margaret Mead said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."Without a doubt, this has been The Year of the Dog.

We've taken in the dogs and transformed them from unwanted underdogs to pampered pets. We’ve given them baths, filled their bellies, taught them manners, and then found them forever homes. It's never easy to say goodbye to a dog, especially one who you've seen through some of their most vulnerable hours. Perhaps it’s even harder because we don’t have a pet of our own to cling on to when a foster dog leaves. But we’ve been able to let go when we find them better homes than what we can offer them. Upgrades, we've come to call them. (Copyright Jen at Inu Baka)

We knew we'd foster fail miserably at some point. I suppose it was only a matter of time before one came along that would fit seamlessly into our lives, and we couldn’t let go. 

Enter Missy, the black, fuzzy mutt that came into our home as a temporary houseguest last weekend but has claimed a place all to herself on our sofa, on our bed, and in our hearts.

We’re told she had a “family” in South Carolina who moved away and left her behind. A kind neighbor noticed the poor dog alone and fed her for two weeks. When it became apparent the family wasn’t coming back, the neighbor brought Missy to a shelter. In that shelter (the same one Honey came from), Missy had five days to find a home. Luckily, in that time, our rescue came across her and agreed to take her.

A few days later, Missy made her way to New Jersey with the help of the wonderful volunteer transport. Up the eastern seaboard, volunteers each drive an hour leg of the trip. The dogs are handed off from driver to driver until they reach their rescues and foster homes. As soon as we saw Missy, her big, brown eyes begged us to love her. And love her we will.

How anyone could move and leave a dog behind is beyond us—let alone a dog like this. Sweet and affectionate, smart and well mannered, she’s a mutty-mutt mix of who knows what breeds. Her size and energy level fit perfectly into our life in a condo, unlike most of the dogs we've fostered. She's good with dogs, cats, and people of all ages. You couldn’t ask for a better dog. And we believe she couldn’t ask for a better home. We are her upgrade. 

So Missy is here to stay. 

Homeward Bound

This is the true story of a dog named Chance who was known as Patrick before and after and Patches before and after, but he was Chance in between. 

Chance was picked up by animal control in late June 2010. A local rescue group pulled him from a municipal shelter, named him Patrick, and took him to an adoption day on a Saturday in July.

It was there that a young couple looking for a lab mix fell in love with Patrick. Maybe it was his silly ears. Or maybe it was the patches on his nose.

The young couple adopted Patrick and named him Chance—after the dog in Homeward Bound that eventually finds his way home. And, after all, they were taking a chance on him. No one knew anything about his history. He had never lived in a foster home, so the couple knew nothing of his temperament or quirks. He was just a stray.

The couple soon came to find out that Chance was more than they bargained for. It started with aggressive behavior toward other dogs, then evolved into weird reactions to strangers. Soon there after, Chance developed protective-aggression behaviors toward people who weren’t “his people.” No one other than the young couple could approach him without a low growl, nasty barking, and near bites. Chance wouldn’t even let the brave dog walker into the house. Over the course of several months, the young couple worked with a trainer, but the problems only got worse. It became impossible just to walk him because of his reactions to just about everything along the way.

The young couple agonized over what to do and eventually made the tough decision to return Chance to the rescue. It broke their hearts into a million pieces. But the situation had become dangerous, and they acknowledged that they weren’t giving Chance the life he needed—confident, experienced dog owners to deal with his issues and a big yard where he could expend all of his energy.

So, on an October day, the couple gave Chance back to the rescue. He became Patrick again. As he was driven off in a van, a woman from the rescue consoled the young, crying couple. She understood that this had become a dangerous situation; in fact, Patrick had turned on her several times. She knew they weren’t bad dog owners. She offered the young couple any puppy from their rescue, or would they like to foster? They could get to know different types of dogs and learn which dog might fit their lifestyle. But the couple wasn’t ready for another dog. They couldn’t even look at or think about a dog without crying.

As weeks passed, they acknowledged that there was an empty space in their lives. They took serious consideration into fostering with the hopes of becoming experienced dog owners and helping a dog like Chance one day. But would it break their hearts to give up the dogs, just as they did with Chance? They decided that the pain of doing nothing to help these dogs is a hundred times worse than the pain of giving up a dog to a good home could ever be.

On a Saturday in November, they stopped into a local pet store where another rescue was having an adoption day. They fell in love all over again, but this time with all the dogs. They asked if the organization needed foster volunteers.

And the rescue did. The young couple took in one dog, and then two…

In the mean time, Patrick spent some cold nights in a boarding facility, then landed himself with a foster family who could help with his behaviors. October, November, and much of December came and went without any potential adopters.

Then, a week before Christmas, a little girl living a few towns away wrote a letter to Santa.

“Dear Santa, please bring back our dog Patches for Christmas. We lost him last summer and we all miss him so much.”

Out of desperation, the girl’s father checked Petfinder one last time for Patches—something he had done many times months before. He wanted to make his daughter’s Christmas wish come true. And, I know what you’re thinking, parents, but no look alike would do. Patches had very distinct silly ears and patches on his nose. Perhaps a shelter or rescue group had him now. Perhaps there was some hope. But who knows what could have happened to Patches in the six months since they lost him.

As the father searched, a familiar face popped up. There he was, Patches, also known as Patrick to the rescue group, and previously known as Chance to the young couple—us. 

The father contacted the rescue and, the very next day, Patches/Patrick/Chance was homeward bound.

The little girl got her Christmas wish, Patches found his new old home, and we were able to make room in our home and in our hearts to save the lives of two dogs—Wookiee and Jack—with the hopes of saving many, many more. 

The universe works in mysterious ways.