Tough Decisions

A tongue for treats.....and kisses!

Familiar things can be good and bad. I was more than happy to walk with Rudolph this evening. I am sad that he isn’t in a forever home…yet. I will state that as difficult as it is, I’m ok with it. The person that Rudy met last week as a possible adopter decided that maybe Rudolph wasn’t the best fit for their home. I’m glad that they reached that decision earlier rather than later and I hold no hard feelings on that. It’s a very difficult call to make, but they felt that they had reason to do so. It takes a strong will act on that. Although it wasn’t Rudolph, I’m pretty confident that the person will be adopting a rescue dog in the near future, and that in itself is a wonderful thing. I sincerely hope that Rudolph gets adopted soon, and I do think that it will happen. Patience is a virtue that Rudy has much more of than I. Maybe even some day he and Irving could hang out together. Who knows...

As Rudolph and I walked with one of the other volunteers and Queenie, I was told that “as soon as Rudolph heard your voice, he started jumping and got all sorts of excited.” It feels good to know that what I’m doing can get someone that excited. In some ways, I think that I’m one of the highlights of the week for him. In some ways, working with him is the highlight of mine also. What I give in treats, I receive back 10-fold in understanding, loyalty, life lessons, and kisses.

What did I learn from today? Rudolph has shown me that he is constantly learning. Constantly evolving. I need to follow his lead in that. As he and I have walked together, I see him get more and more excited for our walks as he starts to grasp how much there is to learn. As he gets better about sit, stay, up, and wait, I can see that he’s thinking, “Ok, got it. What’s the next trick that’s going to make you happy (and earn me a treat maybe)?” He’s soaking up knowledge like a sponge. He wants to explore. He wants to play. He wants to thrive. He really wants to be a companion. He wants to learn from someone. I find that awesome and admirable. This is one really smart dog and I’m amazed at how much he has taught me. Wow……...

Tough times

I’m not sure if it’s just the day, the weather, or if I’m just on mental overload from yesterday….but tonight’s walk was very difficult for me.   I’m honestly still in a bit of a daze from it.   Walking into the shelter/clinic tonight, my heart just sank.   So many barking dogs all calling out.   I’m not sure what they’re saying, but I know that all of them deserve love.   As I move about, there’s that overwhelming “I want to help them all” thing that creeps up and smacks me over the head…..repeatedly.   This is a tough fight.   I am here though and keep reminding myself of an earlier lesson…..”Never let ‘I wish I could help them all’ prevent you from making all of the difference for one”.

Through the window, I see Rudolph.   Like the rest, he’s barking.   Then he sees me in the window and he suddenly becomes a bit more calm.   The barking is now replaced by a wagging tail.   My mission became a bit more clear.   

So I grab some poop bags (of which we only needed one this week!!!!) and a handful of treats.   I head back to his cage, and tell him to sit…and he does.   I opened the cage door and “sit” goes out the window.   He’s not headed for the door though.   He comes straight up to give me a good “Glad to see ya man!” headbutt in the knee.   On goes the leash and a few “how are ya buddy?” pets and scratches later, we’re headed out the door.

He was ready.   Although he’s still a touch skinny, he pulled like a sled dog.   Rudy was bouncing around like a superball.   I was ready for a walk in the park.   He was ready for a run.   So, we ran about ⅔ of a lap before he finally started to tire out a bit.   It was a lot of fun.  It was also a bit challenging as he likes to run in front, behind, and beside me….but fun.   We walked.   We sniffed other dogs.   We hung out.   We worked on “sit”.   I'm finding that “stay” is still a work in progress, but I think that he’s getting it.   I blame the teacher for being a bit too easy to get a treat from.   

As we were walking back, again his lesson really started to hit me.   4 weeks ago, I first walked this dog with barely any fur and an upset stomach who was living in a shelter.   Today, I was walking a strong, pretty healthy pup with loads of energy.   This guy is going to take on the world!   Just because someone is down, don’t count them out.   This guy has gotten a lot of help from a lot of great people at www.OneofAKindPets.com, but he is the one that has pulled through the tough times.   He is the one that has done the hard work.  Perseverance is what’s gotten him to where he is today and it’s what will take him farther.   This guy has moxy.   He got dealt a shit hand and lost a lot of chips.   He is well on his way back to the high rollers table though...and I admire him for that.   

When times are tough, that’s when you have to fight the hardest.

Thanks for the lesson Rudy...I guess I owe you a few more treats.