I wander through my local animal shelters fairly often. Usually Iโm looking for a dog of a certain description to photograph for an article. (Sadly, dogs with illustrative health or behavior problems can often be found in a shelter.) I also go to the shelters following our reviews of foods, treats, toys, and dog care products, to donate the leftover booty.
Iโm often tempted to bring dogs home.
For years, my motivation to steel my heart against this temptation was my old Border Collie, Rupert. He didnโt appreciate the company of other dogs, and it just didnโt seem fair to foist a permanent housemate on the old guy. But Rupeโs been gone a year this Christmas.
I still have Mokie, the Long-Haired Chihuahua who came for a summer visit and stayed. After a lifetime of big, hairy dogs, itโs been nice having just one tiny (hairy) dog. Small dog, small dog food budget, small poop. Even his bad behavior is no big deal!
But it was inevitable that I would see a face I couldnโt resist. Let me quickly add โ Iโm just fostering this pup! Sheโs not staying!
I was looking for a puppy to photograph for one of our sister publications when I saw her. Being black, she wasnโt of much use to me (black dogs are famously difficult to photograph), but she sure was sweet, pressing her shoulder and head against the bars of her cage in an effort to elicit some contact.
In case the shelter staff didnโt already know, I called a volunteer over to look at the thick goop coming out of the puppyโs nose; she was miserable with kennel cough. โYup, I know,โ said the volunteer. โAnd if I donโt get her into a foster home quick, thatโs going to be the end of her…โ All my resistance crumbled. โOh gosh, Iโll take her,โ I found myself saying. (I have to add that I had recently heard an immunologist discuss how low a risk kennel cough presents to healthy adult dogs who live in homes. And Mokie has been fine.)
Iโll keep Ivy (as weโve dubbed her) for a couple of weeks, until her cold is gone and she receives another puppy vaccine and is spayed. By then, sheโll be housetrained, crate-trained, pretty well socialized, and know the basics โ sit, down, wait, off. Sheโll be far more adoptable at that point. Then Iโll help the rescue group who oversees the fostering from that shelter find her a โforever home.โ Any dog who lives here has to model for the magazine; how can I keep a dog I canโt photograph?
In the meantime, the timing of Ivyโs arrival has been fortuitous. Samples of aromatherapy products (for CJ Puotinenโs article in this month’s issue) were arriving from all over, including some terrific immune-stimulating formulas perfect for a puppy with a cough. I picked up a few tips as I edited Mardi Richmondโs article on housetraining (this month’s issue) to help with that process. I used canned food (from my review in this month’s issue) to help convince her that the crate was a good place. And when she lost four of her front baby teeth chewing on a cardboard box in my office, I was able to use Dr. Randy Kiddโs article on the mouth (this month’s issue) to pinpoint her age at 13 weeks.
And, just in case, Iโve been trying to improve my photography skills.
-Nancy Kerns
