Ups and Downs

Hello everyone, I hope you have all had a great week. This week was full of ups and downs at Dogtown and the Lodges. I am told that as the seasons change – fall to winter and spring to summer – we lose a lot of animals. I have known of dogs passing away, but Tuesday, November 18, Dogtown lost three of its charges in a single day. While I did not know any of the dogs personally, I know their caregivers and it was very sad to see the toll it takes on them. The loss of one of my charges is a day that I have dreaded since before I came here and I know it will reach me someday (hopefully not soon). One of the dogs that passed away was Trinket, she was a former resident of the Lodges and when she developed a brain tumor and began having seizures, our wonderful volunteers, Jeanne and Robin, offered to take her into their home as a hospice foster, giving her a home and all the accompanying comforts for the last months of her life. She was already living with them when I started, so I did not have the fortune of knowing Trinket, but she was loved by many and will be missed. We also lost Brandi, a dog that had recently arrived back at BF, and Huck, a resident of Old Friends. They will all be missed.
On the happier side of things, I am continuing to make progress with the dogs and have been trying to find time here and there to work with Tasha on her issues with affection. On Sunday, I had a little time in the afternoon and things were pretty quiet around Dogtown, so I got some really good treats, dried chicken and duck jerky broken into little pieces, and took Tasha to headquarters. I asked some of the staff if they would be willing to come pet her and give her some treats, explaining that she has a tendency to growl and snap when people pet her. Patti, one of our volunteer coordinators, was the first to step up (it helps a lot that Tasha is so adorable and people just want to get to know her). She gave Tasha a few treats and started petting her - not a growl, snap, or even curl of the lip from Tasha! More and more staff joined in and for ten minutes Tasha was getting pets and treats from people and took it all in stride. I was so excited I almost burst, though of course I had to keep a calm, cool head and not get her excited, but I could hardly contain myself!
While we had some very difficult losses this week, we are also continuing to make progress and create a better life for the dogs that are living at the Lodges. There are plans taking form that will, over the course of the next two years or so, really improve the lives of our dogs (and caregivers, too).
And, as a final note for today, perhaps the happiest story of the week – after ten years at Best Friends, our lovely pittie, Valentine has gone to her forever home! Strange though it is to see her run mate, Tex, solo these days, I couldn’t be happier for her and hopefully we can find Tex a new friend soon, enjoy Portland, Val!!