A Day at the Lodges

While I still can’t see myself staying at Amra’s long term, things did improve this past week a bit. I wasn’t spending as much time working alone this week, partially because I was being trained for the 2-11 shift for a couple of days. It is completely different that the day shift; we move the dogs inside to their crates and then let them out for a potty break between 9 and 10:30. The dogs are different at night and it is fun to see a different side of them. Debo is quickly becoming one of my favorite dogs at the sanctuary, he is just about the most fun dog I have worked with and at night it really comes out. He and I spent about ten minutes chasing each other around the run the other night on his potty break, he is just a hoot when he gets the zoomies, I love it! Debo was hit by a semi and then his owner watched as another truck hit him before he bothered to go get him out of the road. The vets had to put Debo completely back together and it is amazing that he is even alive, let alone able to run and play like nothing ever happened - he isn’t even on any medications! He does walk kind of funny and his back is arched up in a strange way, kind of like a Halloween cat, and he sort of bounces when he walks, but it all just adds to his cheery nature. You can’t hang with Debo and not have a smile on your face, he is a great dog. He does have his issues, he can be rather wary of strangers, particularly men, though, I know of at least one woman that he really seems to not like. Kathy, one of the other caregivers at Amra’s was telling me that they spent a week coming up with each dog’s profession and they decided that Debo was a construction worker. It is rather fitting for him, though I have decided to refine his title a little more, because really, he isn’t so much the hammers-and-nails type, he is an Excavation Specialist (like Astronomy up at the Lodges, they should go into business together). While he lives in a 10x20 run, he has probably doubled the surface area of his run simply by digging an intricate network of trenches and holes. I did have to fill in one of his trenches this week because he was starting to tunnel under his dog house and it looked like within another day or two of digging, it would collapse in on him. He always gets a little miffed and pouty when we fill in his holes, but really, I think deep down he likes it because it gives him a chance to start a new project. He is a purple collar (nobody under 18), but I think with a little more work, in his free time and on his weekends away from the construction sites he would probably be dressing up as a clown and hanging out at the local Children’s Hospitals providing much needed entertainment for the sick kiddos. He is a great dog.
My week ended on an high note; somebody called in sick, so I got to spend the day Friday working back up at the Lodges. It was great to get to hang out with some of my kids up there, I spent about ten minutes just sitting in Ballsy’s run while he tried to make himself into a seventy pound lap dog and still maintain his dignity.Brenda, my project dog, and I went on a walk and spent some time working on her off leash recall at Tara’s Run, she did fantastic! Even if I was hiding, as soon as I started calling her, she would stop what she was doing and immediately start looking for me, she would get so happy and wiggly when she found me. She is doing really well with her training and I really hope we can find her a home soon. She got her first bath since she has been at BF this week, too. I think they had always avoided it because they thought she wouldn’t take it very well, so Molly, the groomer, asked if I could come over to assist her on Thursday, just in case there were any issues. Brenda was muzzled, but she did great the entire time, not a single freak out - she was just standing there wagging her tail completely relaxed, even when Molly cut her nails!!! It is funny how the dogs they think are going to be a nightmare for grooming are sometimes just so chill and relaxed and other that seem like they should be a piece of cake turn out to be Tasmanian devils in the bath tub. While I was working at the Lodges on Friday, I also made sure to spend some time with Ursa Bear; it is sad to see her all alone and without her Diegers to play, but the trainers and caregivers are talking about finding a new friend for her. I hope it goes well, we don’t really know that much about how she handles dog intros, she came to us already living with Diego and the managers decided to keep them together because they can be difficult with other dogs. I have seen her get reactive on leash with other dogs, but that isn’t really a good indicator of what she will do off leash. Hopefully we can find someone for Ursa, she loved to play with Diego and it would be very sad for her not to have anybody to play with anymore.
And finally, we found out this week that a BF staffer has decided to adopt Timmy, an adorable but very shy dog that lives at Amra’s. I haven’t really gotten to know him that well because she takes him to her office three or four days a week and usually on the days that she doesn’t take him, another staffer takes him. I don’t know if he is at the octagon on the weekends, but usually the only time I would see him was first thing in the morning before Lori picked him up and for a few minutes in the evening when she would drop him off at the end of her day, there has only been one day that he was in the octagon with me the entire day. I think he is going to be very happy with them, they already have six dogs and Timmy absolutely loves other dogs, he is completely different around them than he is with people. And, on top of that, on Monday, there is somebody coming to meet Maisy, another of our adorable but very shy dogs at Amra’s. If she gets adopted, too, we are only going to be left with one shy dog and he is right on the brink of getting over his issues. Kathy has been working with him a lot and he is almost there.
I hope you all have a great week!
(Photos copyright Best Friends Animal Society.)