Dogs and Heart Strings
Volunteering at the Humane Society
I started volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society this summer. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I didn’t think I could handle it. I thought I’d want to adopt every dog in the place. Since one of my dogs hates all other dogs on the planet, I felt I could handle it.
Turns out it’s not the dogs that crush my soul as much as the people do. Seeing people mourning over lost pets, looking for a new dog to fill their heart-voids, brings me to tears every time.
Laney was the first dog I got to witness being adopted. I got to meet the lady who adopted her. She’d lost a dog very similar to Laney, who had been her best friend for close to 20 years. I happened to be sitting with Laney when she came in to adopt her. Laney was cuddled up in my lap. She was a scared and tired girl, needing love and attention, so I had been snuggling with her for about 30 minutes when the lady came in.
She started telling me about the dog she lost, and we both started tearing up. Her son was with her, and he said “Come on now, before someone else adopts her!” They left to get all the paperwork done. I stayed with Laney, choking back tears for another half hour before they came to get her to meet her new mom. I told her how lucky she was and what a great life she was going to have. When they came to the kennel to get her, she wouldn’t come to the kennel door, so I tried to coax her. They eventually scooped her up in her bed. I think she just didn’t like walking on the kennel floors. I left without seeing or saying anything to the lady. This was about her and her new dog, not about me! I was just lucky enough to be there.
This week, the one that got me was Buffy. A woman was standing outside her kennel, just staring at her. Buffy looked really scared. Oftentimes, all you have to do is go into their kennel, and they light up and show a bit of their real personalities. Buffy proved me right, she jumped into my lap and started kissing me. I started talking to the woman. She told me her dog had died at 11 years old and that Buffy looked a lot like her. I told her even though Buffy wasn’t up for adoption yet, she could talk to the front desk and get on a waitlist. Turned out she was number three on the waitlist and knew her chances of taking Buffy home were slim. Tears welled up in my eyes. I started telling her about all the amazing dogs I’ve seen come through there in the last few months, and that her dog would find her, even if Buffy didn’t work out. She was a really sweet woman and I hope she finds her perfect friend soon. Who knows, maybe she’s the one who got to take her home, I don’t get to know where they go unless I happen to be there when the adoption is happening.
Fester was the funniest dog. I loved him immediately. It’s impossible to figure out his breed, there’s a little bit of everything. He had a skin allergy he was recovering from and had almost zero hair on his body. He has adorable freckles on his eyelids and stubby little legs with big fat feet. Fester really is the perfect name for him. He was there too long. It was really bumming me out, but it meant that I got to hang out with him a few times. He was ridiculously stubborn on walks, wanting to go his own way. He was so snuggly. He just wants to be held like a little baby. One day the staff put a sweater on him to spruce him up and the next day he was adopted! Go Fester! You are so dang cute. I just know you’re somebody’s best pal.
Maya was a beautiful grey pitbull. She was a recent mom. I think she intimidated people when they walked by her kennel, but she was all heart. I sat with her one day and she grabbed her food bowl in her mouth, rolled over on her back, leaned into my leg, and asked for belly rubs. She was super cuddly. He loves holding her food bowl in her mouth and has even been known to fall asleep with it in her mouth. She was great on the one walk I took her on, so sweet and gentle. Whoever adopted her is a lucky duck.
Today, Lady crushed my soul. She’s a 5-year-old, slightly overweight Beagle who loves squeaky toys like nobody’s business. She was super excited that I came into her kennel to visit her, and we had a great time. She’s nervous but sweet as pie. She’s going to make someone so happy. He may have already found a new home.
So many other sweet dogs. So much Oxytocin.