|
 It
had been about 4 months since Fred, our beloved companion
for 14 years had passed peacefully & painlessly on. We
had only 1 dog at home and that just didn't feel right - we
always had had multiple cats & dogs. There was no question
of where our next family member would come from - Town Lake
Animal Center. I had adopted from them before & had that
sweet girl for her whole life. Now I was looking for an older
small dog, preferably female because I had a spoiled &
jealous (but beautiful) long haired male Chihuahua mix &
I wanted a companion for him as well, but the new companion
would need to be submissive.
So,
I walked the adoption runs for a week. They all tugged
at my heartstrings. Every day I left angry & in tears.
Angry at the attitudes that allow us humans to treat these
wonderful creatures like so many disposable items. How could
there be so many? Everyday there were new faces in the cages.
On
the 5th or so day - it was my lunch hour - I saw
him. He was smallish, about 11 pounds & quite scruffy.
Actually, his face resembled the Taco Bell Chihuahua, only
really big & with a Mohawk hairdo. His card indicated
he was about 4 years old, a non-neutered stray & a Cairn
Terrier Mix. He had some kind of gross drainage around his
big eyes, & a tail that never stopped wagging. I went
into his cage & sat down, he ran to me rolled over on
his back & peed all over my dress pants. He grabbed my
hand with his mouth, just saying hello. I put the Town Lake
Animal Center (TLAC) leash on him so we could go for a walk,
he obviously had never been on a leash before & didn't
like it Ð by the end of our walk he had almost worked it off,
& had knotted it beyond hope. I had to remove his collar
just to get the leash off. I talked to the adoption staff
about him. They encouraged me to bring my dog in to meet him.
Seems he had a couple of applications that fell through Ð
he was aggressive towards other dogs. I returned to TLAC after
work that afternoon & walked him again. He still didn't
like it much.
When
I brought my Chihuahua in to meet him that same eveningÐ he
was not aggressive, even though he was much bigger & stronger,
he just sniffed & walked away. My Chihuahua on the other
hand was terrible, snapping & growling at this guy with
the wagging tail.
Even
so, there was something about that tail & those runny
eyes, so I went in & started the application process &
during this I discovered that he was heartworm positive. My
heart broke at this, I knew that heartworms were usually treatable,
but thought it was very expensive & hard on the dog. Well,
turns out that it isn't the death knell it used to be. My
vet & I worked out a plan to keep it affordable. It took
a couple of days to process the application, he was a "special
adoption", because of the heartworms. I hated the waiting
part, I visited him everyday & brought him an old bathroom
rug & a soft toy to sleep on. The first night in our house,
he curled up & fell asleep on that same toy in our dining
room. My husband called me in to look at him & said, "looks
like he's home."
That
was in January. It is now November & I can't imagine what
our home was like without him. He has gained weight &
the heartworms are gone. He has the hysterical Mohawk hairdo,
loves to be combed -hates his bath & barks at his reflection
in the window. He & the spoiled Chihuahua are best buddies.
The Chihuahua still flexes his muscles now & then, &
the new guy, well he is tough & could easily be the alpha
dog, but somehow knows that isn't his place. He jealously
guards our fence from the neighbor's dogs, though & his
tail is always wagging.
Now
I volunteer in the adoption office @ TLAC & with Austin
Pets Alive! When someone balks at adoption due to age or illness
I happily & eagerly tell them the story of my Chance.
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