There are countless tales to tell of dogs who have found their way to the hearts they were meant to be united with; hearts that heal, embrace and ultimately develop a lifelong bond. Working with dogs from shelter and rescue organizations for so long, I have witnessed firsthand the extraordinary, almost instantaneous connection between a dog and human. I have also experienced other incredible events that cause the paths of humans and dogs to cross quite unexpectedly almost mysteriously. Is it fate, some kind of divine intervention or is it just meant to be – or not? Personally, having seen far too many ‘coincidences’, I believe there could be divine dabbling. Do we choose our dogs or do they choose us? Is there some kind of planned path that weaves us in a specific direction to find the dogs we are meant share our heart with? And once found, do they continue to show us the way or do we show them, do they change our lives or do our lives change because of them? Perhaps a bit of everything all rolled together, but who would know if they weren’t part of the equation?
I know I have told this story before and you are probably tired of hearing it but here goes. My husband and I still look back 25 years and thank our lucky stars that our first dog (as a couple) ‘Bingo’ came into our lives and completely changed the direction of our future. Bingo was a whippet mix who I had become attached to while working at the humane society. He had developed kennel cough and needed to get out of the shelter so we adopted him. Not the best laid plan I know but that’s the way it went. At the time we were renting and before we even made it through the door, our landlord, who had 2 dogs himself, questioned the little blonde dog who looked happily about. We assured him there would be no trouble and he agreed to the ‘new tenant’. Unfortunately, our assurances became null and void when Bingo barked when we weren’t home, pooped and peed and chewed everything he could get his pearly whites into. Within 6 weeks of adopting our boy, we received a notice on our door that read “Either you go, or the dog goes”. We were in panic mode and quickly tried to find another place to rent. Along with Bingo we also had 3 cats and the rental search was a challenge. We had only one option - we had to buy a house. Pooling our savings together we scraped up just enough for a minimum down payment and started looking for a house to buy. Within a week we found the perfect bungalow with a lovely fenced garden. We asked for a quick closing date and moved in the very next month. Of course we were house poor for several years, but it really didn’t matter - we had our Bingo boy. To this day, we wonder how different our lives would be had we not purchased that house in 1984.
Sharon McKeil, Director of BARK rescue in Ottawa believes dogs come into our lives as blessings and guidance. “The call came on a Friday night. A Rottweiler mix desperately needed a place to go; her owner had vanished. Leaving this dog where she was wasn’t an option. Her entire life (5 years) had been spent chained to a doghouse. My husband and I had just lost our Rottweiler and, while not ready for another dog, we decided we could at least foster her until a permanent home was found. When we arrived to pick her up, we learned that the dog’s owner, who had committed murder a year and a half earlier, had recently been incarcerated, thus explaining his sudden disappearance. The dog sat looking at us from her 10-foot chain attached to a doghouse in the middle of a huge sandpit. She was desperate for attention, painfully thin and filthy. How do you tell a beautiful dog with eyes as big as saucers, shaking like a leaf, that her life is about to change dramatically? How do you explain to her that she will never again be chained, have to live a lonely existence and that she can sleep on a bed, will be loved, walked, played with and adored? The next six months were very difficult for all of us. She had never lived in a house, never walked on a leash, never been taught the very basics like sit, stay, down, off the counter, out of the garbage, never had a toy or bone. The saddest thing she did was to hide her food all over the house, instead of eating it right away, in case she didn’t get fed her next meal. Her protruding ribs told the story of many missed meals. She cringed when you reached out to pat her and hit the floor immediately if anyone raised their voice even slightly. We quickly learned to talk at the same level at all times. Her name was Princess but we renamed her to reflect with her new life - Princess Leia, later shortened to just Leia. Of course we knew we couldn’t give her up; how could anyone ask this amazing dog to relocate when she finally began to trust us? The fear, neglect and abuse are deeply rooted so she will never be the dog she could have been, however, the average person meeting her finds a happy, social, very sweet dog that clearly loves life. She is indeed a grateful dog. Leia is now the BARK media dog, attends TV interviews and events as a goodwill Ambassador for our organization and is a wonderful example of how dogs can learn to trust, despite their past. We know she had a horrific life before we got her and we cannot change that but we can make sure she never has another bad day. She has given us back 100 times anything we have given her. We can’t imagine life without her.”
Karen Langill, of Helping Homeless Pets says that if dogs could talk, the stories they could tell would be incredible. “Robbie arrived at my home as a foster on cold January night. He and 6 other dachshunds had just completed a 72-hour journey from a puppy mill in Missouri to start new lives in Toronto. Life in a puppy mill must be unimaginable. Robbie was a breeding dog, confined to a cage for all of his 9 years. The miller had agreed to release the dogs to Canadian Dachshund Rescue and they were transported to Toronto via a relay team of volunteers. When Robbie first arrived, his beautiful red, longhair coat was matted and encrusted with feces, his ears were infected and the smell from his mouth was rancid. He was in such pain, it was a wonder he could wag his tail at all. Robbie had to have all but 2 of his teeth removed. Robbie didn’t know how to be a pet. He didn’t know how to eat treats and preferred to lay on newspapers and the cold floor instead of his nice, comfy, yet strangely foreign bed. He was afraid of squeaky toys, going outside, and was petrified of walking on a leash. He barked and cried each night. His life had turned upside down but despite his confusion and uncertainness there was a sparkle of life in his soulful brown eyes. Although it took him some time to adjust, my dachshund and I had already fallen in love with him that cold January night and he has been part of our family ever since. Robbie recently passed his certification with Therapeutic Paws of Canada and now visits hospitals and nursing homes, helping others. He has truly come full circle.”
Lab lover Linda Quigley says she wasn’t ready for another dog when she met Chloe.
“Chloe is a yellow lab who was used for breeding and had produced 2 litters before she was even two years old. The breeder didn’t want to keep her and sold her to an elderly couple who soon realized they could not provide her with enough exercise, since they both needed hip replacements. They called Labrador Rescue. I had lost my beloved dog only two weeks previously, was still in mourning and was not even considering looking for another dog. Then I got a call from a friend who had met Chloe and wondered if I would be interested in meeting her and giving input on her assessment. When I met Chloe at her home, she came to me immediately, climbed into my lap and ignored the owners and the person there to do the assessment. An hour later, she came home with me. We had a hard few months - she had terrible separation anxiety and was confused. She had been kept in a kennel with very little human contact, and then when she went to the elderly couple they were home with her all the time. We overcame that with time and patience. Chloe has been with me now for just over 2 years. She enjoys agility classes, and last summer, she learned how to swim. The first year, she didn’t know how and was afraid to go in past her chest but by the next year I couldn’t keep her out of the water. Now she beats every dog at the beach for the tennis ball. She no longer frets when I go out, although she is always glad to see me come home. She has bonded with her brother and sister and together, the four of us make a family. I don’t know what I’d do without them - life just doesn’t get any better than this.”
Kim Gladding says, “one dog has changed my world” and shares her story about a dog who seemed to need her as much as she needed him. “In the summer of 1999 I began looking for a second dog. I had read a lot about Samoyeds and had my heart set on sharing my home with one. The long hair and grooming were not a deterrent, since I already had an American Eskimo dog. I was also eager to adopt as opposed to buy, in order to provide a better life for a dog in need. I visited a number of shelters and contacted rescue organizations, but had no luck finding a homeless Samoyed (which is a good thing). Two short weeks later however, Samoyed rescue received a call from a local humane society about a dog in their shelter. They felt he would be a difficult placement and wanted the rescue’s help. He was an unaltered, male, approximately 2 years old. My husband and I went to see him. There he was with his yellow, matted fur, thin body, paws covered in feces, wagging his tail and barking to get my attention. We took him outside to get a better look and to meet our other dog. He had an ear infection, a coat that needed some serious grooming, and was underweight but his big Sammy smile melted my heart. We took him home and named him Montana. He immediately settled into our house as if he had been there all his life. Montana is my constant companion and loves to be near me. We've gone camping and to cottages where he enjoys hiking and swimming – he even skijored with me. Not everything has been perfect. A few months after adoption, he showed some behavioural issues, so I sought the assistance of a local trainer. She helped me understand him. I joined her classes and we both enjoyed them so much. After several sessions, she asked me to assist with teaching. I now have my own class and teach others basic obedience. In addition, I became actively involved at my local humane society. Because of Montana, a whole new world opened up for me. He steered me in a direction I would never have dreamed of going.”
“In 2001, I began volunteering for our local humane society”, says Cheryl Lamb of North Bay. “Until this point, my husband and I had only had cats in our lives but decided that we would like to add an adult large breed shelter dog to our home. In April of that year, “Blanche” a Retriever mix came into the shelter as a stray. She was picked up wandering down a main artery of the city dragging twenty feet of chain behind her. It was obvious that she had whelped several litters of pups and was rather dishevelled, but in our eyes, she was perfect – just who we had been searching for! Her amazing temperament with people and other animals won our hearts. She settled into our home as if she had always lived there – and was very respectful our cats. Blanche is one of the main reasons I became so involved with the humane society and rescue groups.” Cheryl Lamb has been orchestrating long distance transports for dogs across Ontario and Quebec for the past 3 years. She is often referred to as the “transport guru” and is responsible for saving hundreds, if not thousands of dogs via her large network of drivers.
These are but a few snapshots of how certain dogs and humans found each other in ways we can only assume were ‘meant to be’. One must admit, in many cases, dogs lead us to places we may have not gone otherwise, they teach us that when the going gets tough, the tough stay committed, they show us how far a little patience and understanding can go and each one shares the heartbeat within us.
Because we had such an over-whelming response to our post asking for dog adoption stories, our editor, Amy White has agreed to let me continue this topic in the next issue. If you have a story to share, please email lorraine@speakingofdogs.com