Tales & Tails of New York

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The telephone call came yesterday about 4PM and at first I was confused.

 

 

"Are you talking about our brown Pitbull?" I asked.

 

"No, Buddy's a really lovely, black Chow mix." the woman replied. "My boyfriend and I were admiring him and the young woman with him told us he is up for adoption."

 

And then it came to me.  Sure, I remember Buddy..........

 

We rescued Buddy in the early part of January.

 

Jesse, the New Hope Coordinator, from Animal Control had called me about Buddy.

 

"Do you have any room for a very nice, black Chow mix?" she asked.  "Buddy was dropped off by a family.  He's about 6-years-old and very sweet.  We can neuter him for you."

 

At the time I didn't have any open fosters and could only promise Jesse a trip to the shelter to meet with Buddy.

 

"We'll see what we can do." I said, trying not to make a firm commitment.

 

The next day I went to the AC&C to see and spend some time with Buddy.

 

Buddy, as Jesse had promised, was indeed a very nice dog.  Friendly, engaging and of outgoing, cheerful temperament. Seemingly housebroken and appearing to be more of a Retriever mix than a Chow (which might seem easier in terms of adoption).

 

But, there was also bad news about Buddy.

 

There was a notation on his kennel card that Buddy had suffered "two seizures" while in the shelter.

 

I didn't know what this meant and needed to get more information.

 

I requested Jesse to call the former owners to inquire if seizures were the real reason they abandoned the dog.  I also conferred with a vet at the shelter.

 

But, Jesse wasn't able to contact the owners because the number had been disconnected and the vet could not give any definitive answers about the seizures.

 

"It could be a chronic problem or something born out of extreme stress in the shelter," the vet said.  "Sometimes seizures occur due to a liver, brain or other organ problem. Sometimes they can be neurological in nature.  We can't really predict them.  Sometimes, they can be controlled with drugs," the vet added.

 

None of this was very helpful and it made me hesitate to pull Buddy for rescue.

 

"How do I explain to a possible foster that the dog could have a seizure at 3 in the morning?  What do we do if he does?" I asked both the vet and Jesse.

 

No one of course had answers.

 

"Have you called Retriever Rescue?" I finally asked Jesse.  "Buddy seems more of a Flat Coated Retriever than a Chow to me.  I don't know that we can take on any more dogs with major medical issues or questions right now.  It can be real difficult having a foster freak out on you in the wee hours of the morning or a weekend."

 

"Well, you know we can never give guarantees," Jesse answered, obviously disappointed.

 

Over the next few days, I hoped Jesse would find another rescue for Buddy, but of course that did not occur.

 

When she asked me about Buddy again, I didn't have the heart to say, "No."

 

"OK, see if you can get him neutered and I'll pick him up tomorrow." I said to Jesse, halfway kicking myself.

 

I had no place to bring Buddy other than my vet for boarding.

 

It would be a tall order even to find a willing foster for Buddy considering the unpredictability of his health.

 

But, as matters turned out, I was amazingly lucky to find a very caring young woman willing to foster Buddy within a few days after bringing him to Dr. G. for boarding.

 

Christina was an experienced dog walker and was eager to help a rescued dog in need.

 

That was almost two months ago.

 

I had told Christina to call me in the event of any seizures or other problems with Buddy.

 

But, apparently over these past 7 weeks or so, there weren't any.

 

And while the one conversation I had with Christina since she took Buddy to foster was a positive one in terms of the dog's health and behavior, we nevertheless received no adoption inquiries on him.

 

That is, until yesterday.......

 

It was indeed unusual for a potential adopter to call on the basis of meeting one of our foster dogs in the street.

 

But, apparently Christina had my number on her and gave it to the interested couple.

 

All the doubts about "impulse adoptions" ran through my mind when first speaking with woman who identified herself as an attorney, living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

 

But, after some minutes, the situation began to actually sound promising.

 

"Jill" recently lost her cat of 16 years to illness and she and her boyfriend had considered adopting a dog.

They had just started to look on Petfinders.

 

But, it was seemingly "love at first sight" when they met Buddy while Christina walked him outside the park.

 

"He seems to have a wonderful temperament and he's so beautiful!" Jill said to me over the phone. "Both Ted and I think he'd be perfect for us."

 

As Christina was still with the couple while they made the phone call, I was able to arrange with all to meet later at Jill's apartment to do the adoption.

 

It was a pretty extraordinary -- and quick turn of circumstance.

 

Last night, I walked Tina, my dog through Central Park to the couple's elegant Upper West Side apartment.  Christina arrived a few minutes later with Buddy and some supplies.  The two dogs greeted each other while  the adults discussed adoption, care and other details.

 

About an hour later, Christina and I left feeling very good about the adoption that basically occurred out of the blue.

 

"Will you miss, Buddy?" I asked Christina.

 

"Yes, its very hard giving him up." she said. "He's really such a wonderful and sweet dog. But, I know its the goal of rescue to get great homes for them and I feel very good about these people.  I think Buddy will be happy."

 

I asked Christina if she was ready to immediately foster again, but she indicated she might need a little time.

 

Yes, sometimes, adoptions when they come, though welcomed and worked for, can also represent a time of some personal grief and sense of loss to the foster person.

 

I understand that as it took me some time to foster again after Baby, the delightful little Bichon mix was adopted some months back.  I had made the mistake of becoming too attached to him and actually mourned the night Baby was adopted -- and for some time after.

 

And so, I considered all of these things last night when walking back home through the park with my dog, Tina.

 

Animal rescue, fostering and adoptions is indeed, quite complicated and unpredictable.

 

But, ah, the utter delight when it all comes together as it did yesterday in this very unexpected, but wonderful adoption!

 

Who would ever think, "out of the blue" like that? 

 

Especially, for a dog I almost kicked myself for taking!

 

Go figure!   -- PCA

 

 

                                             *******