Someone’s Heart Dog
Volunteer Joe King shared with us a letter to a friend, about his time shared with a special dog who needed a little extra love. This is truly a story of our mission:
Every dog person has one “Heart Dog” (a dog that, well, steals your heart) in his life. For me it was Sophie, a German Shepherd / Chow mix. Sophie was two when I adopted her and, being a warrior, she made it to the age of seventeen. During her tenure as Head Canine, she oversaw a marriage, a home re-model, the launching of three kids into adult life, and the management of two subordinate canines - all while while guarding the home, her dependents, and assorted vehicles, and all while insisting that we live up to her high standards.
The last time I cried was when Sophie died, about 10 years ago. But I nearly cried yesterday. Once again, there was a dog at the bottom of it.
I volunteer at The Blue Mountain Humane Society. It’s a warm environment – but some days it’s also a tough environment. They are under-funded, staff is pulled in many directions, and they’re absorbing stray and abandoned animals from all over the county and beyond. Landing in the shelter is inherently traumatic for any animal, let alone for those showing signs of prior neglect or abuse.
A few days ago I clocked in to my shift of walking dogs, and drew Dahlia, a young pitbull mix recently brought in as a stray. She was timid, but I leashed and coaxed her out of the kennel. We made it about fifty yards before she froze up entirely: tail between legs, hunched down to almost ground level, and trembling violently. I sat down near her (it was frickin’ cold, by the way) and tried to coax her into motion. No luck. After about fifteen minutes, I called for reinforcements from the BMHS staff. They were great, but it took three of us about a half hour to get Dahlia back inside, a few inches at a time (you shouldn’t physically drag a traumatized dog, and I couldn’t carry her because she’d just had surgery). We all felt terrible for her.
That was Monday. I made it a point to drop by the shelter every day this week, go into her kennel, sit down and talk to Dahlia. The format was that I’d speak to her for a minute, then silently read a paragraph from the book I’d brought, then deliver a treat. Rinse. Repeat. This went on for about 30 minutes, by which time I’d lost all feeling in my feet sitting coiled up on a cement floor in a 30” x 70” kennel…and the thought occurred that given the nature of what that floor had experienced, it might be best to go home and burn my clothes.
On Tuesday, Dahlia cowered in the far corner but eventually let me reach over and pet her forehead from a distance. On Wednesday, she let me get a bit closer and deliver some scratching to her head and shoulders. Thursday was better – she got close enough that I could pet her comfortably, and she was no longer trembling. Yesterday though, she greeted me at the door and did not shy away when I entered the kennel. When I folded myself up on that concrete floor Dahlia walked right up into my grill to receive scritches. And after about 10 minutes, this large canine crawled into my lap, and I got all choked up.
Good girl, Dahlia. You are on the way to becoming someone’s heart dog.
If you would like to make a difference in someone’s story like Joe King has, check out the volunteer opportunities we have available, consider fostering an animal in need in your home, or adopting a pet like Dahlia.
How Dahlia greets a friend now - just a week later.
Dahlia and her sister Aster came to Blue Mountain Humane Society after being spotted hiding amidst the materials at the Walla Walla Foundry. Joe’s story is the foundation for both dogs’ continued openness in making human friends. They both arrived very fearful, but with the love and care of volunteers and staff, they have both decided they love snuggles and treats, and would like to be lap dogs. They’re both about 9 months old, are gentle, sweet souls, and would like to receive all the love of a forever home. They’ll need a little more help learning that the world isn’t as scary as it seems (for example, washing machines seem sinister), but they are already blossoming like flowers in spring.
