Frankly, it was working PERFECTLY! I saw how much work it was, just walking these dogs and helping them out, 2 - 3 times a week. I finally had decided I was okay without a dog in our house - we have Colby Jack and Rosalina. Maybe, instead, we needed another CAT! YES! Because, I "get" cats, I've owned cats, I understand cats!
I LOVE and adore animals - pretty much all - even mice (in a cage - not running around my house), hamsters, anything furry. I like them. I even like snakes, although, not enough to own a big one in a cage that I have to feed live critters, ha.
But, that being said, I was observing how much more work dogs are over cats. Cats - you feed them, you clean their litter box, when they bother to come by you, you let them rub against you and purr. Easy.
Taking care of dogs, I noticed, was a HUGE difference. You need to train them. You need to let them know who is boss. Cats don't care if you THINK you're the boss - they'll just play ya for the treats.
Enter Ruxpin - a ginormous (how do you spell that new, fake word anyway?) doggy of mixed breed - not a surrender, but a stray. Ruxpin would always seem to reach out to me when I walked by, and I would always stop by his cage, and looks at those brown eyes and wonder what this big boy would do if I dared enter that cage. Finally, one day, when my hubby was with me, I decided to give it a try - the description said he was a big baby who loved laps - sounded nifty!
Well, long story short - I fell in love. What I fell in love with MOST was the way he handled my 6 year old - he rolled over on his big, placing big, giant fluffy paws on my son's chest. He giggled, burying his face into this uknown dog's chest, and the dog fairly purred - if dogs could purr, he would have purred.
Then, a gal came into the large dog area, handing out bones! "OH DEAR" I thought - we're goign to get chomped! She handed me the bone - remember to completely remain calm, I offered it to this huge dog, with big jaws! I did not feel him remove the bone - he did it so gently. WHAT? ? ? ?
Loves my kid, gentle as a - I don't know what - not any of the other large dogs we had walked or played with! We took him outside, he didn't pull a whole lot, which also surprised me. All the other big dogs would nearly have me on my bum everytime.
Our only discussion as a family was for me to say to my husband, "I think we need to seriously consider this dog." The description was Newfoundland/Australian Shepherd mix. I looked them up and both demeanors certainly seemed to fit this big ole Teddy Bear.
The next day, hubby said, "So, which cat are we taking to meet Ruxpin to see how he does with cats?"
That day, with the assistance of a good friend who came to check him out, too, we made the decision to change our lives forever!
We brought Teddy home after the shelter folks checked him out in the cat colonies. This dog, who could snap a cat's neck in half with one gulp - just went to the ground and tried taking a nap, from their description. Even with a cat spitting and hissing at him - he laid down, and that was it.
We knew he was to be "our baby".
We have been volunteering less than a month, lol.
But, we also are NOT DONE with our volunteering. We are taking a few days off, to get acclimated to our new dog, then, next week, back to 2 - 3 days a week of helping walk the dogs at the Shelter. I find myself missing those dogs and cats, and even wondering how many will be left after this coming weekend. With the weather warming up, and people venturing back outside after a LONG, cold, cooped up winter, I am guessing lots of doggies will find homes - hopefully FOREVER homes and not short-term homes.
Here is TEddy Ruxpin :
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