Awards Day

This being Award Season, today I'd like to present some awards to our beloved and available dogs.

First, the award for Best Eye Contact Maintained During a Walk. And the award goes to...Tanner! He's a Lab Retriever mix. Tanner earned this award by virtue of his consistent eye contact during our 3 loops around the park. Every few strides, he'd look up at me for direction and just to "check in." This is a difficult but prized skill to train a dog. So believe me when I say that Tanner's got da skills!

Photo evidence below, taken during actual walk...

Now let's meet the recipient of our Exceeding Expectations the Farthest award. Tigger is a brown brindle Catahoula Leopard Hound mix. He has been noted by other volunteers as mouthy. Mouthiness is when a dog uses his mouth not to bite but to to grab the leash, your pant leg, even your hand or arm as you try to suit him up for a walk. That's bad manners, and we don't want that! However, Tigger behaved so well in his room, where we met for the first time, and during his entire walk that he had this award in the bag with ease. He was visibly excited to get out for the walk, sure, yet he minded his manners the entire time. This was clear even from a distance--a citizen approached us in the park to pet him during our walk and Tigger played the perfect SPCA ambassador. He even sat first, without a treat or anything!

Next up is the Academic Achievement award. And the winner is...Hildy! She's a Hound/mix and an Academy Dog. That means she's been selected to receive private training from a dog trainer in our Academy. Her expected graduation date is March 5th...Unless she's like me, in which case she'll get booted out senior year, move to the mean streets of Montreal to play cheesy 80's cover songs in bars to drunken American Culture-craving-Canadians, then take classes part-time at the community college to try to bring up her G.P.A., apply to be reinstated, return to the program on academic probation, and finally graduate a full 3 years late along with just one stoner kid still left over from her original freshman class.

But don't worry, I don't think Hildy's anything like me (academically speaking).

She'll be available upon graduation. If you'd like to take her home, talk to us here at the SPCA and you can meet her and make all the necessary arrangements in advance!

As of 2/22/08:

Tigger...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Tanner...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION.

Hildy...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION on March 5th.

Presidential Dogs

It's President's Day! It's a day off for many folks, but doggies still gotta get their walks.

When it comes to dogs wearing those protective plastic cones ("Elizabethan collars", "plastic lampshades") on their heads, our first instinct--well, mine, at least--is to recall the jokes we've heard about them and perhaps add a joke or two to the list. On second thought, I don't remember ever hearing an actual joke about those things, but they just look so funny. I mean, c'mon, it's hard to look dignified when you've got one of those on your noggin.

Then I met Callie. Sporting a protective cone on her pretty little head, Callie taught me something today. She taught me about limitations. The cone became the limitation that defined her awesomeness. Callie doesn't seem to know that she's got the cone on her head, doesn't seem to care, and exhibits a lust for life that no cone could hinder. As soon as we got the leash on her, Callie was so excited and happy she made a push for the door, followed by the "skreeeet" sound of the cone bending to her will. This approach continued outdoors, where Callie investigated every shrub and fire hydrant she desired without giving an apparent thought to the cone going "skreeeet" as it tried to assert its physical space.

I think we've all learned something today. Callie doesn't let her limitations get in her way. Maybe, just maybe, we shouldn't focus on our limitations either and instead put our energy into achieving our goals and living life to its fullest.

If you could use a daily, living example of what The Big Lebowski describes as "a life of achievement...challenges met, competitors bested, obstacles overcome," then Callie just may be your future bestest little buddy.

As of 2/19/08:
Callie...AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION pending a medical exam.