My husband and I are dog people. Oh, I love cats, too–but they don’t love me back–I’m terribly allergic even though I grew up with one as a child. Over the years we have been able to rescue some wonderful canine critters. We’ve had two or three sharing our lives at any given since we were married.
True. These animals sometimes come with health issues. Our first rescue had heart worms which we were able to have treated. Blondie was a Golden Retriever mix. She was a nice, calm dog that we thought would be perfect to help temper our very active Jack Russel Terrier puppy. When she recovered, she was almost as crazy as Ascot and the two of them became great buddies. She brought us so much comfort throughout the ten-plus years she shared our home.
Blondie
We got Dolli, our second rescue, when Blondie’s health started to fail. She also had health challenges, having been left on the streets of Reno to forage for herself. She had a history of pancreatitis. Dolli was only with us for five years. We learned she was older than we thought. An American Eskimo, apparently pure bred, she would push off signs of affection at first, but that quickly changed. We’d lost Ascot at age 16 two months before Blondie, so for a brief interlude, very brief, we were without a dog.
Dolli
David was reluctant to get another dog because of the pain of loss, but within two days he began sending me e-mails from petfinder.com with photos and bios of available dogs. Within one week of each other we welcomed our current pets: Sparky and Zoe.
Sparky and Zoe
I’m writing this, not so much to tell you about my “kids,” but to encourage pet adoption. A video from You Tube sent by our local humane society is what drove me to choose this topic. I realize that there are many reasons people have to relinquish their pets. My problem lies with those who just drop them off and leave them on their own. Here in Northern Nevada, heartless people will just drive them out to the surrounding desert and leave them to fend on their own. The odds are marginal since coyotes, snakes, lack of food and so many other hazards await them.
Our Humane Society is a no-kill shelter. If you have time, please check out this video. If you are able, consider adopting a pet, fostering, volunteering or financially supporting a rescue agency. If you need to relinquish a pet, please, please take him to a responsible shelter.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 