Post #10 - A Rescue Story: Sunday, June 12th, 2011

Buster, just too cute in his shades!

Tonight was a really special night. It was a milestone of sorts I guess. Tonight, Angie, Val and I left the kennel with HUGE smiles on our faces! Tonight, we had taken all 5 dogs together on their very first walk around the block. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Tonight, we were just 3 friends taking our dogs out for a walk together. We weren't rescuers or AC Officers, and these weren't sad or neglected dogs. We were just regular people taking regular (albeit stunningly gorgeous!!) dogs out for a stroll. Man it felt good! We were all a little uncoordinated to begin with - the dogs aren't all that great on leash yet, but we got into a groove. Angie took Tina and Queenie, Val worked on Gunner, and I had Buster and Georgia. That first Monday when we had gone to wash the dogs (was it really just 2 weeks ago??) we had tried to walk Buster and Georgia down the street. Admittedly it was hotter than hot, but the weather notwithstanding, the dogs wanted NOTHING to do with leaving the property. Buster was so out of shape that we only got across the street before he had to sit down. And Georgia was just freaked out altogether. But tonight... Tonight it was a completely different story!! All the dogs were pulling - not to get back to the kennel, but rather to get out in front! I nearly burst out crying when Buster pulled me over to a tree to sniff and then mark. Yep - the sight of a dog peeing nearly brought me to tears!! You have to understand though, we have watched these dogs go from empty shells - where nothing piqued their interest or curiosity - to the point now where, to a stranger's eye, they look like every day normal dogs. THIS is what makes it all worthwhile. As Angie said - this was the pay off for all the dog poop she'd had to shovel over the last month!

So off we went on our tour of the neighborhood. At one point Angie decided to jog a little with Queenie and Tina. Gunner wanted to follow, so he and Val started to jog and at that point, Buster decided he needed to be in front and so he started to pull me to go faster. Neither Georgia nor I felt like jogging, but Buster is over 100lbs, so when he said "faster" we pretty much had to oblige. Looking back we must have looked so funny. Not exactly New York Marathon material :) We found a tennis ball along the route and Angie bounced it to see if anyone was interested. Gunner sniffed and licked it, so we took it back with us and Val is going to see if, once Gunner is settled, whether or not he'd like to play with it. Thus far in our work with these dogs we haven't even considered playing with them. It's all been about cleaning them, medicating them, planning the next move in their care. Tonight was just about enjoying them - and seeing them enjoy themselves. We came across some cats and squirrels - all at distances, so it wasn't easy to tell if any of the dogs had any interest in these other critters. We'll find out more in this area of of their personality when I take Neville - our test cat - down to meet all the dogs! That should be an interesting blog!!!

Georgia, Buster and I cut early from the walk as they were getting tired and we thought it best to increase their exercise tolerance slowly. Angie, Tina, Queenie, Val and Gunner however kept walking. Apparently, the further they walked, the better Gunner got on leash. He's a smart boy, so we know it won't be long before he gets the hang of "heel". Along the way, Gunner came upon a sprinkler in a yard.  Gunner was so inquisitive that he had to go check it out.  He stood there getting sprayed and tried to lick the water coming out of it.  Yep - it's the little things that mean so much! Everyone got lots of cookies and kisses and hugs when they got back to the kennel. It was hard leaving them there when we had to go home, but at least tonight we knew that they had gotten some exercise and had seen new things that they could think about during the late night hours.