In From the Cold

Shoe??? What shoe???

Beginning Week 2

Someone left the north gate open last night, and an arctic air mass came roaring in on 30 mph winds. That's what's known as a blue norther in these parts, but seeing as how it blew in after dark, there's just no telling what color it was.

Opal Hound and her little buddy Beano have been confined indoors more than any of us really like. The dogs enjoy their romps in the back yard, exchanging rumors on the Bow-Wow grapevine with other hounds of the hood. Nor do we two-leggeds have to spend quite so much time "domesticating" a 50-pound puppy with a penchant for chewing when we can declare "exercise time" in the yard.

This chewing thing, common among puppies, did not manifest itself until the past couple of days, right at one week since she checked in to this fostering canine bed & breakfast. Along with the chewing--first on Annie's slippers--came exploring under our bed and snooping into nooks and crannies in the back catch-all room and closets. We're pretty sure she bribes the cats to open the doors for her!

Opal, I'm told, also whines briefly at the front door any time I leave and do not take her, and she usually come bounding across the hardwood to greet me when I return. I'm certainly no dog expert, but to me these recent behaviors indicate Opal Hound is feeling "at home".

Damn dog!

On the one hand, I'm thrilled she is settling in and feeling comfortable. She is a great dog, deserving of a great home. What she doesn't know, however, is that she is not there yet. This place to which she is growing more and more accustomed is a way station at best.

So begin the separation pangs.

She had a home once upon a time. Then for reasons we will never know, she lost that home, ending up in a shelter, anxious and frightened.

Now we have returned her to a happier place. She's playful, often more playful than Beano cares for. Her appetite is healthy, even if we can't turn our backs on the kitchen counters when preparing meals. And she's feeling safe and secure enough to be the puppy she still is. Never mind she's bigger than most Shetland ponies!

Tearing it up out back in warmer fall days...like yesterday!

That all changes in under two weeks when she will leave this place she has come to know as home. We can only hope "our" Opal Girl--who's real name is secretly Olive--finds a final, forever happy place after her long trek to New York.

I don't know how long dogs remember. I do know, though, that when she boards that transport one slobber soaked, eagerly chewed gray leather slipper will go with her. I can only hope it helps. 

It's like sleeping with a deer!!

Day Two, morning of...

4 am: Beano starts his let-me-out-please whine.... Wait 15 to see if he means it... He does.

I get up on the third whine, open his crate and redirect him from our warm bed to the cold back door. Waiting in the still-dark utility room for Beano to do his thing, it occurs to me that I can't recall how Beano learned to accept his crate. I have no recollection of the process. It's like the memory card for that process has been removed from cerebral storage. The thought is mildly worrisome for about a minute and a half.

Meanwhile, Opal passed the first night in a strange room and a borrowed crate without a whimper. The girl is no whiner. I know I should let her out for a break, too, but it's two hours before alarm time. I know I can get Beano back in his bed. I have no assurance with Opal.

Seems to me that our species, we so-called wise men, think of ourselves more highly than we ought. We are human! Self-aware! Tool Maker! Builder of Empires!! THINKERS!!! In the eyes and minds of dogs, however, we are just another dog!

What is man without the beasts?

If all the beasts were gone,

men would die from a great loneliness of spirit.

For whatever happens to the beasts,

soon happens to man.

All things are connected.

~ Chief Seattle

Later.... 5:15 or so. I'm in the kitchen, fixing up breakfasts all around, and I hear the sound of a small moose galumphing across the floor and bounding to the bed.

OH MY GOD, IT'S LIKE SLEEPING WITH A DEER!!! Annie shouts, laughing.

So much for not jumping on the bed....

Look what followed us home!!!

Opal found us on Facebook.

Opal (front) and Beano take a brief break from The Sniffing Game"

One of the Humane Society of Wichita County's best friends posted Opal Hound's pic on her page with a brief synopsis of her plight. That dog had me at first glance.

We do not know much about her back story. And we have a little over two weeks to build a file about her before she goes to a permanent home in New York.

NEW YORK CITY!??!

No, thank heavens. I wouldn't wish relocation to New York City on .... a cat! No, Opal Hound is destined for the upstate woods and countryside.

Our mission--before the transport departs--is to learn as much as we can about Opal's likes and dislikes, her level of training, her habits and behaviors. Is she housebroken? How does she relate to other creatures on her turf? What is her tolerance for small humans totally lacking in social skills?

And between bouts of observing and reporting, get her crate-trained for the long relocation road trip ahead.

Crate training may be the biggie here. She has no love for The Box. That was evident when we loaded her aboard the Blazer to bring her home, and again, just moments ago, putting her to bed in her new (to her) borrowed bedroom.

For all her dislike of being crated, though, she is profoundly silent about it. Once inside, she accepts her fate, calmly and quietly. So somehow we need to broaden her acceptance to entering the crate mostly on her own without gentle-yet-assertive persuasion. 


So as Day One comes to a close, what have we discovered?

Opal is a sweet-tempered dog. She gets on well with other animals, although she is a little leery of cats.

"She has obviously had dealings with cats at some point," Mrs. Miller adds. "She is leery, but not the least bit aggressive toward them. She hasn't shown any signs of aggression toward anything."

Annie also noted that she car rides well.

She likes playing ball even though her ball-handling skills are slightly north of tripping over her own feet.

She is keenly alert to her surroundings, her attention peeked at any new sound.

"Even when other dogs are barking, Opal remains quiet," Annie says. "This may change as she becomes more accustomed to her new surroundings, but so far she has not barked at anything."

Brought into a strange environment, her first task is a thorough investigation of the turf.

She is affectionate. Wouldn't take much to make a lap dog of her, but it would require one strong and ample lap! She does have a desire to jump up on you once she gets to know you a bit, but she remains hesitant to do so. When she does climb into your face, she is easily dissuaded from doing so.

She is able to negotiate terms with at least one other dog sharing her "home" turf.

As for the cats...well, she'll just wait for them to come around to her.