Why we foster, Part two: Clyde

We picked up 6-8 year old Clyde, at a local pound in June of 2009. He had been placed in the night drop pen along with an older lab, no note, no tags, no goodbye to a long time friend. Until we picked him up, we did not even know that the shelters had outside pens where people could just drive up and drop an unwanted dog. Drive through dog disposal, the ultimate convenience for a disposable society. Clyde had been in a small pen, sleeping on concrete floors for seven days, our rescue had a hold on him but he had to wait for the required holding period in case someone changed their minds and claimed him. When we went in the pound, they just told us a pen number and pointed back to the confinement area, we found him in a small run. You can not believe the excitement he showed as he welcomed us and saw a leash. Because of crowding or because of his bad knee, Clyde was in a pen that did not allow him much room. When we walked him out the door we had to prop him up, his legs did not work from the lack of exercise in the small pen. Once he was lifted into the car, he placed his head on the seat rest where we could pet him on the way.  His tail beat constantly all the way to the veterinarian clinic for his checkup. His physical exam disclosed that he would need a knee operation for a torn ACL and he had an ear infection. We headed home with his tail beating like a drum on the back of our car seats. He walked into the house and past the cat without batting an eye, clearly he was familiar with cats. He went in and out of the dog door in minutes, he had used a dog door before. It was immediately clear that Clyde was a toy hound, he had been toy deprived for the ten days he spent in the doggie jail. When he came into our home, he found the toy bin and he emptied it day after day. He would take out toys, carry them, then drop them to go back and get a new one. He loved balls and would fetch like the professional he was. Within a week he was chasing balls and running again, not very far or fast because of his knee, but running none the less. His tail never stopped, he was a very happy boy.

No one knew what name he had before that fateful night. We tried to find his name, we called “here Rusty, here Red, here Fred, here Bill, here Rex, here Pete, here Max, and here Sam".  No matter what name we called, he came. You could call him Sally and he would come running. Finally the rescue decided he would be a “Clyde”.

Clyde was confused, he had done everything his owners asked. He sat when asked, he came when called, he walked nicely on a leash, he did not chase cats or tear up cushions. He went potty outside when told, no spots on the carpet with him. He knew the rules, he knew what they wanted from him. He knew how to be the perfect family best friend. He had done nothing wrong, he had brought so much love to his home and family. Then one evening he was taken for a car ride in the dark of night, at the other end of the ride he was placed in a empty drop pen at a dog pound, a click of a closing gate was his goodbye after years of service and love. He was such a wonderful companion that we knew someone had to be very desperate to drop him in a tiny cage in the dark of night without a goodbye note or a final assurance that he would be cared for. Maybe his family felt they could not afford the knee operation he would need before he could run again, maybe they had lost their home, maybe they just lost interest in their best friend of so many years. A disposable friend in a disposable society.

He was placed in a Forever Home in mid August. His new family knew how to spoil a Golden, they promised he would never again be locked up, he would be cared for and loved for the rest of his days. His new home had squirrels in the trees for him to chase, and there was a very nice Golden lady to be his companion. When we sent him to his new Forever Home, we sent along some of his favorite toys, a blue football and a few tennis balls, so he would never be without his most beloved toys again.  They were prepared to nurse him back to health after his knee operation. Clyde was home again. Have a great life, Clyde.

We have helped to rescue many different breeds of dogs, we have enjoyed being involved with them all. Labs, Poodles, St Bernards, Aussies, Shelties, and mixed. We were just asked to do a home inspection for a Rottie rescue. There are so many ways you can help in rescue. Volunteers transport, they do home inspections, they update web sites, they organize events, they review adoption applications, they walk kennel dogs, they take phone calls, they look for postings on bulletin boards of dogs that may be unwanted and they monitor local pounds for dogs that need assistance. There are so many ways you can help, we hope you will step forward and help your local rescue. Help dogs like Clyde and Mogley live to see another day, live to find another home.

This is why we volunteer to rescue.

Mogley G. Retriever