Marley and Me

It seems appropriate as the year is coming to a close, and the lab movie is hitting theatres to share my own 'Marley and Me' story of 2008.

There have been so many dogs I have loved in my lifetime, and having spent ten years working at a humane society I think this number is higher than it is for most people.
This March though, I meet someone special. At 7:00 am this particular Sunday, I walked into the dog recovery ward ready to tackle yet another morning of poop scoopin' and spraying out kennels for the next three hours before we opened. I said hello to my new furry pals for this day but paused in front of kennel 93. Hung on the door was the familiar "Caution Dangerous Animal" sign but behind it I was surprised to see a big floppy golden doodle. I have seen many a scarred pittie or fierce chihuahua with such a sign, but on her cage it was out of place. However, she was crouched in the back of her kennel, alert barking at me and letting out a low growl. Two things which don't usually lead to a happy ending in a shelter, where tough decisions have to be made. "Oh stop being such a silly grumper" I said to her; "doodles aren't grumpy, no one believes you, miss!" and I tossed a few treats in front of her face. Throughout the morning, I kept stopping by to talk to her. She won me over quickly, and after four tries had stopped growling. My ninth try, she stopped aggressively barking at me and was creeping closer towards the front of the kennel to say hello. Three hours later, I broke the rules and opened up her kennel. The moment I touched the door, she ran to the back, but didn't growl. I crept in and knelt down so I wouldn't t intimidate her.
"hello, grumper-doodle!" I squeaked in my best dog-friendly voice. Suddenly, the shy girl's eye's light up and she bounded over to me, rolling on her back for a belly rub while wiggling in glee. I was sold. "I knew you couldn't be so mean.", I told her.

Later that day, I looked up her story. She had been a $1500 lawn ornament, an symbol of success and completion, rather than a family member, which explained her behavior in her kennel. I found out that she wouldn't qualify for our adoption center, and the behavior team had decided to contact golden retriever rescue of the Rockies to give her a second chance, rather than euthanize her. Because rescues are run out of individual foster homes, animals are much less terrified and stressed, and the aggressive stuff you see in a kennel goes away.

Three years before, I had rescued another golden retriever (Phin) from drowning in the Florida keys, and brought him back home to find his new life. GRRR had helped me then, and I had been listed as one of their foster volunteers. When a GRRR volunteer came to get her I found out that she was going home with Mary, the director, who already had over 15 foster dogs at her home. I jumped at the opportunity to take this girl, and for the next month she lived with me instead.

Marley's new mom is always convinced that I saved her, but in reality, Marley is the one who saved me. Never underestimate the power of an animal to open up your heart. With Marley's help, I realized how I had been tolerating a solitary life that in reality I detested. Like this sweet girl, my purpose in life is to always love and be loved a lot back. To be wrapped up in joyful affection and play, and spend considerable time snuggling. She and I are kindred spirits, my best friend of all the dogs I have ever known. In reaching out to help her during her own time of isolation and fear, I was also extending a hand to my own inner goldendoodle. The good karma of this act (combined with a lot of chanting) helped me finally surmount my own fear, welcome new love into my life, and witness my own buddha nature first hand.

So if you want to change your life in 2009, go foster an animal, I promise it will be worth your while.

love,
Janey