Other People's Kids

Puppy Lovin'

I have a soft spot for dogs. The bigger the better, but really all dogs are just the best animals on earth in my book.

We occasionally volunteer at the Humane Society and participate in their events. They're not an Earth-shatteringly important charity next to ones like Compassion International or the Cystic Fibrosis foundation, but they're a great outfit nonetheless.

The local HS shelter where we volunteer is fairly new, and houses something like 15 dogs and a like number of cats maximum, though it's usually quite a few less than that. Last weekend at the dog walk we heard there was a "monster dog", a "huge" black lab at the shelter that had just come in. They were calling him "big Ben" or "gentle Ben", and I just had to meet him...

Well, he was big all right, but he was no monster. I know monster dogs when I see them, and that wasn't it. he probably wasn't even 100 pounds...though he was a REAL lover, and I could easily be happy with such a great dog.

I did manage to spend time with a number of the other dogs there, including Boscoe, who was the dog I happened to be walking on Saturday. If anybody reading this is anywhere near west-central MN and you're looking for a great dog, this dog is one you've got to check out. He's some sort of weird Great Dane cross, with one blue eye and one brown. He's got an incredibly sweet disposition and while he's a little larger than average, his build is actually pretty slight so he doesn't have a lot of power like a Saint or a Lab might have. He's young, he hasn't been wrecked in any way and he really, really needs a good home. I might even consider adopting him myself if Tasha shuffles off this mortal coil before Boscoe is gone.

Anyway, that was our family activity for tonight. "Tammy", The Wife and I went and petted puppies. So simple, and yet so effective. Because now it sounds like "Tammy" is interested in volunteering at the shelter and helping with the cats.

Bingo.

Y'know, next to "Josie", this one seems incredibly easy to steer in the right direction. I wonder when she drops the good-girl act, grows fangs, and sinks them into my neck. Because after "Josie" and "Angel", that seems more like a normal thing to see out of a foster kid than interest in volunteering for a charity.

Heh. Not really. But it's been a rough road, and it's nice to come to a smoother stretch, if only for awhile.

posted by Dan @ 6:15 PM