About an old dog.
Yesterday afternoon, I went to volunteer at the humane society for a while again. I really like going there, since none of those dogs really have a home or any family to speak of, and any bit of attention they get totally makes their day. Some of them are hopeless cases too, who might have a date with an injection sooner or later, so I hate to see them spending what could be their last days, sitting around staring at the wall.
This time I took out an older dog, part labrador and part shar pei of some sort, I think. She was a bit high-strung, but she was sitting in her cage looking so bored that I couldn't help but take her for a bit. We went for a long walk out in the back, down a muddy trail in the woods. She turned out to be very friendly, but also very excited and inquisitive to the point where I couldn't tell if she even noticed I was there (she was too busy running and sniffing and getting herself all muddy). It was good to see her out having fun in the fresh air for a while. The thing that really struck me, though, was how she behaved at the end of our walk. As we got back near the building, an odd-looking guy started approaching us (I say odd for lack of any better way to describe him. I'm sure he was probably a nice person, but he had a look about him that reminded me of a drug dealer or something, and he was just muttering to himself insanely) and the dog didn't care for him at all. Before I knew what was happening, she turned around, looked at me, gently body-checked me back a step or two, and then took some steps forward on the leash and started baying and showing her teeth. When he came closer, she body-checked me back again, and then took her place between me and the guy and started barking/showing her teeth again.
After all this, I could only conclude that she was trying to defend me. Why defend a stranger you've only known for an hour though? During our walk she didn't seem to notice I was even there. Maybe she had no reason to do it, but maybe she did. Maybe in her world, even just an hour of kindness is worth defending, even if it's just a stranger who took her out to play. I don't know.
I do know one thing, though. I love dogs. :)
http://www.cahs-lansing.org/PetGalleryDownloads/dog1.htm
(Her name is Milly. She's on this page if anybody wants to adopt her.)
This time I took out an older dog, part labrador and part shar pei of some sort, I think. She was a bit high-strung, but she was sitting in her cage looking so bored that I couldn't help but take her for a bit. We went for a long walk out in the back, down a muddy trail in the woods. She turned out to be very friendly, but also very excited and inquisitive to the point where I couldn't tell if she even noticed I was there (she was too busy running and sniffing and getting herself all muddy). It was good to see her out having fun in the fresh air for a while. The thing that really struck me, though, was how she behaved at the end of our walk. As we got back near the building, an odd-looking guy started approaching us (I say odd for lack of any better way to describe him. I'm sure he was probably a nice person, but he had a look about him that reminded me of a drug dealer or something, and he was just muttering to himself insanely) and the dog didn't care for him at all. Before I knew what was happening, she turned around, looked at me, gently body-checked me back a step or two, and then took some steps forward on the leash and started baying and showing her teeth. When he came closer, she body-checked me back again, and then took her place between me and the guy and started barking/showing her teeth again.
After all this, I could only conclude that she was trying to defend me. Why defend a stranger you've only known for an hour though? During our walk she didn't seem to notice I was even there. Maybe she had no reason to do it, but maybe she did. Maybe in her world, even just an hour of kindness is worth defending, even if it's just a stranger who took her out to play. I don't know.
I do know one thing, though. I love dogs. :)
http://www.cahs-lansing.org/PetGalleryDownloads/dog1.htm
(Her name is Milly. She's on this page if anybody wants to adopt her.)