When my daughter was first born, she was a perfect angel as she slept during the day. At night, however, she’d howl non-stop. On my third no-sleep night with her, I started thinking, “This is not working. It is a mistake. I can probably put her up for adoption and a family more able to take care of her will give her a better home than I am able to do.”
Fast forward seventeen years. On Friday, I pick up Toby, my newly adopted Thai “Soi” (Street) dog, from his trainer, Alycia Hinton of Thinking Dogs (650-771-1859), where he stayed while my daughter and I were on vacation.
Alycia has an amazing ability to read a dog’s personality. Nine years earlier, she helped me understand Chocolate, my Yorkie, and his “Napoleon complex.” Alycia reported that Toby, while a wonderful dog, will never lose his deep connection to the street. She noticed that while they’d be out on walks, Toby would attempt to move both of them toward city traffic sounds. It’s unclear how much time he spent on the streets in Thailand, but it appears it was long enough for him to bond with the “life.” We talked about continuing his training to help him adapt to his new way of life off the streets, but she warned me to not let him run free as he just can’t be trusted right now when the open spaces might be calling to him.
On Saturday, Toby, Chocolate, and I are in an enclosed field near our home. There are three gates that open to the field, as well as three padlocked gates that have never been open. I’ve been going to the field regularly enough that I’m no longer in the habit of making sure the padlocked gates are really shut, I just know they are.
We’re in the field for about ten minutes when both Toby and I see one of these usually locked gates open. I quickly maneuver to get to the gate before he does, trying to distract him with a treat, ball, and a playful voice. He pays no attention; he sees the open gate and is fixated. He gets there long before I do. Once he’s out, I see he’s moved into another area that is enclosed on three sides. If I can secure the open side, we’ll be fine.
He sniffs around and sees the open terrain just behind me. Like a bullet, he dashes past me, out of my reach to slow him down. He is now racing up the parking lot to the back of a neighboring school. I know I can’t outrun him so I call Chocolate and we get in the car. We drive to the back lot and I call him. He’s not listening at all. He then climbs a tall set of back stairs and disappears into the community.
There’s one additional wrinkle. Toby’s collar was dirty due to all his activity at Alycia’s so I decided to wash it. He had no identification on him. I now have a dog that is loose in the neighborhood and there’s nothing showing who he is at all. What horrible timing!
I consider taking the time to file a lost pet report via PetALERTZ or try chasing him down first. I choose the latter, since he’s still relatively nearby. I drive around to the adjoining neighborhood and drive the local streets. There is no sign of him. I ask a woman walking her dog if she might have seen him. She hasn’t. My heart sinks. I am tired, jetlagged, and scared for him.
Then my brain starts racing. “This is not working. It is a mistake. I can probably put him up for adoption and a family more able to take care of him will give him a better home than I am able to do.”
I start to drive home to file the PetALERTZ report. As I drive by the field again, it occurs to me: a dog that can survive on the streets is a smart dog. He loves us, and wants to be with us. He’s just doing what he’s grown up with – taking a big run. When he’s done, he’ll be right back here at the field, wanting to go home with us. I wait, certain that he’ll be there soon. After what seemed like an eternity, there’s no sign of him. I’m heartbroken. I start to drive home.
I’m not even out of the parking lot when he comes running up beside the car, happy as can be. Within a minute, he’s in his usual spot in the back seat and we are all headed home, safe.
This will not be the last time he gets loose, I’m certain. Right now, I’m not even sure what our exact next steps will be, but I realize that whenever a new family member arrives, there are challenges as adjustments are made. Current news stories talk about shelters becoming overburdened by abandoned pets. Much of it is due to the foreclosure crisis, but much is also due to people adopting pets and finding the challenges of another member of the household too much to deal with. So the pet gets surrendered.
I didn’t land up putting my daughter up for adoption, and I don’t plan to do so for Toby, either. But the thoughts have helped me think things through and get me to the next step of keeping us together as a family. It may not be easy, but I’m convinced that the rewards are worth it.
