We got the girl dog. Her name is Pancakes. My computer isn't letting me load a picture, but she's cute.
So far, we know that she was given people food (she is quite the little beggar, but we hope to break her of it soon!) and that she is interested in getting Rooster to play.
We got her a crate and a bed and a toy fox. We still have to get her a collar and leash (the small family-run store didn't have any the right size for her teeny neck) and then we will all live happily ever after.
Off to watch her tear-ass around the living room!
Showing posts with label DOGS ALL THE DOGS SO MUCH DOG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DOGS ALL THE DOGS SO MUCH DOG. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Because no one told me to shut up about this: A long-ish post about the pound
I think the pound attracts crazy people.
Yesterday when I got there, the clerk at the desk was clearly irritated and clearly had told the woman in front of her the same information a whole lot of times already. There was a Hispanic woman there to surrender a pit bull puppy, maybe 8 months old. Apparently it was her son's dog, but the son moved out and couldn't take the dog to the apartment because it's a pit bull, and the mom told us all that she hadn't signed up to raise no dog. More than once, she told the dog to sit about a dozen times in English, then about seven times in Spanish, then pushed down on its butt until it sort-of sat, then proudly told us all that the dog was bilingual. I was like, Bitch, that dog just ignored you in two languages. She seemed to think the discussion with the clerk was some sort of performance art, and kept mugging for those of us waiting in line.
So the woman wanted to surrender the puppy, but didn't want it to end up being put to sleep if no one adopted it. She wanted the pound to just give it back if no one took him. The clerk explained, wearily, that she had already explained that surrendering the dog means surrendering all rights to the dog. She added that she had already explained the evaluation process and that she couldn't guarantee that the puppy would be a candidate for adoption (it's based on health, temperament, and something else but I forget what) and that IF it were adoptable this woman could be placed on the list to adopt it, but couldn't have them just call her and let her know if no one adopted him. Through all of these patient explanations, the woman continued talking over the clerk and repeating that it was her son's dog, and she didn't want him to be put to sleep, and so on. I got the feeling that this interaction had been going on for a while.
So FINALLY the clerk convinces the woman that if anything is going to happen, it needs to happen now because there are other people waiting. So the woman surrenders the dog - his name is Two-Tone, she had told us about nine times, but she calls him "Toot" - and insists on walking him back to the door to the animal-holding area.
So then the next people in line, also Hispanic, tell her they'll adopt the dog. My Spanish is elementary at best, but I'm certain the woman had said something to the man about being there for a cat, not a dog. The clerk was like, are you shitting me? The clerk has to call to the people in back to bring the dog back out, and the woman just hands the dog over to them. I'm pretty sure that wasn't strictly following the pound's policies about surrender and stuff, but I'm also pretty sure the clerk was mentally weighing the options of following protocol vs. getting this dog and woman out the door, without a reason for the woman to call every day for the next two weeks.
So then we wait while a man asks about becoming a volunteer and starts filling out his application. He interrupts the clerk accepting a surrender of a stray cat so he can ask what the question about "have you ever been convicted of a crime" is asking. The clerk just sort of stares at him for a second, so he continues: "Like, do they mean just convictions? What if you have something, like, pending, or if there was an arrest but no charges were pressed? Or if the charges were dropped?" There's another pause, and the clerk tells him that Animal Services is a department of the City Police Department, so they will do a full background check, so why doesn't he just write down anything he knows they'd find out in a background check.
During all of this, there are constant phone calls, which the clerk takes while still trying to deal with the people at the counter, and volunteers walking in and out with dogs, and prospective adopters wandering through, and constant barking, and stuff. It's a madhouse in there. No wonder the employees all seem so frazzled.
Have you ever adopted from a pound? Have you ever worked or volunteered in one? Are my observations about a higher-than-average level of the crazy correct?
Yesterday when I got there, the clerk at the desk was clearly irritated and clearly had told the woman in front of her the same information a whole lot of times already. There was a Hispanic woman there to surrender a pit bull puppy, maybe 8 months old. Apparently it was her son's dog, but the son moved out and couldn't take the dog to the apartment because it's a pit bull, and the mom told us all that she hadn't signed up to raise no dog. More than once, she told the dog to sit about a dozen times in English, then about seven times in Spanish, then pushed down on its butt until it sort-of sat, then proudly told us all that the dog was bilingual. I was like, Bitch, that dog just ignored you in two languages. She seemed to think the discussion with the clerk was some sort of performance art, and kept mugging for those of us waiting in line.
So the woman wanted to surrender the puppy, but didn't want it to end up being put to sleep if no one adopted it. She wanted the pound to just give it back if no one took him. The clerk explained, wearily, that she had already explained that surrendering the dog means surrendering all rights to the dog. She added that she had already explained the evaluation process and that she couldn't guarantee that the puppy would be a candidate for adoption (it's based on health, temperament, and something else but I forget what) and that IF it were adoptable this woman could be placed on the list to adopt it, but couldn't have them just call her and let her know if no one adopted him. Through all of these patient explanations, the woman continued talking over the clerk and repeating that it was her son's dog, and she didn't want him to be put to sleep, and so on. I got the feeling that this interaction had been going on for a while.
So FINALLY the clerk convinces the woman that if anything is going to happen, it needs to happen now because there are other people waiting. So the woman surrenders the dog - his name is Two-Tone, she had told us about nine times, but she calls him "Toot" - and insists on walking him back to the door to the animal-holding area.
So then the next people in line, also Hispanic, tell her they'll adopt the dog. My Spanish is elementary at best, but I'm certain the woman had said something to the man about being there for a cat, not a dog. The clerk was like, are you shitting me? The clerk has to call to the people in back to bring the dog back out, and the woman just hands the dog over to them. I'm pretty sure that wasn't strictly following the pound's policies about surrender and stuff, but I'm also pretty sure the clerk was mentally weighing the options of following protocol vs. getting this dog and woman out the door, without a reason for the woman to call every day for the next two weeks.
So then we wait while a man asks about becoming a volunteer and starts filling out his application. He interrupts the clerk accepting a surrender of a stray cat so he can ask what the question about "have you ever been convicted of a crime" is asking. The clerk just sort of stares at him for a second, so he continues: "Like, do they mean just convictions? What if you have something, like, pending, or if there was an arrest but no charges were pressed? Or if the charges were dropped?" There's another pause, and the clerk tells him that Animal Services is a department of the City Police Department, so they will do a full background check, so why doesn't he just write down anything he knows they'd find out in a background check.
During all of this, there are constant phone calls, which the clerk takes while still trying to deal with the people at the counter, and volunteers walking in and out with dogs, and prospective adopters wandering through, and constant barking, and stuff. It's a madhouse in there. No wonder the employees all seem so frazzled.
Have you ever adopted from a pound? Have you ever worked or volunteered in one? Are my observations about a higher-than-average level of the crazy correct?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Are you sick of dog posts yet?
This whole dog situation is taking over my life. As a non-dog-lover in general, this is quite disconcerting. I am starting to feel more sympathetic to those people who show you pictures of their pets like they're kids or something. A little. Not much, really, but it's better than the eye-rolling that I did before, right? [For the record, we do not consider ourselves the dog's "mommy and daddy". When we produce a human child, we will be that human child's mommy and daddy. We're the dog's owners. When I tell Rooster to go get something from Andy, I use Andy's name. I cringe when people at the pound refer to me as his mommy. I'm totally okay with my stance on this, and I know haters gonna hate. You can call yourself whatever you want when it comes to your pet, as long as you don't try to apply your standards to me and don't expect me to apply mine to you. Rant over.] [Almost: can we please ban the phrase "fur kids" from ever, ever being uttered again?]
We'll find out this afternoon if Button is ours*, but I don't know if we'd get to take him home even if he is ours, because he's getting neutered today, so they might keep him overnight.
Dog-related texts I've sent today:
1. Important question: If we get the girl dog, can we name her Pancakes?
2. Did I send you a picture of Button after they shaved half of him?
3. He looks like a deranged lion.
4. I forgot to grab the extra leash, so it looks like if he's ours I'll be putting him in the shopping cart at PetSmart like a baby until I get one.
5. Please tell them she's part robot killer, to explain the crazy eyes.
6. We still need a crate and bed and food dish for whichever one we get.
This is probably more dog-related texts than I've sent since we got Rooster three years ago.
*Update: The first person on the list was there. On time. But when she heard that I wanted Button, she wavered. She apparently is the person who found him, wandering in a snowstorm, and got attached, so she signed up for him despite living in an apartment and not being sure if she's ready for another dog (she had to put her very old dog down last year). SO she got my name and number and will let us know if she thinks Button should come live with us. By Wednesday. It's a good thing I'm so good at being patient and stuff, right?
Honest, if you're sick of dog posts, just tell me. One comment confirming that this shit is boring to people who aren't me will mean I'll just let y'all know whenever we end up with one, and leave out the rest. Really.
We'll find out this afternoon if Button is ours*, but I don't know if we'd get to take him home even if he is ours, because he's getting neutered today, so they might keep him overnight.
Dog-related texts I've sent today:
1. Important question: If we get the girl dog, can we name her Pancakes?
2. Did I send you a picture of Button after they shaved half of him?
3. He looks like a deranged lion.
4. I forgot to grab the extra leash, so it looks like if he's ours I'll be putting him in the shopping cart at PetSmart like a baby until I get one.
5. Please tell them she's part robot killer, to explain the crazy eyes.
6. We still need a crate and bed and food dish for whichever one we get.
This is probably more dog-related texts than I've sent since we got Rooster three years ago.
*Update: The first person on the list was there. On time. But when she heard that I wanted Button, she wavered. She apparently is the person who found him, wandering in a snowstorm, and got attached, so she signed up for him despite living in an apartment and not being sure if she's ready for another dog (she had to put her very old dog down last year). SO she got my name and number and will let us know if she thinks Button should come live with us. By Wednesday. It's a good thing I'm so good at being patient and stuff, right?
Honest, if you're sick of dog posts, just tell me. One comment confirming that this shit is boring to people who aren't me will mean I'll just let y'all know whenever we end up with one, and leave out the rest. Really.
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