Who's lucky now?

It has been six months since we adopted Lucky from the local animal shelter here in Artesia, New Mexico. He adjusted quickly to his new life with us and has settled into a reassuring routine. We now believe that he was at most a year old when we adopted him on July 20, as his energy level is closer to that of an adolescent dog than to a mature, adult dog. This has been Nan's and my greatest adjustment, getting used to dealing with a dog who has so much energy that he occasionally goes into what we have come to call the "zoomies," tearing around our one-bedroom apartment like the Tasmanian Devil, sliding blankets off the bed and skating rugs across the floor. He can be calm one minute but then in the next he gets a crazed look in his eyes and takes off spinning his wheels full speed on the tile floors. The only cure is a trip outside, though he already gets miles of frequent walks every day, or a time-out in his wire-mesh kennel, which doubles as his bed to keep him off ours at night.

In the photo taken this morning, Lucky is just back from a weekend at the boarding kennel, which he seems to enjoy, but you can see that he is also very happy to be home. He's clipped into his leash, anticipating the walk he always gets after a trip to the kennel, and he's still wearing the harness we put him in for car rides, with a seat belt that keeps him securely fastened in the back seat. Without it, he would try to get into the front seat to be with us, and that could result in disaster.

His latest stunt is to climb into my lap while I'm sitting in the recliner watching TV. We figure this must be a holdover from when he was a puppy, but it's a little inconvenient to have a sixty-pound dog blocking your view of the TV and making your legs go numb. I don't mind, though, if he lies down, curls up and dozes off while I scratch behind his ears. It's a bonding experience.

The minor adjustments we have made to Lucky's being an "excitable boy" are a small price for the love and affection he gives us every day, but we do look forward to him mellowing out a little someday. Maybe.

Lucky

After Scout died at the end of last year, Nan started volunteering at the Savannah animal shelter. She said it was a tribute to Scout, but we both knew that she also missed the close contact. There were dogs she interacted with at the shelter and became fond of but none that she felt compelled to rescue. The Savannah shelter has many volunteers and is actively focused on getting animals adopted as quickly as possible. Most of the dogs Nan walked were adopted in just a few weeks.

When we moved to Artesia, New Mexico in May for a contract IT position I accepted with the local hospital, Nan started volunteering at the animal shelter here. Things were a little different. For one, she was the only volunteer, and if she did not show up to walk the dogs, then they often would not get to go outside at all that day. Dogs were occasionally adopted, but the marketing effort that went into it was minimal. Many dogs were deemed unadoptable and summarily euthanized.

There was one dog, named Lucky by the shelter staff, who had been picked up as a stray in April. He had no tags, no chip, and no one coming to claim him. He had been in the shelter for over a month before Nan arrived. More than any of the other dogs, Lucky wanted to go outside. He would rush his kennel gate as soon as Nan unlatched it, then dash to the back door, opening it by hitting the panic bar at full speed. Outside in the yard, he would mark every available surface and poop up against the fence before finding a toy for Nan to throw in a frantic game of fetch. He seemed to know that he had only a few minutes, and he tried to make the most of it. If Nan had run water into the kiddie pool, Lucky would jump in to cool off and pretend to swim while lying on his side in the shallow water. Getting him on a leash to take him back inside was a frustrating game of keep-away.

About a month ago, after he had been at the shelter for almost three months, Nan told me that Lucky had been put on the list to be euthanized. She was beginning to develop a bond with him and was saddened at the idea that he would be put down in less than a week. She asked me if I would go to the shelter to meet Lucky, with the idea that if the two of us hit it off, we could consider an adoption. Nan had showed me a photo of Lucky on the shelter's Facebook page and he looked like a nice enough dog: a mutt, of course, maybe two years old, with symmetrical brown patches over each eye and ear, a white body except for a large brown spot on his left side, and the look of a very large Jack Russell terrier, though at sixty pounds, he may have been a Labrador retriever and boxer mix.

Being more used to mellow golden retrievers like our beloved Scout, I was a little put off by Lucky's frenetic energy at our first meeting. He seemed completely uncontrollable out in the yard, but he mellowed when back in his kennel, eyeing me watchfully as I read the information page clipped to the wire mesh gate. There was a large "E" written on the page in black Sharpie, and I knew what it meant. Nan had gone off to speak with the shelter people, so I stood and looked at Lucky through the gate. He sat on his haunches and looked steadily back at me. Both of us seemed to be thinking the same thing: Are you the one?

That was more than a month ago. It should be no surprise that we adopted Lucky, rescuing him from his certain fate. Despite a frightful first night, he has adapted well and settled into a calm, predictable routine, filled with walks, play and affection. He still has his excitable moments, especially when it comes to going outside, but he has endeared himself to us as only a sweet-natured dog is capable. We love him and look forward to a long life together.

Foster

When Nan and I were checking out all the marinas on Isla Mujeres last September, El Milagro was the only one with a resident mascot, Foster, an elderly Australian shepherd belonging to the marina's owner, Eric Schott, who splits his time between here and California. Foster did not travel back and forth but rather spent all of his time at the marina, lounging under the palapa, barking at the local fishermen's dogs, and taking hand-outs from marina guests. He has been a fixture here since Eric bought an old shrimp processing plant about eight years ago and converted it into the marina and resort that El Milagro is today.

Foster died yesterday. He was fourteen years old and was suffering from deafness, near blindness, and terrible arthritis in his hips. He had been to the veterinarian last week for medication to ease his pain, but it had the effect of rendering him glassy eyed and immobile. After a bad weekend, during which he also became incontinent, Eric and the marina's manager, Jaime, decided over the phone that it was time to put Foster down. Yesterday afternoon, during a steady rain, Jaime and other marina workers moved Foster gently into the back of a pickup truck for another trip to the vet. It was hours later before they returned. Jaime was very emotional when he called Eric to tell him that Foster was gone. He asked Nan to talk to Eric, and she spoke with genuine affection for a dog we had known for only a couple of weeks.

Foster is buried now, down near the beach, next to sheltering palm trees. The rain has smoothed the mound above his grave, but there is not yet a stone to mark it. I am sure there will be one soon. Foster was a true Isla character, and he will never be forgotten.

Radio Show

Last week, while I was out in Savannah, I received a phone message from Ben Merens of Wisconsin Public Radio. He invited me to join him on his radio show, "At Issue with Ben Merens", to discuss the lessons we learn from our dogs. Almost exactly two years ago, he and I did a similar show, which was not a rousing success, in my opinion, because of telephone audio problems and my resulting nervousness. So I was a little leery to subject myself to the same ordeal a second time, but I called Ben back and after catching up with one another and chatting about the show's topic, I agreed to join him on the air last Thursday.

The show went well. Ben and I started out talking back and forth about the dogs in our lives, what they have meant to us, and what we have learned from them. It may have been because I was on vacation and relaxed, but I wasn't nervous and the conversation flowed smoothly. Ben was nice enough to include some plugs for my book, Raising Charlie: The Lessons of a Perfect Dog, and also for my blog, this blog, "Whispering Jesse". After a break, Ben opened up the conversation to callers, and they shared with us their dog stories. Many were sad, telling of the loss of beloved dogs who had become family members and best friends, but all were joyous, telling of the love and companionship, the lessons learned, and the unparalleled value of having dogs in our lives. I admit to getting choked up over their stories, especially over the poems that callers had written as tributes to their lost dogs.

Ben and I could have taken calls for the rest of the afternoon, but our hour together on the air was over quickly. I hope it was as uplifting and therapeutic for Wisconsin Public Radio's listeners as it was for me. If you would like to listen to the show, it is available in the archives at "At Issue with Ben Merens".

Scout will turn four years old tomorrow. Happy birthday, Scout!

"Isla Animals" Dog Rescue Shelter

Last week, before I arrived here in Isla Mujeres, Nan went over to the Playa Norte headquarters of Isla Animals, the local dog rescue shelter, to donate some leashes, collars and ointments she had brought down with her and to walk a few of the dogs. While there, she met the founder, Alison Sawyer Current, who coincidentally is also from Colorado and divides her time between the two places. She also met maintenance worker Marcelino and, of course, all the dogs. Each dog has its own sad story, like Rusty, a young mutt with a white heart-shaped patch on the top of his head. He was found in the Cancun dump, suffering from eye infections and weighing only five pounds. Now he is at a normal weight, healing, and playing non-stop with his dog buddies.

Nan had such a good time walking Bruno, George and Karen that she suggested we go walk them together. On Tuesday morning, volunteer Irene set us up to walk just Bruno and George, who had been neutered since his first walk with Nan. Both dogs are pit bulls with histories of fighting and abuse, but aside from their scars, you would never know it. Both are friendly, affectionate and good on a leash. Like all dogs, they respond to love with love of their own. We did a big beach loop with them and they had a great time, cavorting in the surf and chasing after sandpipers. When we dropped them off, George followed us to the gate like he wanted to go home with us and looked sad that we weren't taking him.

We went back again on Thursday morning. Irene told us that George had been taken to a shelter in Cancun to be adopted. It saddened us that we wouldn't see him again, but we were happy that he was going to a good home. Irene set us up with Bruno, her personal favorite, and with Sol, Alison's small, curly-haired, black and white dog. We did another big beach loop, with Bruno off the leash most of the time and Solly sniffing and marking the entire way. We were supposed to meet our friend Juan Torres at the shelter to help him pick out a puppy that morning, but he was tied up with business. He wants to give one to his son Joab for a birthday gift next month. There are three different litters of puppies, more than twenty in total, to choose from right now.

Unfortunately, there are more puppies born on Isla Mujeres than there are homes for them all. Isla Animals does what it can to make sure the puppies in their care get a healthy start at life, and each is neutered or spayed before adoption, but far too many dogs end up on the streets, where they are rounded up and electrocuted by the local government. To help prevent this inhumane treatment, Isla Animals conducts regular spay/neuter and pet care clinics all over this area of the Yucatan Peninsula. To learn more, or to make a donation, please visit the Isla Animals website. Thank you.