Here she is, Carmen the wonder dog,all the way from Kansas via Nebraska to us here in New York! The wonder of her to me is how despite all her travels and travails since this past April, she is still a happy, healthy, and fairly optimistic girl. I got her past vet's records and thus know her birthday is 10/11/01, so she'll be six in two days. And those records also showed me that she had indeed been well cared for by her former owner, someone still hospitalized with what I think is a terminal disease. In any case, after many moves, over three states, and relying on the kindness of strangers for all these months, she still seems to believe that we humans are worthy of affection. She's smart, funny, and has great manners. If this is what foster dogs are like, then I'm in it for the long run! I can't imagine it will take long to find a permanent home for Carm. She's housebroken, crate trained (I never even thought about a crate until she showed up with her own, courtesy of American Brittany Rescue who flew her out of Kansas to us), and most amazing to me, NOT all that interested in food. It's a revelation to be able to sit at the table and eat without two (or more) eyes drilling into my consciousness while conveying how terribly unfair life is. Carm is not interested in toys (too mundane?) and does not seem to understand chews are for chewing. I tried giving her one that I thought would be an instant hit, rawhide with peanut butter (who can resist peanut butter?) but all she did was run around in circles frantically looking for a place to bury the thing. Reminded me of a guy with a cigar.. After about half an hour, I took it away, as increasing her anxiety was clearly not my intention. Tried twice more, same result, so I've put the entire package away, for the next foster dog. While getting up early has never been my choice, it's worth it to see Carm do the wag, spin, bounce of greeting. And aside from needing to go out about two hours before I'd like in the morning, which most of the time Brian is around to do, there's not much else to criticize. Okay, I guess her slightly weird habit of taking the first few pieces of kibble and placing them in strategic places around the studio (like in my shoe) might get annoying after a while, but for now, the fun of having a dog around again eclipses these few minor lapses. I'm sure you agree - look at that smile!
I am also tremendously impressed with this rescue organization, and the care and consideration they lavish on the dogs. She's been boarded, groomed, had time in doggie day care to make sure she didn't lack for peers, and then of course flown out. And there are dogs on the rescue site that have had lots and lots or medical problems, which are treated no matter how much they cost. I could apparently learn a thing or two about fund-raising from these folks. If you'd like to take a look, go to http://www.americanbrittanyrescue.org and look under "Dogs Needing Homes". The first link under that heading is "Dogs in Foster Homes", which takes you to a map of the several regions. You can click on a state and that area's dogs will present themselves. But be careful to have tissue on hand if you read much, the stories are sometimes heartbreaking. Carmen will be posted in the East Coast section in the next few days. If you know anyone looking for a wonderful, low-maintenance, lovable girl, let us know! And now I'm off for a dog minute..
