and they called it puggy love

You know how sometimes you're surfing around and just kind of stumble on something that really strikes a chord? Well, my friend Lynda stopped in to say 'hi' on my last post about Art. Some things you should know about Lynda are: she's really tall, she's funny, she's generous, and she LOVES LOVES LOVES animals. And, she does work with rescue animals. I clicked on her profile and, you know, surfed along on various heartbreaking links about puppy mills in Quebec and eventually stumbled across this amazing photographer whose kitsch-phrase is 'shooting one dog at a time across southern Ontario.' Ah-ha... A photographer after my own heart...

I went and checked out her website (for inspiration - I do have a dog of my own to shoot now and I'm in totally unfamiliar territory) and then her blog, and came across this post about Sweet Myrtle, one of a pack of puggies rescued from a mill. I cried a bit, and sighed, and realized that I have been holding back with the camera. So far, Art only has a handful of pictures in my hundreds of thousands, and I was thinking, OK - it's just too chronic to take a bazillion pictures of my dog - people will think I'm weird, or something...

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I talked to my sister about my guilt issues over not rescuing a dog. She has the most irritating minpin on the planet (her and her dog are inseparable) and put it into perspective nicely for me. "Some irresponsible jackass doesn't bother getting his rotty cross fixed, it breeds with the neighbour's shepherd cross, and I am expected to forego practicality in what my lifestyle can offer a dog for the sake of 'rescuing' this dog or be labelled a heartless witch?" I'm not particularly fond of her dog, but they are definitely well suited to one another. I was never one on purebreds, but I'm beginning to understand. Sort of. For her she needed a lapdog, a companion who could keep her company and join her for field work. For me, it's all about shape and hair - I like a smooth coats on short, stocky dogs, broad in the chest and short in the hindquarters. Beagles, bulldogs... pugs... something big enough to be a real dog, but small enough to be portable. (Admit it - there are places you can take a bichon frise that you won't ever be able to take a great dane...)

I fell in love with pug-mutty Art before we even met him, and after a few false starts trying to find a suitable rescue dog, Bill & I agreed a puppy of known lineage would be the best match for our family - we needed a puppy that would not outgrow the space we have for him, and one that could grow up with the kids. Most of the rescue dogs available locally are large-breed puppies or adult (any size) dogs that have been surrendered because they are 'behavioural.' Two stories, true stories:

My mom, who lives alone and has substantially more time to walk a big dog than we do, rescued a big 'behavioural' border-collie cross she named Danny Boy. He had been abused by his former owner and was so painfully shy and terrified that we don't think he knew how to wag his tail. He is now the most gentle, even-tempered, sweet dog on the planet, and if he wasn't so big and hairy, I'd kidnap him. A single girlfriend of mine rescued an ill-tempered yet adorable purebred shih-tzu from the pound and ended up having to bring him back 6 months later as he simply would not stop barking, biting, and ripping apart her furniture and she did not have the time, skill, or patience to re-train him.

I am realistic in that I know we would not have the time or resources to a) own a huge dog or b) retrain an animal. I did not want to go into the pound with a bleeding heart and bring home a dog that I'd have to bring back because it grew too big or kept urinating all over the house - that would be unfair to the dog. And of course I know there are no guarantees that a puppy won't develop issues, but it must be said here that I don't really believe there are as many bad dogs out there as bad owners. And I am not a bad puppy mommy. Well-loved, well-trained dogs don't end up in the pound. Regardless of whether you get your dog from a reputable breeder, a puppy mill, a pet store, or the pound, many people don't do the research temperament or potential health problems nor realize the time and effort raising a puppy takes. Teenaged girls find a chihuahua is an encumbrance to their social life, families find there's no time left for the chocolate lab between hockey tournaments and swimming lessons, parents fail to train their KIDS how to treat the dog and the dog turns 'mean, or the vet bills get too high and the dog is surrendered to someone, anyone who can love them enough and love them right... but, alas, not to me, not this time.

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Art quite obviously came from a gentle, loving environment. His fat round belly and easy-going temperament show he's led somewhat of a laid-back and pampered early puppyhood, and one of the preferred prerequisites the owner had for the pug-mutty's new home was kids - so far, it's easy to see why. And when he's full grown he'll be just as portable and busy-lifestyle friendly as he is now. The transition has been smooth and easy for us all, much easier, I imagine, than bringing home an inbred battered dalmatian with an appetite for couches. Dogs (or any pet, really) and owners need to match up. With 4 kids in school and extra-curricular activities and full-time day jobs, right now we are not the right family for the unpredictability of a rescue dog, and I'm OK with that, but maybe YOU are the right family for a rescue dog. In addition to the large-breed rescue puppies and dogs they currently house, the Edmonton Humane Society has been participating in a special rescue project, bringing up several small-breed dogs from California puppy mills, all needing loving homes. There's not much history on them besides the fact most of them have probably never seen the light of day and need a whole lotta love to recondition them. Maybe your new family member is waiting to meet you. Not a dog person? Go check all the Humane' Society's (hopefully) temporary residents out here!

As for me, I realized most people already think I'm weird, and thus... you will henceforth find me unapologetically crouching around on all fours after the furry-footed puggy-mutt, camera in hand. You can fully expect the Art project to really take off now - he might even need his own blog... In the great words of Bob barker, have your pets spayed or neutered~ Goodnight!