Tag: Payson Humane Center

Meet the dogs – Casey

On to dog number five.

If you are new to this series then Ruby’s story of last week will link you to all the dogs written about so far.  Today, here is Jean’s account of how Casey became part of the family.

ooOOoo

Casey

Casey, at home; picture taken a month ago.
Casey, at home; picture taken a month ago.

Every Friday, the Payson Roundup newspaper would devote a full page to the Humane Society, displaying some of the cats and dogs they had for adoption. I would read about each animal and quietly wish I could bring them all home.

I was particularly taken with one dog that had appeared several times in this Friday page.  His name was Casey and he was a six-year-old Pit Bull mix.  Unfortunately, at home (we were then living in Payson, AZ) we were ‘maxed out’ with a total of 14 dogs in three different sections of our house.  We just couldn’t take Casey.

I had volunteered to be a dog-walker at the Humane Society dog shelter.  But after two sessions walking dogs, I just couldn’t look at these sad little faces without breaking down in tears. I switched my efforts to working at the Society’s Thrift Store.  That was great fun and, at least, it felt as though I was still helping the animals. Nonetheless, I was very impressed with the animal shelter.  They did their utmost to re-home the animals in their care.

Ruby’s ‘pack’ here at home included Phoebe and Tess, rescue dogs from Mexico.   Recently, Phoebe had died with leukaemia and Tess with bone cancer leaving Ruby on her own.  Ruby was a dog that didn’t mix at all well with the other dogs, as was explained in last week’s post.

The next Friday, the Payson Roundup showed the Society’s ‘lonely hearts club’, highlighting animals that had been in care for a long time.  The first dog shown was Casey.  I telephone Chandra, the lady responsible for adoptions, and asked if Paul and I could bring Ruby to the shelter to find a companion for her. When we were at the shelter, Chandra asked us if we had anything against Pit Bulls. Of course we didn’t.  Ruby was introduced to Casey and, as they say, the rest was history.  Casey and Ruby right from the start were just wonderful together.

Ruby behind Casey.
Ruby behind Casey.

Subsequently, I learned from Chandra that Casey had been in care for over a year and, had we not taken him home, his days were numbered at the shelter.  There were many cheers and tears when I signed the adoption paper for Casey.

Casey now lives in the kitchen group here in Oregon: Paloma, Ruby, Lilly and Casey.  As with all our dogs, Casey is so happy to have our 14 acres to play in.  He is also the sweetest natured of dogs and will try to climb on to your lap at the first opportunity.  I have always been a great advocate of Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes and have never come across a mean one.

Thus, if you are in the position to adopt a dog, please consider Pit Bulls and Pit Bull mixes for the Pit Bull is a much-maligned breed.

Casey demonstrating a dog's focussing skills!
Casey demonstrating a dog’s focussing skills!

ooOOoo

Meet dog number six next week.

Affairs of the heart.

That is, a la dog!

Hazel

This is Hazel. She is one of three dogs that ‘belong’ to Pharaoh.

Last Tuesday, we took Pharaoh and his mini-pack of 3 dogs out for our usual afternoon walk at the very end of Granite Dells Rd, out where the forest road ends and soon becomes the relative wilderness of the Tonto National Forest.

Pharaoh, and Hazel, Dhalia and little Sweeny.

However, on this occasion Hazel decided to leave us and link up with a stranger who was hiking the forest.  That was the last we saw of Hazel for many hours.  Miracle of miracles, the stranger, Joanie, was a dog-lover so when Hazel had followed Joanie and her dog all the way to Joanie’s car, the next stop for her, Hazel that is, was our local Payson Humane Center.  Hazel’s tag very quickly linked her to Jean (a great reminder of the importance of tagging your dogs!) who is well-known as a volunteer assistant at the Humane Society Thrift store and the scare was over.

But during the hours of tramping those miles along challenging forest tracks, calling out Hazel’s name, both Jeannie and I had plenty of time to hurt.  Here’s a small insight, that millions of pet owners will resonate with, that demonstrates the way that dogs offer us so much love which, in turn, opens our human hearts to the purity of unconditional love. (And I know it’s not just dogs but many animals in our lives that offer us such love!)

Pharaoh and his ‘team’ sleep in our bedroom.  During the Winter months Hazel will often lay stretched out on the bed-cover alongside the back of my legs.  If I need a trip to the bathroom during the night, not unknown at my age, I can almost guarantee that Hazel will shift her cuddly body up to the warm sheets just below my pillow.

Thus it was this last Tuesday morning when I returned from my bathroom run about 3am; Hazel asleep with her head on my pillow!  I didn’t have the heart to push her off the bed, so just slipped in beside her and moments later back asleep, my head nestled against Hazel’s warm head.  Sleeping so close to a dog is more than just nice, it seems to stir very ancient memories deep in the subconscious, perhaps back all those thousands of years to when domesticated dogs were an integral part of early man’s security.

So you can imagine the anguish that, in our own separate minds, Jeannie and I were experiencing.  I just couldn’t go to the place where never again would I feel the warmth of Hazel’s body against mine.  Jean was desperately hoping this wasn’t a tragic repeat of losing Poppy.  Thus when I went round to the Humane Center just as they were closing up and Hazel came out to me, I dissolved in sobs of relief.

That’s the heart-felt closeness of dogs and humans.

The purity of a dog's heart!