The Back Story, the Search, and the Pickup

I've had dogs with me continuously since I was a young boy and our last dog, a border collie mix from the local Humane Society, recently passed away rather suddenly.  I found myself somewhat lost without my canine companion who had demanded 7 daily walks and plenty of attention all while giving lots of love to me and my family.  Now there were no walks, no companion for the daily trip to the mailbox or the Sunday evening chore of taking the trash to the road, no shadow following me around the house.  And I really felt a need to try and fill the gaping hole his passing had left in my life.  So I set off in search of a new companion, one that could be both an indoor friend and outdoor hunting buddy.  I started looking for a retriever, and not just any retriever but a Chesapeake Bay Retriever.

Now some will tell you that chessies are hard-headed, stubborn dogs but I have a somewhat different perspective based, possibly erroneously, on a wonderful CBR I had years ago.  She was a gentle giant, a sweet and loving dog that didn't exhibit any desire to be dominant or to test my leadership.  I thought another CBR would be a good idea but I also wanted to get a rescue dog, to give a loving forever home to a dog that was otherwise unwanted so I began watching the CBR rescue lists, Petfinder, and a number of other online sources.  One by one various prospects appeared.

The first was a three year old CBR that had been returned to his breeder as he had outgrown his family.  Not a difficult thing to do for a large breed dog!  I contacted the breeder and expressed my interest in adopting him and was told that they needed to get his weight down and attend to a couple of minor issues but he'd be ready for a new home in a couple of weeks.  When I didn't hear anything after a week or so I contacted the breeder again but received no reply.  This process of writing and waiting for a response that never arrived went on for a short while and I had a growing sense that this dog would never be mine.  Finally I wrote and asked that they give me a final decision on the dog so I would know whether to continue my search.  This finally brought a response and, you guessed it, they had given the dog to someone else.  Oh well!  Time to look for another dog.

The second dog was an older CBR, but one who had been trained and hunted in the past.  My wife and I discussed the pros and cons of adopting a much older (8-9 years old) dog and decided that we would be happy to give him a good home in which to live out his days.  As luck would have it, just before we were to travel to New York to pick him up the rescue took him for one last vet check-up and the news was not good.  The vet found a large tumor and on further investigation found that the dog had advanced and incurable cancer and since there was nothing that could be done for him he was euthanized before any suffering from his disease.  Our hearts were broken, but there was still hope.

We simultaneously found our future dog on Petfinder and the Adoption Options listing of the cbrrescue.org website.  He had been on the rescue list since November and I wrote to the rescuer not thinking that he could still be available.  The response was a pleasant surprise!  He was, in fact, still looking for a permanent home and after several more contacts and questions we made arrangements to adopt him and bring him home.

We arrived at the rescuer's house in central Ohio on the evening of Wednesday March 7, 2012.  After some pleasantries we headed off to the boarding kennel where the dog had been staying since he was picked up as a stray by the dog warden in June 2011.  At the kennel they told us he was getting a bath so he'd be nice and clean for us and we waited patiently for him to make his appearance.  Finally, he ran into the room tail wagging and very, very happy to greet new people.  He was certainly friendly and immediately took to my wife, my oldest son, and me.  And he was a handsome devil!  Not that there was any doubt, but we'd take him!

The rescuer and I reviewed his records including the dog warden's intake form that read "Medium brown dog" and next to that "MONK".  And in one moment he went from being a dog in need of a home to being our dog, one who would be loved and cared for and fawned over.  I think he was as happy as we were about the whole affair!

The trip home was interesting, mainly because our new friend had very little experience with the world outside his kennel.  Cars passing the other way on the two-lane country road elicited a growl and when we passed through a small town he seemed amazed at the lights and sounds and smells.  But in truth he was very well behaved in the car, sitting in the back with my son and moving to look out in all directions.  We stopped once to let him out for a bit and when we returned to the road he actually slept for a while.  Amazing!

Once home he seemed to settle in quickly despite everything being so new and different.  He was obviously tired so we sent him off to sleep in his crate and prepared ourselves for the process of adapting to a new family member.

Day one: a rousing success!  Our Monk is definitely a keeper!

Medium Brown Dog

That's what it said on the dog warden's intake form and right next to it was scribbled the word "Monk".  How did this unwanted "medium brown dog" become part of my life and family?  What would become of him in my care?  The story is unfolding day by day and I thought I'd blog about it to capture the memories as much for my benefit as for anyone else who happens to read this.  I've had dogs almost my entire life and I remember each of them well and fondly.  But I think this dog deserves to have the details recorded given his tough start and all the promise that he holds.  So here goes... Monk's story and my personal journey as his master and friend.