OK, I’m addicted to walking the dogs at Good Shepherd Humane Society’s Adoption Center. And I will never go to a 12-step program. This is such a joyful activity that I hope to continue for a long, long time!
Yes, I do want to adopt every single dog. The ones my partner, Dave, and I walk and the ones we just get to visit with in the outdoor kennels – each one gets at least one (approved) treat!
There is one special young pup named Lemon, who won my heart the very first time we loaded her in our car and drove to the nearby Eureka Springs Cemetery for her walk. It’s legal to walk dogs there, as long as you pick up after them. And it’s very green and shady with lots of good smells!
Lemon was very nervous about being in a car (she wouldn’t even eat a treat) and snuggled deep in my lap. When we got to the cemetery, she was still anxious. Then she started smelling the ground and went around in circles she was so excited. Dave held the leash and let her lead the way, wherever she wanted to go. I followed with my cane (I broke my leg awhile back). She never barked, just wandered briskly all about. On the way home, she snuggled in my arms.
Each time we walked her, Lemon became calmer and more self-assured. Then one day, after walking awhile, she spread out on the grass, on her belly, all four legs splayed out, totally relaxed, and calmly chewed a stick, pausing every once-in-a-while to nibble on tasty grass.
And then there is Boxter, part bulldog, part pit bull looking, with so much energy that we first took him to the play yard next to the main building. He chased all the tennis balls we threw. For the first time in months, I laughed at loud! When he is a bit calmer, he sits for a treat and then we re-leash him and go for a walk. Even the memory of Boxter’s smiling face as he proudly prances down the trail, tennis ball in his mouth, makes me smile.
There are lovely, wooded trails around the Adoption Center grounds for dogs too anxious to get in a car, too new to people. So, a dog may feel calmer closer to what is their “home” for now. Even a short walk helps improve the mental health of such a dog.
Since the staff knows the background and temperament of each dog, they can match us up with suitable ones. It is also a pleasure to get to know the staff, each one gifted to care for dogs and cats with such love and skill.
For various reasons (including my brain damage/disability) Dave and I cannot adopt a dog, nor foster one right now (unlike previous years). This makes me very sad, and one day I came home from walking Lemon and burst into tears, telling Dave I was so upset not being able to adopt her. He comforted me by saying calmly, “If we could adopt a dog, we would be spending all our time walking that one dog. This way we can walk so many dogs and do something really good for them.”
I have struggled with severe depression and anxiety most of my life (I am 70) – add a more recent rare brain disorder and other grievous losses, and life hardly seemed worth living. Yes, I do have wonderful professional help now. But walking the dogs has brought new special joy to my life.
After I broke my leg, I spent a long time in a rehab facility and then went to out-patient physical therapy. I exercised at home, but my physical therapist agreed that to go walking with Dave and a dog on uneven ground outside was the best physical therapy. At the Adoption Center or the cemetery, walking among the trees, smelling the pine needles, mindfully placing each step and, especially, rejoicing in the happiness of each dog we walk, has been so healing it brings tears of gratitude.
I still want to adopt every dog, especially Lemon, but that’s OK. I try to live out the truth that there is no such thing as a small kindness… all kindnesses are huge… and so several times a week, kindness abounds for me and some dogs at Good Shepherd.