Y is for Yuki

Dog of the Week: Yuki

Yuki entered the foster program of the SPCA/Humane Society of Prince George's County in 2008...at the same time as I was working on my second book, A is for Angel: A Dog Lover's Guide to the Alphabet. I was having difficulty finding a canine model with a name beginning with the letter Y and, thankfully, her foster mother came to my aid by naming the puppy Yuki.

With her adorable wrinkled face and endearing personality, Yuki found her forever home in no time, and her new mom, Tracy Long, contributed the following copy to accompany my photo: 

Yuki is the antithesis of the description, “What you see is what you get.” She has taught us that there is so much more—to her and life in general—than meets the eye. Wonder is waiting around every corner. Each smell and sight and sound contains worlds within it. And if you stare into the pools of Yuki's eyes—those windows to treasure houses of mischievous love—I think you'd see, as we have, a small child laughing.

Yuki loves life! For her, its daily routines are events to be anticipated and celebrated. She has taught us the beauty of welcoming every moment as if it were a gift…even the moment in the car when, without warning, she looked right at us…and pooped in the back seat.

There are times we're convinced she’s hoarding stubborn wisdom in the folds of her skin, the kind of wisdom that—like Yuki—may not come easily or quickly, but if asked and sought for will eventually come…the kind of wisdom that says, “Don't be afraid to contain multitudes.” Yuki certainly isn't.

She is Shar-pei, she is shepherd, part terror, part teacher. Her lessons: forgive often, love well, and dig it all! Though she is undoubtedly one of the clumsiest dogs I have ever seen, sometimes when I see her running towards me—those ears floppin' and that skin flappin' as she barrels clumsily into me, licking my face—I think I am witnessing pure grace.

What a gift it is to be given the opportunity, every day, to love Yuki and have her love us back.

To order you copy of A is for Angel: A Dog Lover's Guide to the Alphabet for $14 (including shipping within the continental U.S.) please email DigitalDoggyPhotography@gmail.com.

Puppy Mills Hurt People Too

I hate puppy mills, and have for as long as I’ve been aware of their existence…at least in theory. The idea that anyone, much less thousands of people, would treat man’s best friend as nothing more than a crop or a widget to be mass produced on as large a scale as possible is almost beyond my comprehension. And images captured by undercover photographers of crates or cages stacked one on top of another, with the parents—or “breeding stock”—of those cute little puppies destined for pet stores around the country sitting in abject misery, their urine and feces dripping unheeded on the bodies of those below are burned forever in my brain. It’s hard to believe that anyone could look at such images and deny that puppy mills breed misery for those dogs.

But the misery doesn’t stop there.

Puppy mills hurt people as well as dogs. They hurt the people who, in their innocence or ignorance, have paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars for an “AKC registered” puppy they believe is healthy and sound only to discover their little bundle of joy suffers from a congenital or genetic medical problem.  Rife with inbreeding and with profit as the only goal, puppy mills are breeding grounds for all manner of diseases and other medical conditions…conditions that can cost thousands of dollars to treat and may even end in the death of the puppy.

 

But the misery doesn’t stop there.

Puppy mills hurt those of us involved in animal rescue and welfare because we’re the people who have to clean up the “mess” they create. We end up taking in, caring for, and trying to rehabilitate the victims of this vicious system. We try our best to treat the eye, ear, and skin infections; pull the abscessed and rotten teeth; remove the untreated injured eyes; amputate the damaged, deformed limbs; and try to cure any other diseases. Sadly, our best sometimes isn’t enough.

The shelter I work at is all too frequently asked to rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome victims of the puppy mill system. Recently, we took in 20 adult Chihuahuas and 4 Shar-Peis rescued from an Ohio puppy mill. In addition to the physical ailments described above, virtually all the dogs displayed behaviors characteristic of dogs who have been confined to small spaces and received little to no positive human interaction. They circled endlessly even in large dens, cowered at the back of their dens, or growled when approached. Even those that seemed interested in people didn’t seem to understand how to engage in normal interspecies fashion.

Given time—lots of it—behavioral intervention, and love, most of these dogs will settle into lives far better than anything they’ve ever known. But, sadly, not all of them will get the chance.

A few of the dogs who walked—or were carried—through our door were beyond our ability to help. One, a 6-year-old female Shar-Pei, will haunt me forever. She arrived emaciated and suffering from mange …a walking, hairless bag of bones. And beyond all that, an untreatable autoimmune disease was systematically killing off her red blood cells. The only act of kindness we could give her was a humane, peaceful end to a miserable existence.

Several of my colleagues and I sat with her, stroking her patchy fur and telling her what a good girl she was while a veterinarian injected the sedative that allowed her to drift easily asleep before administering the shot that stopped her heart.

Afterwards, I returned to my office and wept.

Four Bully Boy Sweeties Searching for Homes

Another week, another dog--or two, or three, or four--running out of time in an open shelter.

When I started this blog, I didn't intend for it to be primarily an online billboard for homeless pets. But, as anyone involved in animal rescue and rehoming knows, the need is there and never ending. And as it happens, I don't have a lot of other pressing issues or earth-shattering thoughts to share at the moment, so it behooves me to use my cyberspace soapbox for the purpose of saving lives...literally.

As some of you may know, I'm currently working on a couple of photo collections--"Brindled Beauties" and "Seeing Spots"--so my friends at shelters and rescue groups are frequently notifying me about potential canine models. Yesterday I was at the Prince George's County shelter to photograph three brindled boys plus one cutie with a sprinkling of spots on his ears.

As of today, only one of these guys has a single application, and even that's not a sure thing. Shelter staff have to guard against premature jubilation; it's never a cause for celebration until the lucky one has left the building. Since I had the privilege of spending several enjoyable hours with these beautiful boys, I thought I'd use my words and images to increase their visibility...and perhaps, with a little help from my friends, find them new homes. So here goes...


Meet Apollo (ID#A309190). This brindle-and-white American bulldog mix is about two years old and as handsome as they come. For some reason, he is continually overlooked by potential adopters...a fact that shelter staff find hard to understand. He's bouncy and energetic, but, come on, he's a youngster! While spending time with him, I found him to be friendly, affectionate, and food motivated (which usually makes for easy training).


Then there's Dukey (ID#A346769), an 8-month-old brindle-and-white mastiff mix. Wow! This cutie is all leg at the moment and moves like a gangly young foal. He's still underweight despite regular feeding at the shelter...probably because his body's still growing...trying to catch up with those stilts he calls legs. This sweetheart seemed a bit insecure and would benefit from some attention and confidence-building activities. But what a lover! Like Apollo, Dukey just hasn't captured the attention and imagination of any adopters, although after meeting him I can't imagine why.


Talk about darling! Okay, I probably wouldn't describe this boy as beautiful, but he sure is unique. Although he doesn't have a name, he struck me as a "Newton" (ID#A347221) kind of guy, so that's how I'm going to refer to him here. In shelter dogs, ancestry can be something of a mystery, but given his wrinkles, it's safe to say that Newton is part Shar pei. But his personality doesn't match my understanding of the breed standard; he is happy, exuberant, outgoing, and very affectionate right from the get go. In fact, he gave my face--and ears--a thorough cleaning while I was there. Being one of those people who loves kissy dogs, I was smitten!


Last but certainly not least was a precious 6-month-old American bulldog mix who I'm going to call Piper (ID#A346933), the Latin word for pepper, because of the sprinkling of black-pepper-like spots on his ears. Like Newton, this boy is a happy, confident, exuberant love bug...and another big kisser! Although we'd never met before, he bounded into the interaction room and greeted me like a long-lost friend...impossible to resist.

So now you've met this handsome canine quartet. Do you have room in your heart and home for one of them? If that's not feasible, please spread the word about them. And if you need more information, just call the shelter at (301) 780-7200.

UPDATE: "Piper" has been adopted!

SECOND UPDATE: "Newton" has left the building!

THIRD UPDATE: "Apollo has been adopted!"