WRITTEN BY: Kim Doner
PHOTO BY: Holly Sweet
It’s the new year, a time of beginnings and resolutions, taxes and sighs. Accounting is a burden; revisiting wills, trusts, accounts and downsizing are reluctantly put on the agenda. It’s tedious and kind of depressing, and, often, one crucial
point in planning for the future is missed. It’s just too painful. No one likes to think about their demise, but it’s even harder to consider what happens if a pet survives you.
Ask any animal welfare organization, and you’ll discover it’s not uncommon. And it’s heartbreaking. But I hope this article will encourage you to move forward with firm plans and provide for your furry friends regardless.
Here’s my inspiration:
It begins with a Cocker Spaniel. He’s black and white, casts soulful eyes on everyone he meets, has those silky ears and soft coat. He came to his “dad” as a pup; his owner was an aging veteran who lived alone. Years passed, and time wasn’t kind. Relatives of this owner had to take over and place him in a nursing home. No one could keep the dog.
Although a gentle soul, housebroken and well-behaved, his world was torn from him. The Spaniel was placed in the Sapulpa Animal Shelter for immediate adoption. His owner’s family did not want to be contacted afterward, and privacy is maintained under all circumstances by both the shelter and its companion volunteer organization, Sapulpa Furry Friends.
Animal shelters usually have staff that are deeply caring; Sapulpa certainly does. He was safe, clean, and his needs were met— they work hard to take good care of their charges—but nothing fills a void when your home is suddenly gone and your person appears to have abandoned you.
The little guy arrived there with no medical records, no toys, no bedding and no one. He went from being a cherished companion to
being locked in a stall amid strange scents, sounds and other animals.
Sapulpa Furry Friends, a nonprofit that helps foster and find forever homes for pets, was able to quickly place this little fellow in one home that turned out to be inappropriate. He then went to a foster home, but since he had been an only child, he experienced overwhelming anxiety from sharing space with too many other pets. He became listless. He couldn’t stop pacing. He didn’t know anyone; no one knew him.
The foster mom recognized how deeply he needed his “own” home all to himself. She circulated his photo on her Facebook page. It was shared and shared again. And my neighbor Shirley saw him.
Now, Shirley has been an animal person from the get-go. She grew up on a family farm in rural Oklahoma and even ran her own farm as a single mom for a number of years. Moving to Tulsa, she married and later connected with me to begin rehabilitating and releasing wildlife. During winters, when wildlife isn’t so actively procreating, she started fostering kittens. Her husband wasn’t interested in permanent pets, so this filled her need and kept him happy enough.
Until then. Until she saw that little face on her screen just waiting for a real home of his own. And there was only one thing to do.
Shirley took action in the most devious and manipulative of ways. She drafted family and friends to create a storyline in support of her plan. Thus, the little Spaniel appeared in her home under the guise of a “foster dog, for just a few days, because his situation is so heartbreaking, and our niece cried when she read about him. And this will help her not feel so sad, you know, if we can just love on him until a permanent home comes his way, just for a little while, no more than a week.”
Within 24 hours, the dog was snoring against her husband’s side as they watched TV.
Within 48 hours, the dog knew which door went to “his” spot outside and where “his” dish was. Within 72 hours, Shirley waited until her husband settled in after work with the dog snuggled and snoozing against his side. She said, “Well, I guess we need to start looking for a forever home. I sure don’t want this little one to get used to being here only to be uprooted and go to yet another place.”
Her husband John said, “I think we should keep him.”
“You do? Really?”
He gave her “the eye” and said, “Oh, come on! I knew it the minute I saw him, and you did too!”
And they had a dog.
The happily-ever-after didn’t start then though.
Their new pet was still anxious, and no one had a clue how to help him. Although they were thrilled with such a sweetheart as a new family member, he was still grieving and lost. He paced. He would go outside but immediately want back in. Months went by; Shirley tried every trick, but still he stared out the window and didn’t respond to his new name.
In fact, he didn’t respond to any of the names he’d had.
Knowing just enough about his background to start some research, she spoke to Sapulpa Furry Friends and the animal shelter, but they were restricted in how much they could help; records are kept confidential. She offered to take him to visit his former owner, hoping the experience would comfort him, but the family had requested complete privacy. She left her name for them to contact her, but she got no response. Their pet alternated between being clingy, then aloof and disinterested; although polite, he had no spark.
Frustrated, Shirley had an idea and began detective work of her own. It took time, but after scrolling through months of accumulated Facebook posts, she found an earlier photo of him. Beneath it was something even more important: his name.
She looked up from the screen. Across the room, she spied his form in silhouette at the patio door, staring nowhere. It wasn’t hard to read the body language his posture projected: ears were down, nose was lowered. He sagged in his skin.
She tried one of his earlier names and got nothing, but that was hardly surprising. She tried “Buddy,” the name she’d planned to give him, to no avail. He didn’t turn around.
He just sighed.
Then, Shirley leaned forward and said, “Rocky!”
He jumped. His body straightened as if a current ran through it. He whirled to his feet and met her eyes, not believing what he’d heard.
“Your name is ROCKY!”
His ears went up, his mouth dropped open in surprise. She spread her arms.
“I can’t give you back your old home or your other person, but, sweet boy, I can certainly call you by your name, Rocky!”
He was all over her now, licking her face, wiggling frantically as Cockers do.
Finally: someone knew who he was.
No one can predict the future. Ask yourself what your pets need if you should go before them. We humans understand that, in normal circumstances, our life span will extend past our pets, but what if?
Make it a resolution to set something up this year. Talk it over with trusted friends and family so they know where you stand on caring for your pets, then ask for medical records from your vet. Much like a will or trust, create something to cover furry family health, medications, habits, food preferences, routines and toys.
Then, go back to cuddling them with a greater peace of mind.