Pup My Ride, Amra and the Lodges

We dropped Noah back off at the Fairway at 8:10am. It was so hard to say goodbye to him, but we knew we’d see him again at the end of the day.

We were supposed to be at the Dogtown Headquarters at 8:15am for our volunteer orientation video, but we didn’t get there till after 8:30am. Noah’s caretaker, Brian, practically begged us to run up to Old Friends first to pick up two puppies who were moving into the Fairway, but had no ride to their new digs. Brian had ridden his motorcycle to work that day, so he wasn’t able to get his new charges himself. We were happy to “lend a paw” but weren’t sure how the volunteer coordinators would feel about our late arrival. We went anyway, and asked Brian to radio headquarters and let them know what we were up to.

We met the Old Friends caretaker at the gate, and she promptly handed over one of THE cutest puppies ever named Bangles. He gave great kisses and was a wonderful passenger. Turns out other volunteers arrived right after us, so they took the 2nd furry passenger down to Brian so that Kim & I could get over to HQ asap. Bangles was a little nervous about the whole thing, but the other puppy was absolutely TERRIFIED. Poor thing. He wouldn’t get in the truck at all, was petrified of the volunteers and just about everything else. It was very sad because when you think of puppies, usually you envision little fluff balls happily prancing along without a care in the world except where the next chew toy or ball was coming from. It was pathetic to see a puppy so young so terrified. What horrible things had he already been through to be that scared??

Anyway, we made our way over to HQ but by the time we got there, the video was nearly over. Patti, the coordinator, told us we could have a private showing once she passed out the duties to the volunteers who were actually on time! I had seen the video previously so I wasn’t that worried about watching it, but it was a good refresher for me and Kim learned a lot of great safety info. After the video we talked to Patti for awhile and then headed over to the Amra Octagon in the Clubhouse portion of Dogtown Heights.

The dogs who live at Amra consist of puppy mills rescues and dogs who are, shall we say, picky about their doggie friends and are most comfortable living alone. Mostly Pits and Amstaffs. Beautiful, wonderful dogs who do great with people just not other dogs. We met their caretaker, Jake, on Wednesday’s tour so we were excited to actually work with him. He asked us if we’d like to walk the dogs and we said absolutely!

Jake asked if I would be comfortable walking a stunning boy named Debo, who is a Pittie and purple collar. (Side note – Best Friends uses a color coded collar system. Green means anyone can interact with the dog. Purple means no one under 18. Yellow means medical condition and can only be walked by staff. Red means staff only).

Debo is a very distinguished fellow who prefers a proper introduction before being sent on his way to walk with a stranger. For this reason, and because I have more experience with Pits than Kim does, we all agreed that I should be Debo’s walker. Our intro went great and soon the two of us were on our way. The day was beautiful and Debo & I enjoyed our time together. That is, until time to head back to Amra. As soon as we got off the hiking trail and on the road back to Amra, Debo decided he wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet and he promptly sat his tushie under a tree. And stayed. And didn’t budge no matter how hard I tried or how much I bribed. Debo is a pretty hefty boy and there was no way I was getting him to move. Around that time, Kim appeared at the other end of the trail with her dog and I shouted to her to get Jake to rescue me from Debo’s stubbornness. It took Jake & me another 10 minutes to get Debo back to Amra but we were finally successful.

Just because I like to learn as much as possible about these dogs, I asked Jake how Debo ended up at Best Friends. He told me that his poor boy had been hit by a semi, which broke his back and jaw. He was brought to the BF clinic after the accident but his person never came back to get him once he recovered from his injuries.

I walked China Girl next, and absolutely fell in love. China is a Hurricane Katrina survivor, and is just so excited to have a second chance at love and a furever home. She L.O.V.E.S. people and adores any affection that comes her way. She’s a bouncy, happy, larger than life girl who is just waiting for her new family to find her.

Another Katrina survivor named Shocky was the next pooch to steal my heart. She is all about fun, play, joy and laughing. She definitely kept me entertained on our walk. She’s a trip and although she made my right arm a bit longer than my left each time she saw a lizard, she absolutely captured my soul.

Jake brought Wiggles out to me next, a gorgeous midnight black Pittie girl with ears cropped so close to her head it brought tears to my eyes. She is undergoing heartworm treatment so our walk was only 5 minutes, but what a 5 minutes it was! Her personality is as beautiful as her coat, and while I don’t know much about her past I do know her future is full of possibilities (that DON’T include a dog fighting ring).

After Wiggles and I said goodbye to each other, I ended my walking session with sweet little Bat Girl. She has about the wackiest ears I’ve ever seen, hence her name! I tried my best to get a photo of her, but true to her breed she was nothing but a mass of wiggly dog who almost wiggled herself out of her skin each time I pet her. I hated bringing her back to her run because she had so much fun on our outing but I know she is in excellent hands with Jake.

By that time, all the dogs had been walked and I asked Jake if I could spend some time socializing with Beauregard. Oh.My.Goodness. Be still my heart. Beau has a heart condition that is likely terminal but for the time being, Beau isn’t letting that diagnosis stop him from being the absolute sweetest dog on the planet. All he wanted to do was curl himself up on my lap and become one with my soul. Which, by the way, he did. 100%. His little face is haunting me still, and I so hope he finds his family long before his condition robs him from that chance. Sweet Beau, I hope you know how much I love you. How is it possible to spend 45 minutes with a dog, but be touched by them forever?

After lunch at Angel’s Village (Best Friends restaurant for staff & volunteers), we headed over to volunteer at the Lodges. The Lodges is a portion of Dogtown for dogs who are happier not sharing their run with a doggie roommate, or with a very special, very carefully selected roomie. The Lodges has mainly Pits and Amstaffs, but there are also other breeds, as well as red collar dogs. We met Jorge, a Lodges caregiver, and he asked us to clean a few of the swimming pools on the Angel’s side of the Lodges.

We started off with Rueben, who I met on my first trip to BF. It was a great reunion, but Rue has been at Best Friends waiting for his home for far too long. He is an amazingly wonderful dog who just thrives on attention. He wants to be your bestest friend ever, if only you’ll let him. He is incredibly affectionate, loves to receive belly rubs and to give kisses. He is extremely muscular and impressive looking which may be intimidating when you first see him, but he is nothing but a huge, huggable, lovable baby. In fact, he even made an adoption video, hoping the right person would see it and finally bring him home. Check it out here, and PLEASE contact Best Friends (or me!) if you want more info on him.
Rueben's Pool

We tackled Orlando’s pool next, and were quite entertained by this bouncy, happy black Lab! Talk about personality, he is FULL of it! He is very people oriented and treat motivated, so training him would likely be easy and fun. Orlando wants so badly to have his own person/people, and is well worth the inquiry you may be considering right now.

Heidi & Woody may share a run, but it looked like Woody was the only pool user. Heidi, the little princess, was much too dignified to let us see her with wet fur. Woody is also quite the hole digger, but what would you expect when 2 strangers come in and steal your beloved pool for a few minutes. These two dogs are so sweet and loveable, and deserving of their own yard with a pool or digging area.

And then, there’s Spuds… WOW! Talk about impressive. Talk about a big love muffin. Talk about a noggin!!!! This dog has the most enormous head ever. As big as his head is, his heart is even bigger! The tail never stops, the kisses never stop, the snuggling never stops until he’s curled up, big head and all, on your lap melting away in your arms. Sweet Spuds, what I whispered in your ear the last time I saw you will soon become my morning and evening prayer. I miss you already, and I’m not even gone yet.

So, that wrapped up our careers as dog pool cleaners. It was hard, back breaking, but GRATIFYING work. As a thank you, each dog (minus Heidi of course) immediately jumped into their fresh pools, grateful for the attention and care we had just bestowed upon them. What they don’t know, though, is how an hour with each of them impacted each of our lives.

Forever.