Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Alice



This is Alice. She's a happy girl when she's out and about with her friends or when you hop into her kennel with her for some cuddling. She's not picky so long as she's getting pets and stritches. She's been overlooked for some time now, though. She's not especially barky or jumpy although once she has your attention, she will cling to you or press up against you, grateful for the physical comfort of your warmth and touch. Alice has a beautiful smile, doesn't she?


She seems to like everyone, and her clean, pretty coat makes me think she used to be someone's pet. She does know the game "fetch" but it was so hot today, she only brought me the ball once and then wanted no more of that. The rest of our time together was spent sitting in her kennel, watching people and dogs go by and enjoying some snuggles and petting. She has a great head for kissing too. Nice and broad with that Staffordshire dip in the middle. She would make a great pal. She's just waiting to be noticed.

UPDATE: Our little sweetheart was put to sleep June 19. Sleep well, Alice. Miss you...

3 comments:

dano569 said...

i got a bully girl from your shelter about 2 months ago.you're doing a great thing showing these dogs the way they should be treated and showing them what love is in their last days.thank you!!!

Anonymous said...

why was Alice put to sleep?

Shelter Diaries said...

The summer months at the animal shelter are particularly difficult. Between the "Christmas puppies" growing into unwanted adolescents and the plethora of unexpected springtime pregnancies, the shelter usually fills to capacity (and beyond) on a regular basis.

This year has been especially bad, with the combination of a shaky economy (more surrenders and less adoptions) along with road construction on the street leading to the shelter. And when there are more animals to board and feed than there is room to put them, the animals that are ill or unlikely to be adopted are the first to be put to sleep to make room for new animals.

Since Alice had been at the shelter longer than most other dogs - and since she was a breed that many people won't even look at, and most landlords won't allow - she was eventually put to sleep to allow other animals a chance to be rescued or adopted.

It breaks our hearts to lose any animal, but it's ten times as painful when they die for something as frivolous as lack of space. But when you have a dozen animals brought in and only two or three adopted or rescued out each day, it's impossible to ignore the inevitable outcome.

--Tim