Donald's Story: The
Case for Character
by Beth Pariseau, Bix-L Boxers
We've all heard the
ongoing debate about temperament: Is it nature (inherited) or nurture (acquired)? We've
heard owners make excuses for shy show dogs -- "He had a bad experience his first
time in the ring" or "She was attacked by another dog at her first dog
show." These excuses, apparently, are supposed to explain why an adult dog is still
tucking it's tail every time the judge is near while in the ring. One experience, we are
told, made this dog shy for life.
A week ago, I made a
trip to the Kern County Animal Shelter to pick up a Boxer for Rescue. All I knew going in
was that this dog had natural ears, an undocked tail, a lame leg, and was on hold for
killing livestock. My attitude was negative: Was this one more essentially unplaceable
dog?
Then I met Donald -- so named
because the "livestock" he had killed was a duck. First impressions: Skinny!
Perfectly placed natural ears with no "flying nun" look -- wouldn't you know
:-). Odd looking right front leg held up except to touch a toe down for balance. Not big
for a male -- probably a puppy. And, stinko! If you've ever picked up a dog at the pound,
they all have the same stale, rancid smell. Sweet disposition!
Donald had a momentary
look of confusion when the officer took him out of the run ("Thank goodness you
picked him up because we needed the run and . . ."). His eyes began to light up as he
realized he was going with me and a slow wag of his long tail began. We passed a worker
taking an armload of wiggling, happy, mixed-breed puppies to the kill room and my eyes
welled with tears, thankful that I got there in time for Donald and angry at all the
irresponsible people who allowed these unwanted little lives to enter this world in the
first place! Back to Donald. He wasn't thrilled about being loaded into a crate, but he
complied with nothing more than a stiffening of his only good front leg. No crying or
carrying on in the crate on the way home. I tried to find a groomer that would bathe him
for me, but found all groomers were booked. I didn't want to take him in my house because
I had a litter of six-week-old puppies. But I ended up putting blankets all the way down
the hall into the bathroom and bathing him myself. Again, a little confusion, but gentle
compliance.
Then a trip to my vet for a
rabies shot and a check of that odd right front leg. Diagnosis: A compound fracture
allowed to heal out of alignment. You could see a scar where the bone had pushed out
through the skin and you could feel the end of the bone just below the surface of the
skin, with an overlap of 2-3 inches where the leg bone lay parallel to itself instead of
forming a single straight support. This had all apparently happened quite early in his
life and the muscles had shortened to accommodate the decreased length of leg. Donald was
never likely to regain use of his right front leg :-(. His age was estimated at about 10
months. Throughout this poking and prodding, Donald continued to wag his tail gently and
look at us with implicit trust in his soft eyes.
Home again to a crate in my
motorhome. He ate his dinner. (Think of all those excuses we make why our show dogs don't
eat on the road!) He pooped and peed on lead. (I walked one of my show dogs for an hour
last month before that feat was accomplished <G>.) He slept quietly without yapping
or whining. In fact, I had to wake him up when I came out to get him in the morning!
Again, quick toileting without complaint or neurosis :-).
In a matter of twelve hours, I
was completely enamoured of Donald and regretted having to deliver him to Boxer Rescue LA
for neutering and an orthopedic consult. This dog is everything we should be striving for
in Boxer temperament in spite of circumstances that would have justified almost any
temperament fault you could think of. This is character -- character developed when no one
was watching and no one cared.
My New Year's Resolutions? 1)
Find a fabulous home for Donald that will appreciate him for the treasure he is. 2) Don't
make excuses for temperament faults that are a result of genetic makeup and strive to
breed sweet-tempered dogs like Donald that can adapt to whatever life sends their way. 3)
Continue doing what I can to see that Rescue dogs like Donald don't meet an untimely end
as a result of human failing.
Happy New Year, everyone! |
