|
The True Story of Tina, the Library Pit Bull
This story is true and it begins on June 27th, 2001.
It was a warm and sunny Wednesday morning, and as usual on a workday, I was at the library. Sometime between 10 am and
11:30 am, the mail arrived. Since it's part of my job to distribute the incoming mail, I was in the mailroom, when one of
my co-workers came by and asked, "Jeanne, are you afraid of dogs?"
I said, "No. Why?"
She said, "Patrons have been coming in and complaining that they can't use the bookdrop because there's a big dog
in front of it. They say it's a pit bull. Would you come with me to check it out?" As I agreed, she grabbed an umbrella
so we could fend off this dangerous beast if we had to.
With a little trepidation, we walked out the back door. Sure enough, there was a large black, gray & tan dog just
lying directly in front of the drive-up bookdrop. Not a good place to pick for a nap. As we looked at the dog, it came over,
circled us, and went back to lying where it had been. Seeing that the dog was obviously not a pit bull, we went back inside
and filled a container with water because it wasn't even noon and it was already very hot & humid. We took the water down
to the other end of the building, and the dog followed.
Upon closer inspection, we could see that she had a purple choke collar, but no tags. It looked to me that she was an
Australian Shepherd mix. In the meantime, the library bosses had called Montgomery County Animal Control, both for the dog's
protection and ours. While we waited for them to show up, several of my co-workers said, "Hey, Jeanne. You don't have
any pets right now. Why don't you tell them you want to adopt her if no one claims her?"
It was true. Aside from some goldfish, and a feral raccoon that keeps getting into my attic, I was petless. It had been
almost a year since I lost Beau, and Cinnamon, my rabbit, had died suddenly in February. A good friend told me when Beau died
that she knew I'd get a new dog someday and maybe it would even come to me. This didn't surprise me as both my previous dogs
were dogs that found my family rather than us finding them. I decided to go for it.
Around 1 pm., the animal control officer showed up. She was glad to see that the dog was docile and comfortable, as a
lot of the dogs she'd had to get that morning had trouble with heatstroke. I told her I was interested in the dog &
she took my information, but said that I would still have to call the shelter and see if the dog was available. I asked
how long that would be. Since the dog had no tags, I was told to call on Saturday, and if she was still there, I could probably
have her Monday after she'd been checked by a vet.
I waited patiently until Saturday to call the animal shelter. I figured there was no point in calling sooner, in case
she ended up being claimed. When I called Saturday, I was told yes, that dog is still here, and to call back on
Monday to see if she'd been checked by the vet.
Monday I called on my lunch hour. The woman who answered the phone said, "No. That dog hasn't been checked and probably
won't be until Wednesday." I thanked her anyway and hung up, then realized that Wednesday was the Fourth of July and
the shelter wouldn't be open then. So I decided to call back Tuesday morning, and it's a very good thing that I did.
When I inquired about this dog, the woman who answered the phone said, "Let me get someone to talk to you." This
made me very nervous, and I was on hold a long time before this woman came back. She said the woman who she wanted to talk
to me was still busy, but basically, if I still wanted this dog, I had to get to the shelter TODAY and adopt her, because
someone decided that she was too timid for general adoption. If I didn't get her that afternoon, she would be
euthanized.
I made a frantic phone call to a friend who has a large dog crate and left work at 3, to meet my friend at 4, to get to
the shelter before 6. And we did. I had to fill out forms & promise to have her spayed and plunk down a check for $65,
but suddenly I had a new dog that I really knew nothing about. The people at the shelter estimated that she was around
a year old, which was about the age I was going to look for in a new dog.
The next day was the Fourth of July, and I didn't have to work, so I could stay home & bond with my dog all day. I
was delighted to see that someone had taken the time to housebreak her. That was another quality I was going to have looked
for.
That morning when I put her out, she surprised me by wriggling under a spot in my chain link fence right into the neighbor's
backyard at 6 am. So I bought some wire garden fencing that's about a foot high, and put a section in front of that part of
the fence. (I have since had to use tent stakes to stake down every loose spot in the fence.) I'm wondering if this is how
she got away from her previous owner or if she really was abandoned.
I came up with a short list of possible names and started saying them to her. When I said "Tina" she jumped
on me, thereby selecting her name. That night we walked halfway around the block to get a better view of the Kettering fireworks.
Tina was a very good dog and even the noise of people setting off firecrackers in the neighborhood didn't bother her.
Nights during the first few weeks were a little rough. I would be sleeping soundly in my bed and Tina would pounce on
me at 2 or 3 am, whining like a crazy dog. I would tell her no, and usually that would be the end of it. One morning I woke
up face down at 2 am, with a 57-pound dog standing on my back. She didn't have to go outside, because some nights she'd only
been out a couple hours before and she'd shown me that she has incredible control, so I guess it was just anxiety. She has
calmed down a lot at night and is usually on & off my bed most nights, but without the whining. I don't even notice without
the noise.
I took her to the vet two weeks later for the rest of her shots. My vet said he thought in addition to the Australian
Shepherd, she was probably part Rotweiler or terrier. I had thought she had a Rotweiler look to her face. (And she has the
tan spots over her eyes that a lot of Rots have.) While there, I made an appointment later that week to have her spayed. I
got a call later that morning saying that when they shaved her, they found a scar that appeared to be a
previous spaying scar.
I have since come to learn that thunderstorms do upset her, but she's okay if she can snuggle with me. Other than that,
nothing seems to bother her. She is an unusually quiet dog. She avidly chases any smaller animals that are foolish enough
to come into her yard, and she loves to stalk squirrels, even if they're in other yards. She is a big kisser. Neither of my
previous dogs licked me so much.
She loves every person I've seen her meet, and all dogs, as well. She is always quite eager to meet anyone. So much for
her being a timid dog. As my next door neighbor said, "If they think this dog is too timid, what are they letting
people adopt? Pit bulls?"
|
