Can I have my dog back?

A couple of years ago I had just become the residential coordinator at the Salvation Army Community Services in Saskatoon and we had this guy sleeping on the front steps of the chapel.  He wouldn’t come inside because he had a dog (it wasn’t a dog but that part will come later) and couldn’t bear to be separated from him.  We tried to come up with a solution.  We called the SPCA (who didn’t return our calls), we called some kennels but this guy would not give up his dog.  The problem was it was cool out at night and he was getting sicker and sicker.  Myself or another staff told him that if he went down to Social Services, we would keep him and the dog in our lounge area.  The dog has no collar, no leash, and had a piece of binder twine for a leash.  The guy told the dog (her name was Cleo) to stay and he wandered off.  Social Services was busy that day and he was gone a couple of hours but the dog never moved.  We checked on her all morning (we didn’t want anyone to take her or the dog catcher to be called) and made sure she had food and water. 

While he was gone, I got an excited phone call from the Social Services worker he saw he was both elated and surprised that we were going to keep the dog and at the same time was trying to come up with a way to see if she could pay for dog food.  We had a donation of dog food come in from Safeway so it wasn’t a problem.  The client was happy, Social Services was thrilled, and the staff was all excited.  Well most of the staff.  I wasn’t sure if there was a policy prohibiting dogs from staying at the shelter but I was sure I was breaking at least one rule.

The client came back and by that time my phone was ringing off the hook from other agencies who had heard we were taking this client and Cleo in to the Centre and wanted to help out.  Over the next couple of hours Cleo had a proper collar and leash compliments of Wendy, a pink bandana, dog food dishes, grooming supplies, and multiple beds that came from the cushions of a wrecked couch that had been dumped in our parking lot.  Cleo was quite an attraction and there was a literal lineup outside the door of the lounge as people came in to see and pet Cleo.  We have a television set in the lounge and it wasn’t turned on that evening.  Why would you?  There was a dog to pet.

I mentioned that it wasn’t a dog earlier… it was actually part coyote.  This became relevant when I was being lectured by a co-worker about me letting dogs into the Centre and I replied, “It isn’t a dog, it’s part coyote.”  That didn’t defuse the argument but in the end no one cared as it was a toothless coyote. 

The toothless part was a bit of a problem as the dry dog food that we had wasn’t going to work so the kitchen was making special meals for her.  That stopped when some social workers who had found out that our dog wasn’t just a dog but part toothless coyote came by with a couple different soft dog food meal options.  Later that day a vet phoned to offer his services if needed because he had heard through the grapevine that we had a dogote prowling the grounds.   Another agency had a new bike and a baby carrier for him that with a little work became this…

In hindsight, it was the least productive yet most enjoyable couple of weeks we had at the shelter.  I was amazed at how attached even the staff got to the dog.  It isn’t something that we have the ability to do but it is something that we have done from time to time over the years with the occasional dog and cat.  The video is pretty raw and while I don’t agree with his economic views, I can feel empathy for his pain of giving up someone that means so much to him.

Other Related Posts You May Want to Explore

• October 7, 2010 -- The Grind of Poverty
• February 19, 2012 -- For street people of all ages, mental health a critical issue
• February 11, 2012 -- The System (and how it doesn’t work)
• January 20, 2012 -- The story of Mark Horvath
• January 12, 2012 -- Renovations at The Lighthouse