Tues 10th May: Trying to understand a dog's inner feelings

 I was lucky to be able to get out today, just before the rain and thunderstorms started, and it looks as though the wet weather will continue for a few days.

Tanner is such a pretty dog

At least I was able to meet up again with Thomas and Tanner at the Kennedy Town Homing Centre, returned after a longish stay in a foster home.   Of the two it's Tanner who seems to have progressed most in terms of his behaviour, as I remember him when he first arrived at our then-Ap Lei Chau Centre along with Thomas, Tessa and many other small dogs.  I kept wondering why such a pretty dog hadn't been adopted, but he was so shy it was impossible to even touch him for more than a couple of seconds.  Now while the other two "T" dogs still hang back, Tanner is happy to be petted, and it was him who had formed a strong connection with his foster parents and was so upset to be brought back.   I even think he might be ready to be adopted as a singleton to the right home if one comes along. 

Beemer

I keep repeating a lot of things that I've written about so many times before, but some readers might be new to my blog and may not have read previous posts.  Today I saw a perfect example of how dogs form strong bonds, and have an emotional side that can affect them as much as any human.  I'm talking about our sweet little dog Beemer, the one with two-and-a-half legs.  He had instantly connected with another funny little dog, a tiny poodle called Jumble, and the two become inseparable friends.  We wanted them to be adopted together but they were so different in looks that although we had a lot of enquiries for Jumble, no one wanted to take his friend Beemer as well.  Finally we had to agree to letting Jumble go to a home that seemed perfect for him, and sure enough he settled in very quickly and is extremely happy.

However that left Beemer without his buddy, and it was very sad to see him all alone.  He wasn't interested in any of the other dogs at the Red Dog Centre where he and Jumble had been staying together, and so he was moved to Kennedy Town when we opened there.  We hoped that he would find a new friend, but as the days passed he grew more and more depressed and lonely, and today when Iris pointed him out, sitting on his own in the kitchen area of the Homing Centre, she told me that he was even refusing to eat.  Right then we made the decision to send him back to the Red Dog Centre in Ap Lei Chau, a place where at least he felt at home even if Jumble wasn't there any more. Later in the evening Iris told me that Beemer had eaten at last, and seemed relieved to be "home". 

Beemer loved funny little Jumble

It's impossible to predict how two dogs will get along (unless they're puppies, in which case everyone is an instant best friend), and there's no magic crystal ball that can look inside a dog's mind to understand what they see in another dog.  Why did Jumble the poodle and Beemer the not-quite-perfect mixed breed become so close almost immediately?  We will never know, and we can only hope that one day Beemer will find another friend to share his life with, and if this happens we will promise never to separate them again. 

There's absolutely no doubt that dogs have emotions and feelings, and that they experience happiness, sadness, fear and the grief of losing a close friend.  We see it all the time in dogs that are surrendered to us, or abandoned by their families in any way, and while some dogs bounce back fairly quickly, for others like Beemer the loss is profound.