 Maxine, My Love Two years ago I went to our local Animal Shelter, just to "look." I think we all know what that means. My partner Maureen & I had discussed, on numerous ocassions, getting another dog. We were aware that our 8 year old Beagle, Jack Russell mix, KD, had never really been well socialized with other dogs and although she is a love with people, the same was not true of dogs. I also had told Maureen many times that at this point the only other dog I would take in would be a hard luck Basset Hound. Bassets have always had a special spot with me as we had one when I was a very young child.
So off I went, unknown to Maureen, to the shelter. It was a Saturday and very busy. Yikes! What a place. Too many unwanted animals, just heartbreaking. As I was escorted through, I saw out of the corner of my eye, a Basset Hound. I couldn't look right at her and my heart started to beat quickly. It felt like fate called my bluff. I didn't ask about her or act interested because I was so torn as to whether or not this was really a good idea. I was told she was a male, 11 years old and her name was Max. I went home and told Maureen about the Basset I had seen. We talked about it and decided to bring KD with us Monday to see if they could even tolerate each other as we wanted to ensure they'd get along.
We went back to the shelter that Monday. Max was still there and we found out she was a female. Max was brought to us and she headed right for the window and just stood there and looked out. That ripped my heart out as I imagined she was looking for her people. She and KD sniffed each other and went on about their business. That was much better than we expected from KD. So we took the leap. By the way, the adoption fee for Maxine was $12.50.
We took her home and the first thing I did was get her in the bathtub. I never saw so much dirt. After she was all cleaned up she went to the front door and slept there in front of the door for a while.
Once the honeymoon was over we really got to know her. This is what we learned: She is sweet and gentle with kids. She is mostly aloof toward people. She doesn't like to play with toys. She gives sloppy kisses on my ears. She will head butt me if I get on the ground and face off with her. She has a pretty big startle reflex if awakened. She loves a ride in the car. She has frequent gas that could clear a room. She will eat ANYTHING. She doesn't like our cat Willow. She doesn't like to be inside if we're outside. She likes a belly rub and will push my hand if I stop. She wakes us up frequently during the night and will stare at the cookie jar and then stare at us. She will always pull a throw off of the sofa and sleep on it. She pulls our blanket off the bed to wake us. If that doesn't work, she pushes her wet nose on my feet. She whines a lot. She howls a lot. She never manages to hear us when we call her but if we accidently hit the cookie jar, she comes running. She lays her head in our grandaughter's lap while she pets her. She loves our grandkids because they are just the right height for her to steal food. She constantly steps on my bare feet with her giant paws. She doesn't seem too bright at times but she has us, especially me, wrapped real tight. She sleeps on the floor next to my side of the bed at night and in the winter likes to be covered with a throw. She has soulful brown eyes and doesn't like to make too much eye contact. She snores very loudly. She has brought more joy to us with her dopey antics and annoying habits than we ever imagined.
For all of the above reasons we love her with all we have. She has given us far more than we could ever give her. |
