Welcome to TAILS

Until today I did not have any desire to look at the pictures of where the hoarded animals came from, and only now after looking at them can I fully understand the significance of what took place. I was at Kishwaukee College and I heard about the situation on the news the night before, but at school there was a TAILS rep passing out flyers asking people to volunteer. Volunteering for me has never been at my own convienience since I am a volunteer firefighter, so normally I shrink from volunteering opportunities outside of the fire district. This time however I decided to make an effort with leash in hand to walk a few dogs and work with them so that they would be more comfortable around people. However my first trip to the hangar was almost overwhelming because I had never seen that many dogs together in my life. Walking down the Isles there were so many of these poor animals that had lost that divine spark in their eyes. Most seemed to have no will to live, others would not even care to raise their heads and sniff.

Dog #91 was a Great Pyrenees who was among the saddest of the lot. After dragging him from his cage and hauling him outside for a walk I felt bound to this dog to do him a service of some sort, so after the walk I sat there by his cage and petted him for a while. Now granted he was by no means a dog yet just a sack of fur with sad eyes. I figured that if he were ever to be a dog again he would need a name just like a real dog so from that day forward he was dubbed Boo Boo (The wife smacked me when I called him Boobsie). From that day forward I spent much of my time at the hangar just petting him and I'm guessing his friend Choo Choo who were both so sad. After a week I noticed Choo Choo had gained back his Pyrenees bounce and wanted to play. Which was funny because I don't think he really knew how. Boo Boo however remained timid and fearful, but yet he would allow me to pet him at length.

Eventually custody was won, and my services were volunteered adamantly that I wanted to Foster/Adopt. However my Wife discovered that she was pregnant so it was decided that adopting would not be in our best interest despite my intense desire to give Boo Boo a good home. Now we were at least given the opportunity to foster the poor dog, and introduce him to the life and expectations of a family dog. This we did with vigor for a week. Which toward the end of he really started to appreciate the perks of family life. My dog Grace showed him the best sleeping spots on the bed with ma and pa, she also taught him how dogs are supposed to act around food, he was supposed to eat out of her dish, and she was supposed to eat out of his then switch, because the food in the other dish was better.

As the adoption event approached I started to worry about the home that he would eventually go to, I wanted to make sure without a doubt that his new home would be just as good, if not better than mine. This was not negotiable to me, and I really wanted to see to it personally because of the investment I had with him. A few people approached his cage in the tent without any knowledge of him and were unsure of their certainty. It felt wrong that this dog might go to someone who did not fully appreciate him. I went outside to find my wife and my other dog grace, and let her know about my worries. I spotted her talking to this wonderful couple who happened to have a Great Pyrenees by their side as well. She told me that Grace found this couple and that they were interested in Boo Boo. Well my dog has made some pretty good decisions in the past (She also picked my wife), so this spark of providence led to this couple adopting Boo Boo. Sunday night after my Wife told me that Boo Boo was resting comfortably in front of their fireplace I slept better than I had done in weeks. He went from squalor, to chaos, to a warm bed with people in it, and finally to his new home where I am sure he will finally become a full fledged dog. Only now do I realize after seeing the pictures the remarkable journey this dog has made with so many others. This compelled me to write so that perhaps all the volunteers may appreciate the profund situation we encountered, and derive some sense of closure as we move on.