Pets on the Road - Annie

The Big Island was pretty cool, in several senses: interesting, laid back, and of temperature due to “vog.” We had a good time touring, hiking, swimming, and relaxing.

Spent a couple days at a lush and colorful B&B on a hobby farm teeming with animals – two miniature horses, a pig, peacocks, chickens, all sorts of smaller birds, plus a couple half feral cats (who would have nothing to do with us) and a recently acquired young dog.

Drama ensured the second morning when the dog chased and presumably killed a favorite chicken. Our host had already told us she was trying to train the dog, a sweet seeming tan lab mix, not to bother the other animals and that he was “on probation” after his last chicken maiming. So instead of the usual breakfast chit chat, she was distressed from losing the chicken and the thought of returning the dog to the shelter.

We talked about the reasons sometimes people have to return pets. This dog just wouldn’t work out at a place with pet laying chickens running freely in the yard. Still, he would surely be able to bond with another family. Hawaii shelters have some different challenges than city shelters, but the same sort of issues underlie.

That was the biggest drama of my vacation. We happily managed to miss the bulk of swine flu panic. Saw a few face masks at airports, but otherwise were quite unaware of the disease’s spread or lack thereof, and found the whole thing being declared not a big deal upon our return.

Still, Maddie’s is pretty empty. Can’t tell if that’s residual people staying home or just a quiet weekday. I check the recent adoptions and see that Iceberg has gone home with a “young woman, love at first sight” as noted on his kennel card (yay!).

I spend some quiet time socializing time with the cats. Mostly quiet – eight year old Annie, a darling, slightly chunky gray and white girl, has quite the voice. She squawks, loud and deep, from the moment I enter her space. She’s nice and friendly and helps herself to my lap, purring and rubbing and uttering regular comments as I pet her and talk to her. I envision her going home with people who don’t mind loud voices.

A 30ish couple ask to see Sailor, a cute little gray tabby boy. He’s outgoing and thrilled to have company. They give all the signs of falling in love, but it turns out that they are taking this process slow and deliberative. They want to see several other cats and had originally hoped to get a kitten. (The one small kitten currently available is a hugely entertaining tiny tabby.)

Can’t argue with that approach. Better to make sure it’s the right pet and avoid the heartache of a return.