This is Dolly.

Dolly came to us two years ago this week so we are celebrating her birthday. She is five, or so they say. No one ever knows with rescue dogs.

Dolly loves:

Her 9:30 snack. She will eat almost anything I give her except peanut butter because I once hid yucky tasting pills in peanut butter. She is particularly fond of dehydrated sweet potato sticks.

Walks, not really walks but strolls. She’s not fast or interested in speed, she knows her strengths. She wants to sniff. Every wet spot.

New people. She loves visitors to the house and the head pats she wills them into giving her.

Massages, not just rubs. I will take my two hands and rub her neck area where there is a bump from the chain that used to be tied around her neck. She closes her eyes and moans, it’s almost embarrassing. The moment I take my hand away, she places her paw on my arm to ask for more. 

A few years ago, we were down to one dog. Life was a lot easier. I can’t believe at one point we were living in an apartment  on the second floor with three dogs, all of whom had to be carried up and down the stairs. My beloved Opus, the best dog in the world, had died and we had moved to a house with a big yard with Rudy the chihuahua whose only interest in the outside world was sitting on the front porch looking to see who he could bark at. 

As a family who seems to have an aversion to keeping things simple, I began looking for a new dog. Easier said than done, even for people with few expectations. 

In Switzerland,  if you want a dog, you need to work hard. In our local animal shelter, in a city of 171,000 people, there are only nine dogs for adoption. If you would like one of these nine dogs, you need to first apply online. Once they have reviewed your application, they may or may not reply to you. If you make it to the next stage, you will need to come in for an interview. At that point, they will ask you about how you will care for the dog. In particular, they will want to make sure that the dog is never alone for more than four hours on any day. Ideally, someone is always home with the dog. 

You need to agree to take the dog for training. If they still find you agreeable, then you can meet the dog. If they feel you are a good candidate, then you may take the dog for a trial period. During the trial period, you are required to submit a weekly report as to how things are going. It’s a lot, but they make sure that people who have a dog, really are prepared to take care of the dog. Animal rights are a thing here. 

But back to the nine dogs. There are not enough dogs for everyone who would want them. So, if you want a dog as we did, you need to look to countries where dogs are not taken care of so well. 

We worked with a Swiss charity in Greece to find Dolly. Unfortunately, in Greece there are stray dogs everywhere. Dolly was found tied to a tree with a chain around her neck. She had been there for five days without food or water. Someone called into the charity who came and got her and took her to their camp. She gave birth to five puppies the next week. 

When we contacted the rescue letting them know we were looking for a female dog, not too big who could deal with Rudy, the geriatric chihuahua with a bad attitude, they suggested Dolly. Her puppies were all being adopted and she was showing signs of depression. They sent the most pathetic pictures. I took one look at her and I felt so bad for her. I did not fall in love, she was not a pretty dog, actually there was not much endearing about her, she just looked so sad. So of course, I said yes. We were told we could foster her and give her back if it didn’t work but I also knew that would never happen.

I picked her up in Zurich after her arrival and drove a stinky, shaking, dirty dog in the car who proceeded to pee and howl the whole hour and a half home. Once in the house, she went into a crate where though the door was open, she never left. She also never looked at us, she would face the wall. She had never been in a house before so we kept the leash and harness on her and would drag her out to pee every few hours. I was the only one who could do it though. She was terrified of men.

It took us two weeks to house train her. Two months for the men in the house to be able to touch her and four months for me to be able to leave the house without her howling like only a beagle can howl. 

She is still a little feral. She will only drink water from a bowl that is outside. She will not come when you call her. She will lie under the lavender bushes and completely ignore you, to the point that one day the big guy feared she had escaped but she was just ignoring him.

But, after two years, she is a loving, funny sweet dog who shows signs of happiness, mischievousness and insanity when it comes to cheese. She does a little tap dance in the morning when I prepare her breakfast. She reluctantly allows me to kiss her ears though she absolutely does not enjoy it - yet. 

She is not a perfect dog. She’s really not pretty and she has two mismatched eyes but I love her with all my heart. 

I would love to know about your rescue pet.

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