So Many to Choose

On this particular day, there were about 16 bassets in every shape and colour who found themselves resident in WABR. Some as young as under one year to Oscar, who Pat described as being "older than dirt". My arrival had triggered the basset baying and as soon as I crossed the gate threshold, I was suddenly surrounded by wagging tails, and excited hounds. Not a glimmer of aggression as they all pushed and shoved for a scratch or a pet.

Lady (Annie)(L) Grace (C) and Dixie (L on the futon)

I had long ago come to understand that the best way to communicate with a dog is to get to their level. In the case of a Basset this is somewhat more difficult, as they are typically built very low to the ground. However, lucky for me there was a full sized futon set up in the middle of the room.

And as I sat down, I was quickly joined by the bassets, that could jump up there. I had also long ago realized that the dog picks you, you do not pick the dog. And so I spent the afternoon chatting with Pat and letting the pack settle back into their routine. Most of my time was spent scratching ears, and assisting bums to get lifted up to the futon for a closer sniff and checking out of me.

Annie would come through the doggies door and stand about 3 meters from me. Occasionally dashing in close and then bolting back out the doggies door. Her dog auction mate Sadie and her spent quite a bit of time together and Sadie was more responsive to getting at least touched.  But even that interaction with me, did not seem to cause Lady to want to get too close to me. In our discussions at home we had talked about taking 2 of the puppy mill hounds, and I had thought initially that Lady (Annie) and Sadie, having been together through the puppy mill and auction, may be a good choice. Pat and I discussed this and the concern was that while Sadie may be a more calming influence for Lady, the exact opposite may also occur, where Lady would be the alpha and she also explained that the amount of time and energy for a puppy mill survivor would be great and I may want to reconsider taking on two at the same time.

The afternoon turned into night, and I stayed to be there during the dinner feeding time. Each basset had their place and routine for feeding, and if you know bassets, they live for two main purposes, food and sleep. A common issue for a basset is weight gain.  If it is good enough for you to eat, then surely it is good enough for them. They have the most expressive sad eyes and will quickly learn how to trigger you to get them a snack. They all went to their respective sleep space and waited for dinner. Also a time for Pat to disinfect the floor space from all the drool!

The time had come to make a decision. during the afternoon, Grace had propped herself on the futon against my back and essentially slept the afternoon away. Another lemon basset named Dixie had been very insistent about getting pets. She was the smallest of the bassets there and had to push her way past them to get attention. Grace had apparently been what was classed as a garage dog. Meaning she lived in a garage when the people were not around. There were concerns about her messing in her kennel. She had never been properly house trained. Dixie had come to the shelter being picked up alongside the roadway, having apparently managing to escape any type of enclosure. She was and is a rambling girl. A fence to her is a challenge and she is very able to study gates and fences and find a weakness. As Pat and I discussed the best choices, based on my time with them and their interaction with me, I was still convinced that Lady was one who I wanted. Then to decide who should be number 2. As I discussed the best combination, suddenly Grace reared her head walked around to my front, looked up at me and put her head on my lap, as if to say. Hello, I've already picked you, did you not notice for the past three hours I have been pasted to your back? She also reminded me so much of our great Mr. Beuford. Her build and personality would be a great welcome after our loss of him. Pat was inclined to get me to take Dixie, saying that all she wanted was to please and be loved.  I was also taken with Dexter and Sadie. But I also knew I could not take back 5 bassets. I left and told Pat I would call home and discuss my decision. Clive would be on the internet and be able to look at the rescue web page to see each of the dogs as I walked him through my experiences and observations of each of the bassets. In the end we decided that I would take Lady, Grace and Dixie. I called Pat later that night from my hotel room to let her know, as she had wanted to give baths and get together the accessories and documents I would need for the Canada Border Service people. She had a chuckle when I told her that in addition to Lady we would take Grace and Dixie. Pat told me the next day that after my call, for the first time, Grace went over and curled up with Lady and slept together for the night. Almost as if they knew they would be leaving together. Grace had not been that social with the other bassets, but she suddenly decided she would be Lady's guardian. I suspect it was to make sure she did not get left behind in the morning!