February 13, 2013 — Landenberg, PA
I met my new shelter dog pen pal today for our first walk together. I smiled even before we met, as I watched Ellie Mae‘s tail wag into her two friends’ tails, while they happily watched me approach the front door of the shelter.
I took Ellie for a nice 45 minute walk today. Turns out there is a new township park near the shelter where Ellie lives. Ellie wowed me early in our walk, on the way to the park, by walking calmly by 4 big barking dogs, guarding their front yard within an invisible fence. Even though I had premeditated several skills I could teach her today, it actually ended up being me following her calm energy while we passed those dogs! As they barked and jumped, daring each other to break the line, we kept as much distance as we could (about 30 feet) and passed quietly without incident.
When we got to the park, Ellie sniffed the tall grass for birds, tracked the ground for squirrels, and enjoyed a delicious drink of cold, fresh creek water. All the while, Ellie got to know that I gave her one of my homemade salmon treats whenever she responded to me calling her. I also clicked and treated several times when she walked calmly at my side (which was most of the time). She definitely seemed to catch on to these little treat games!
As Ellie’s Pen Pal, I’m excited to bring some extra fun into her life, maybe teach her a thing or two that prospective adopters will like, and spread the good word about her availability. Recently, despite a busy schedule, I have been feeling the itch to get more hands-on in dog rescue again, and already the familiar “high” has returned – there is nothing like helping a deserving shelter dog experience what a slice of heaven our world can be!
I’ll be seeing Ellie about once a week while she lives at the shelter. So stay tuned for more Ellie “tails” here. And by all means, contact CompAnimals or me if you’re interested in Ellie Mae! Or e-mail if you’d like to become a Pen Pal yourself…
Contact CompAnimals if you are interested in adopting Ellie Mae
