It's been a long time since I've done any transporting. Between the move and spending time with Dahlia, I just haven't had much of a spare moment on the weekends. I had some time this weekend and a transport was set up to head out to Trish (where we got Dahlia from), so I jumped back on the bandwagon.
The transport was for a collie mix puppy now named Blesk (which means "lightning"), about 6 months old, supposedly 45 lbs (though probably half that in reality), from the same rural pound that Dahlia came from, and a lab/hound mix named Butterscotch. Butterscotch was one of the cell dogs. If you haven't heard about this program, it's a pretty neat one. Inmates are carefully selected (good behaviour, non-violent crimes, etc.) to work with dogs who need training. The dog lives with them in their cell and the provide all the care for it: walking, food, water, etc. A trainer comes in and teaches the inmates how to train the dogs. Once the dog graduates, it moves on to become someone's pet. It's a great program for both the dogs AND the inmates.
I met the transport in Rochester. I had been warned that Butterscotch was not an easy dog to get into the car and boy where they right! We got the collie in quickly and easily. But Butterscotch? Nope. No go. As soon as you tried to get her near the car, she backed up, legs stiff, and wouldn't budge. In the end, the other woman hefted all 55 lbs of her up and shoved her in the car. Once there, she was fine.
The collie pup, who we had put in the front seat, quickly crawled in the back to be with Butterscotch. The pup seemed to really like the older dog. Butterscotch attempted to get into the front a couple times but was easily put off by my arm blocking the way (and gave me kisses on the side of the face -- so sweet!). I've dealt with dogs who would barrel through my arm without batting an eyelash so it was nice to have one who didn't!
The ride itself was pretty uneventful. Butterscotch eventually settled down and slept. The collie pup seemed to be asleep before I even left the parking lot. We arrived in good time to the meeting place in Syracuse, and after some cojoling and shoving, got Butterscotch into the next person's car.
It was really nice to be back "in the saddle" as it were and help out a couple of great dogs. Blesk went to her new forever home the day after the transport and Butterscotch will be going home soon!
A few pictures, some from another of the transporters.
Blesk:
Butterscotch:
Both:
A few more can be found here.
