Pete
Just Looking
This week’s Happy Tail comes from Benita Raphan, who started her day “just looking” at dogs at the ASPCA and ended it in a dog park at midnight with her new best friend.
In May, I went to the ASPCA in NYC. Just as I was leaving the Adoption Center, a volunteer told me that a small dog had been made available for adoption. When we went to take a look, the dog was sleeping way in the back of his exercise pen, and he appeared very sad. One of the ASPCA behaviorists went to get the dog for an introduction, and he was so frightened. Although he was impeccably groomed, his fur was so long that he looked like a little Sheepdog. (It turns out that he is a Havanese/Tibetan Terrier mix.)
When I took the scared pup home later that night, we were both so excited that neither of us could sleep. We went out again and again for short walks, finally ending up in the Washington Square Park dog run at midnight.
Within a week, he seemed at home in my apartment, and practically lived in a small round bed that I had purchased for him. I named him Pete, after my nephew in Minnesota.
Now, Pete is my best friend and keeps me company while I work. He’s a kooky dog: His favorite thing is putting my shoes in his dog bed; he doesn’t chew on them, but rather likes to collect them. And if I give Pete a chewy treat, he plays with it by throwing it in the air and retrieving it for about five minutes before he actually eats it—like playing a game of fetch with himself.
Pete is also a dog who lives to be comfortable, insisting on lying on anything soft, including my lap or the lap of a perfect stranger at the dog run. We especially love those dog run visits because on a daily basis at least someone says, “You are so lucky to have found Petey. He is such a great dog.” Which is absolutely true. I just adore him.
For more stories of furry fate, visit our Happy Tails Archive.