Adventures in Dogwalking: Ruby

For those of you who know me well, I have become a pet enthusiast in the last few years, thanks to my wonderful yet sometimes aloof god-daughter cat, Zina (see photo albums "Zina Boboshinski" and "Technically Not my Cat..."). My enthusiasm drew me to the local SPCA branch, where I've decided to volunteer my time as a Cat Adoption Counsellor and a Dog Walker once a week (yes, those are official titles. Woot!). Today was my first shift as a Dog Walker.

I was a little nervous as to what dog I would be paired with as I waited outside the kennels while the Volunteer Co-ordinator assigned the dogs to everyone. What if I got a dog that jumped all over me and attempted to run in a million directions while I fought in vain to take it around the 5 min trail behind the SPCA? What if I got a dog who hated the way I smelled (I'm not insinuating I smell, but dogs have a million times the sense of smell than people)? What if it hated women (actually, there was a dog there that supposedly hated men). Luckily, I got the bestest, nicest dog I could've had for my first day of dog walking: Ruby.

Ruby is a German Shepard. According to her tag, she was a Humane Society seizure, so I assume she was being neglected by her previous owners (jerks!). The co-ordinator asked me if I thought I could handle her as she was very strong, and as I am always egotistically confident of my own strength, I assured her I could. And I did. Woot woot! But Ruby was very strong, and although she wasn't one of those dogs that constantly struggle against their leash, she did have a very strong lead. But after the first few times around the trail, she seemed to relax a little, especially after I petted/massaged her back a couple of times. She didn't bark once, not even at the other dogs nearby. In fact, she seemed much more interested in becoming friends with them than asserting herself, which makes me think, in my uncertified, non-expert amateur opinion, that she would be considered a submissive dog. She was very curious about EVERYTHING (every tree, spot of grass, and coil of poo was qualified for closer inspection) but not very interested in toys (my many thrown balls and calls of "Fetch, Ruby!" went unheeded, and therefore unfetched). But my most exciting moment was my attempt to teach her the command, "Sit." I walked her up to the treat table, grabbed a treat, and held it in my hand. Holding her steady, I raised my hand with the treat in it and said, loudly and firmly, "Sit, Ruby! Sit!" while bringing my hand down slightly each time I said it. After a few repeats, she sat! The second time around, she sat down much quicker! Yaaaayy! (Ok, someone probably taught her the command before, but it was still exciting to see it executed :P)

After a hour or so of walking and playing, it was time for her to go back into her kennel. This is the sad part for a lot of dogs, as many of them start getting anxious again and don't want to go back. Ruby went in without incident, but not before some whining and mild attempts to get away from the shelter. After she was back in, I gave her a little pet through the fence and said "Bye, Ruby!" She turned around in her kennel and quietly watched us walk away.

I hope I get to walk her again next week (unless someone adopts her, but I don't think she's available for adoption yet).