The Wolf Twins
I have a strong ethical code around dogs. I love dogs immensely and have since I was a little kid, but I also recognize that having a dog means, in a sense, having a prisoner. They are required to go where you bring them, do what you allow them do, eat what you give them and behave in the ways you train them. Because I have felt conflict about this, it’s always been important to me that my dog be allowed a strong sense of freedom, as much as I think is reasonable for her own safety and within the understanding that we live in a world with roads and other people’s property and my dog is no wild, feral creature - she would probably greatly dislike being left alone in the wilderness to fend for herself. I sit and think about whether she’s getting what she needs, questions like, Is she fulfilled? Is her dog-life fascilitating optimal dog-joy?
Lately, I’ve felt some strain around Pinto Bean. It’s great she can come to the office with me, but she’s bored a lot while I’m working, she’s getting a lot less exercise than she used to and she spends a great deal of time just sleeping. It’s been in the back of my mind that another dog might be a real kindness to offer her. She loves other dogs, she gets to play in a way she can’t with me, she gets to communicate in a way she can’t with me and she can snuggle up and be warm with them. I’ve thought a lot about it but I wasn’t doing anything about it.
Last week, on a whim, I asked a farmer friend if she knew of any dogs looking to be re-homed and she said, “Actually, I do!” She connected me with the foster home of a dog named Fox.
Fox is a 5 year old Border Collie, Australian Shepard, Jack Russel Terrier mix - with some other things I can’t remember. He’s sweet, high energy, loves other dogs and listens well to commands. He came from a very neglectful situation in which he sometimes wasn’t fed for a week at a time. This means he does have some anxiety issues and stress. While I’ll admit my perfect dog was another Pinto Bean - the calm, sweet, self-directed little lady that is a breeze to handle, however, when I saw the two of them play together, I decided that Fox was worth taking on and I know I have the discipline and experience to help bring him to a better place internally.
So, you’ll be seeing Fox around Twin Wolves and soon we’ll have the two “Wolf” mascots. It will take a while for him to handle the unpredictability of the space, right now he’s prone to barking a lot when he sees a new person or a car and, obviously, that’s not ideal healing center behavior. Luckily, I have the animation studio space in the back where he can take breaks and have a calm spot to regroup. Hopefully with training he can be a nice presence in the space here.