Hampton Roads Dogs For Adoption: May 2013

This beautiful girl is Skittles. Skittles was rescued from North Carolina and was given to a minor by his friend. The minor's mom would not allow her son to keep Skittles and turned her in to a local shelter on December 7, 2012. Skittles was 8 months old at the time. She was confined to a kennel when she should have been running around and enjoying being a dog. All this girl wanted was out of that kennel. She knew it was no place for a puppy to be and tried, in her way, to tell the humans that she needed to be free and be allowed to play. Unfortunately for Skittles, that wouldn't happen any time soon. Skittles was let outside to go potty and then came back in to her kennel, but she knew there was more to life than that and she wanted that more. One day while walking through the kennel to return a dog I had been walking, I saw Skittles bouncing up and down in her kennel, barking at me. I can only imagine she saw my leash and was trying to tell me she wanted out. I took this precious girl out and found that she loved to play but didn't quite know how to channel that energy. She was so excited that she jumped around and jumped on me at times too. I've worked with many dogs much worse than this that went on to be adopted in to wonderful loving families so I knew I could do that with Skittles. For a few weeks, I took her out and she jumped and got excited and did all those things that a puppy does. I saw something in this girl that I knew was special, but I didn't know what it was at the time.

Before I continue, I want to make something perfectly clear. This is not a story about me or my friends who stood up and fought for Skittles. It is about a dog who was unjustly deemed as un-adoptable and the odds that this incredible little girl beat. I have no doubt that the rest of this story will get mixed reactions. Those who know me will know who I'm referring to and some of them will be happy that I told Skittles story here. Others will be quite upset that they are being called out and exposed for what they truly are and some will understand, without a doubt, how I truly feel about them, in case there was ever any doubt. So, on with Skittles' story we go...

I had asked a good friend of mine to update Skittles pictures so we could post new pictures on the website and, hopefully, generate some interest. Another friend was there with us to assist with the pictures as well. When I went to get Skittles, she wasn't in her usual kennel but had been moved to another room in the shelter. We found her and took her to "the picture room". Skittles was a bit timid and so loving. She was sitting with one of my friends, getting ready to have her picture taken when a kennel worker walked in and basically said something to the effect that we shouldn't bother with taking her pictures, since she wouldn't be around when they were posted. Translation....Skittles was going to be euthanized. Needless to say, this took all 3 of us by surprise, since none of us could see a reason for this girl to be put to sleep. We continued with the pictures and then went to seek out a member of management, who confirmed that she was recommended for euthanasia by "the behaviorist" (we'll get to him a little further down the road).

We questioned her being recommended for euthanasia and were given reasons such as she jumped all over a staff worker and bruised her. She kept jumping and nipping and couldn't be controlled is what we were told. I had never witnessed Skittles being uncontrollable to that extreme. We were told that she had something wrong with her brain (brain damage for the lack of a better term) that would not allow her to calm herself down and that the shelter had to weigh the risk to the general public in adopting out a dog who may have the potential of being uncontrollable. The 3 of us continued to talk with the supervisor and we pushed HARD that this could not happen. Skittles did not deserve to die. I will give credit to the supervisor we were talking to. After seeing how passionate all 3 of us were on this, the supervisor agreed to re-visit the decision and get back to us in a week. A week or so later I was told that the shelter would put her on medication to calm her down. There were disagreements with the first medication so Skittles ended up being put on doggie Prozac. But she needed to be kept in a quiet area and could not be taken out for at least a couple of weeks, in order to give the medication time to work. It turned in to 4 weeks until I was able to take Skittles out of her kennel and let her run out in the yard. I can't tell you how happy she was just to be able to run and how much she made me smile that day.

Since the shelter finally agreed to allow Skittles to go to a Rescue or a foster, we tried to find either one for this girl so she could get out of the shelter. I have 2 dogs of my own and was already fostering a dog so it wasn't an option for me, at that point, to foster Skittles. Fortunately, my foster was adopted fairly quickly and I was able to take Roxy and Duncan to meet Skittles and see how they got along. Skittles is a great girl and is not aggressive at all. She's liked most dogs that she's met and she liked Roxy and Duncan. I will admit that being asked about whether or not I had found a foster for Skittles yet worried me as to what would end up happening to her. Since we hadn't found a foster or rescue, I took Skittles home with us and we fostered her.

Skittles adjusted very quickly, possibly even quicker than any other dog we had fostered previously, and there have been a few. Skittles proved to be one incredible little girl. She slept on the sofa with me the first night. She pretty much didn't leave my side. She was happy to get what she had been lacking at the shelter. All Skittles wanted was someone to give her love and to make her feel safe. Isn't that what most everyone wants in life? While here with us, Skittles did have a few behavioral problems. She would give way too many kisses, whether you wanted them or not. She would jump up and hug me when she got scared. She would run up and down the stairs and around the house, acting like a puppy. She even chewed a pair of sneakers that were left on the floor when I fell asleep on the sofa. And she craved a lot of attention and love. These are all behavioral problems that I wish all dogs would have. Skittles is not aggressive. She's not out of control and she can be made to calm down and focus. All she needs is to be trained, like any other dog. She is smart, she responds to what she's told (most of the time) and genuinely wants to make her person happy. If you get upset with Skittles or scold her, she genuinely feels bad and you can see it in her eyes. And she has a way of making you give in within seconds. I have found that Skittles is a true joy to have around. And today someone else is finding that out. Skittles was adopted today and I’m sure her new daddy is having as much fun with her as I had.


Photo taken by Wendy Warrington Mezzenga.

This little girl had the odds stacked so high against her and overcame those odds and got out of the shelter in to a home where I have no doubt she will be loved and spoiled. She prevailed, even though the behaviorist was sure she should be euthanized and that she could not be adopted. To that behaviorist…I want you to know that this is one of the reasons I hate you as much as I do. But it is only one of the reasons. You were so wrong about Skittles, just as you were wrong about at least 6 other dogs that made it out of the shelter and are living happy lives with loving families. The idea that you have made so many mistakes with so many dogs sickens me and I cannot understand for the life of me why this continues. Mistakes will happen from time to time but there have been more than enough instances where I question in my mind if they’re actually mistakes any longer. What bothers me even more are all the dogs who have been euthanized that I and others didn’t get to see or didn’t get the chance to help. How can you or anyone say that those decisions weren’t also “mistakes”? I have never met an individual that I dislike as much as I dislike you. I would have loved for you to be able to see Skittles in a home environment and see for yourself how well she did and how wrong you were. And I would have liked for you to see those others, that you said could not be adopted, as they live in their loving homes and with the families who saw something in them that you were incapable of seeing. But I sincerely don’t think it would matter one bit to you. I’ve heard the party line that each dog’s life is precious and it is hard to make the decision to euthanize any dog, but I don’t believe that of you. You don’t show any type of emotion at all and for that I can only hope that one day someone will actually wake the heck up and see you for what you really are. You were so against this beautiful soul being adopted out to a family and Skittles proved you wrong!

This incredible lovebug named Skittles is another example of how dogs can be misunderstood due simply to one shelter employee not liking them. Before you take someone’s word about a dog, meet the dog and see for yourself. Sadly, some have their own agendas. It’s a fact of life both inside and outside of the shelter. The shelter is also a very stressful place for most dogs. Get to know the dog before you believe what you’ve been told and write it off. The dog you pass on or the dog that a shelter decides to euthanize could be another Skittles.

Have a great life Skittles. Be happy and enjoy all the things you will learn along the road to becoming one of the most incredible dogs anyone could ever hope for. I am so happy that you were in my life and that I got to spend those few weeks learning all about you. Be good for your daddy and remember…tennis shoes are not chew toys!