my afternoon with juanita

It's the second and final day of Find Juanita a Home!

I spent the morning calling all sorts of shelters to see who could take the pup, but it turns out that most of them get their animals from the kill shelter downtown. I was determined to not take her there. 

Unfortunately, I found out that you can't just give a dog to an adoption agency without reporting it missing first (and letting 3 days pass) because otherwise the dog would legally (?) be considered stolen. Problem is, I couldn't file a report with the main shelter because it's Veteran's day, so I had to take little Juanita there to the "receiving room" (a.k.a. death row) to let her kick it in a kennel for a few days while her delinquent owners finally pull their shit together and start looking for her. Brian was kind enough to remind me that all dogs go to Heaven. But I didn't know what else to do -- those stupid agencies get their dogs from the kill shelter, so it's like there's a way to circumvent the system. Ugh. So off we went...

Juanita's plea for a steak taco as her last meal. 

I was near tears taking her in (shocker) but it turns out, the kill shelter really was the right answer, because in fact she won't be killed. I asked to be called if she was going to get euthanized but apparently "everybody's" looking for small breeds right now, and she'll be properly fed and sheltered and spayed, and it's the best way to help her owners find her if they don't see our signs. I asked which adoption agency they work with and they said there are 70, so I feel like they'll be able to get her to a good place (justification justification justification). I asked if she'd go to Austin Pets Alive and they said definitely not because those are only the ones on the euthanasia list and she'd never get there. I guess the only ones that make the cut are the dogs/cats with behavioral problems, and Juanita's only problem is that she pees a little when she gets really excited. 

So anyway, I wish that she didn't have to spend this limbo period in a kennel with a million other animals, but if her owners don't care enough about her to go look for her or call it in, then the shelter can get her to some organization that can get her to a good home. Adios, Juanita!

my morning with juanita

This morning I woke up to a text from David (one of my bosses) asking if I could get him a smoothie and some construction paper. Slightly odd, considering we're a hedge fund. 

Turns out, a little bitty puppy wuppy followed David home from a walk this morning and wouldn't go away, so he asked me to make some flyers for the neighborhood. 

Then he told me where to go hang the flyers.

Meet my project for the morning: Juanita!

After calling some nearby vets, I learned that the only dog that's been reported Missing is missing an eyeball. Survey says that one's not getting picked up by a stranger.

So I made some cute flyers (it's important that they're cute, right?), drove to his neighborhood, taped them up everywhere, and then went and rescued the little lady from the box that they were keeping her in. FYI, it was a box about 3 feet high and it was tipping back and forth as she sumo-wrestled with herself inside, very reminiscent of the scene in Something About Mary with Puffy behind the bathroom door. And then I looked inside and saw this little tiny ball of cuteness!

Granted I HATE chihuahuas but I think this one might have a little min-pin in her or something, which is slightly redeeming. Also important to note that those ears actually flop over, which makes her look a little more like she's from planet Earth.  

Juanita and I chased some falling acorns for a while (yeah....) and then took what I'm assuming was her first car ride, weeeeeeeeee. We went to the vet to scan her for a microchip but apparently she's too young for one :( The vet told me to post flyers (check) and not put her picture on it (un-check) because people will randomly claim puppies and sell them to experiment labs!!! WTF people?! You better not sell Juanita or I'll cut your cajones off!

I gave David a list of questions to grill anyone who calls in response to the flyer so we make sure they're the real owners, things like "What are Juanita's favorite toys?" (Answer: Acorns) and "What is Juanita's real name?" (Answer: Juanita). 

And yes, I absolutely considered bringing her home but weighed the wrath of Powder and decided that the threat of a white menace dropping turds all over my carpet was too risky. In the meantime, Juanita is back in the box!