My friend Susan Kars recently got a male rescue dog from Chile so, of course, I volunteered to come over and speak to him in Spanish. As my husband and I walked into her apartment, we were greeted by a small, black 2-year-old dog with a big growl. And then, all of a sudden, he fell asleep.
“I have always been a proponent of animal rescue,” my friend told the Jewish Independent. “I don’t feel that people should buy dogs when there are so many rescues out there … and rescue dogs show a different level of gratitude.”
Susan began walking dogs in 2008 for friends and recently felt that it was time for her to get her own. She believes that healing is part of Judaism. She is a member of Or Shalom, a Jewish Renewal synagogue. She started going there when Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan was the congregation’s spiritual leader.
“Rabbi Laura was amazing. She was really connected to a lot in the universe,” said Susan, who attended the celebration earlier this year of Duhan-Kaplan’s appointment as dean of the ALEPH Ordination Program, the Jewish Renewal seminary.
Susan decided that her new dog’s Spanish name, Bom Bom, wouldn’t work, that calling “Bom Bom” out in a park would sound too much like “Bomb! Bomb!” So, she named him Bo.
My friend volunteers at a supermarket for financially challenged folks and walks with Bo and one other dog once a day.
She tried the Spanish doggie commands I gave her with Bo and had some success. She was and is very determined to heal this dog.
When we met Bo, the poor thing had just spent 30 hours on an airplane and this was his second night in his new home. Susan got him from an organization called Homeless Pets Canada. Unmentionable things had been done to him by humans and he was very suspicious of us.
I asked Susan what kind of dog he was and she exclaimed, laughing: “He’s a mutt!” And that’s what he looked like until she gave him a haircut and a very long bath. Now, I’d say he looks like a very long terrier of some sort, but no one really knows.
Susan has found that training a rescue dog is the most time-consuming thing she’s ever done.
“I left him twice in one day and came home to a full roll of toilet paper shredded all around the apartment. But you can’t get angry at them because they don’t do it to hurt you.”
That same day, Bo “took out a piece of the wall” by pulling at the leash that was hanging on the hook.
Susan put this down to separation anxiety and fear of being in a new place but, weeks later, she also acknowledged that Bo is mischievous. For example, a few weeks after our initial encounter, I was sitting in Susan’s kitchen while she was loading the dishwasher. When she opened a cabinet near the floor, Bo didn’t miss a beat. He grabbed a small plastic funnel in his mouth and marched out into the hallway.
“He’s a sly dog,” Susan said.
Bo also acted up later in the evening. At first, everything was fine. He let me pet him for a long time, licked my hands and even sat down when I said “sientate,” which means “sit down” in Spanish. Then, I threw one of his toys for him to retrieve and all hell broke loose. He started barking and growling and trying to nip me.
Clearly this dog has post-traumatic stress disorder, I thought. And Susan agrees. But she is not allowing this to defeat her. She says it takes three days for a rescue animal to “decompress” and start to realize that they might be OK. It takes another three weeks for their personality to emerge and three months more for them to realize that they are safe and at home with a new life.
Bo already has started to give back. Recently, he comforted one of Susan’s friends whose dog was run over by a car and didn’t survive. Bo sat with the friend on the couch for a very long time.
Susan’s advice to others who adopt a rescue animal is that they should know “this is a major life decision.” She is spending about $500 a month on a long list of items, including vet fees, insurance, food, toys, bowls, mats, a blanket, puppy pee pads, poop bags, leashes, grooming, treats for training and a camera to see what he’s doing when she’s away. Bo has a bad knee, so Susan has had to buy him joint supplements and a set of dog staircases.
It’s not only costly, but time-consuming to care for Bo. But, it’s also so rewarding.
“I smile every day,” she said. “I have something to smile about. When he’s in his round bed and he gives this big release of breath at the end of the day, it’s so satisfying to hear.”
And, my husband and I have something to be happy about, too, since we’ve officially been made Bo’s adopted aunt and uncle.
Since Bo can be a fierce little dog, Susan said she will be training him as a K9 for Israeli intelligence – just kidding! He’s most definitely a Jewish dog though, said Susan, because he goes “berserk” over challah buns. They are definitely his most favourite treat. She left one on a plate for her neighbour and Bo snuck behind her and scarfed it down in seconds.
If you want to adopt a rescue dog, “just know that the hard work is worth it,” said Susan. “You are saving a life and, by taking a dog into your home, there is room for another dog in the rescue centre.”
When she was volunteering for Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) about 15 years ago, Susan made T-shirts that said, “Open your heart and empty a cage.”
And that’s exactly what she’s done.
If you can’t adopt a rescue, Susan suggests donating to Homeless Pets Canada, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, VOKRA or other such organizations.
Cassandra Freeman is a freelance journalist and improv comedy performer living in Vancouver.