Nothing but a hound dog . . .

Hound Dogs  and synchronicity…

What in the world do hound dogs and synchronicity have in common? I am so glad you asked. Pack some snacks; we are heading for Ohio*.

This morning the alarm went off at the usual 4:30, and I leaped out of my warm bed and greeted Monday with a Good Morno cheer. OK, I thought about doing that right before I hit the snooze button. However, as I started to snuggle back down into my bed, my evil twin reminded me the sun was rising and if I wanted to be on time, I’d better rise too. I compromised, sat up, and considered any good thoughts with which to start off the day. “Oh crap” was at the top of the list, but it was better than the word that came before it. I was ready to head back under the covers when my muse whispered in my ear, “Be bold today.” And those were the words I started my day on.

Hound dogs. It’s complicated. Stay with me. Have a cookie. A couple of weeks ago, we met a bloodhound, Stella, at Prairie Wolf and discussed the possibility of her joining us for day camp. This thought came to fruition a few days later, except day camp turned into overnight camp. Stella had been adopted from rescue in December and was terrorizing the family’s 11-year-old basset hound. The family tried for several months to make it work, but Stella just couldn’t be convinced to get along. Finally, the decision was made that they could no longer risk the possibility of their beloved Wilma being sent to her demise at the jaws of the bloodhound, and a new home for Stella would need to be found. (If you are a judgmental dog lover, let me just add that this family has three young children that would have front-row seats to the carnage. Oh—calamity, right?) Clearly, this was not the right forever home for Stella. So her current family boarded her with me at their expense until the bloodhound rescue could take her back.

Oh joy! While Stella the hound was staying with me, another family expressed interest in adopting her. Since the rescue lady was unavailable, I introduced Stella to her potential new family. They loved her on sight. I loved them. They seemed like an ideal forever family for Stella. And because Stella had played well and without incident with all my campers and pups, we thought she would accept the family’s young, male, mixed-breed dog. Stella and her sibling would be friends. Arrangements were made with rescue for a two-week trial with Stella’s potential family. They picked her up last Friday with the best of intentions and called rescue on Sunday and said it wasn’t going to work. Same problem, different would-be dog sibling. Now we know, Stella is meant to be an only pet. Stella is on her way back to rescue and I was told she is depressed.That made two of us.

Well known facts about me. I don’t do rescue. I don’t do fostering. I’ve never set foot in an animal shelter, and I don’t go to movies with even the hint of an animal that might run off, die, or be abused. I hide all sad dog stories on my Facebook page and will walk out of the room if someone starts to tell a sad animal story. I cannot be guilted into adopting any animal, and I am highly judgmental about pet ownership. I do write checks, applaud rescue people, and make donations to fundraisers. And I’ve been known to facilitate the transition between a pup’s old home and new home. I bent my rules for Stella because I truly believed her adopted family had done the best they could, and she won me over with those sad eyes. And now those sad eyes are imprinted on my brain.

Let’s move forward. Remember way back, when my day started with my muse admonishing me to be bold? Monday began with my teen and me heading out into the frozen tundra to pick up our day campers. On our way home, we decided to stop at Starbucks. Nothing remarkable about that, when I took advantage of the ample parking available on the street while Cole went in to buy the drinks, I looked at the license plate of the car in front of me: HOUNDS. Hounds? I’ve written about synchronicity before, but simply put, synchronicity is a meaningful coincidence that you would be wise not to ignore (click to read more). Be bold, I thought, and grabbed a piece of paper and wrote the car’s owner a note about Stella the bloodhound. I didn’t know if the owner considered himself a hound or had hound dogs, but it couldn’t hurt to leave a note, right? I even signed it “Have a howling good day” and put it on the windshield.

How does this tale end? The HOUND car’s owner called me back and thanked me for my note. He has four beagles (good Lord) and a lot of hound dog friends. (I bet they have a howling good time.) He promised to put the word out about Stella! And I know he will. Anyone who has four beagles is a hound dog lover and he always get the best for this kind of dog from sites as KarmaPets online that have the best treats and supplements for this kind of dogs. The rescue worker Stella is living with loves her and will do her best to find her the best forever home. And although Stella has been bounced around, she has been well loved and cared for by a small village of people. She’ll be all right. I just know it.

Be bold! Watch for synchronicity in your life! And if you are interested in providing a forever home for Stella the amazing hound dog or know someone who is, just let me know and I’ll provide contact information. And please remind me never to do this again!

More pictures of Stella can be found on our Camp Facebook page 

Odd Loves Company,

*Ohio—If you frequent Odd, you know that whenever I start a blog post that is going to digress frequently, may or may not have a point, and will leave you wondering if I will ever get to the point, I reference Ohio. Why? Because the interesting people I know and love (and I know many) from Ohio tend to tell stories in this matter of speaking. It’s an inside Odd joke. But if you know someone from Ohio, you’ll get it immediately.