No Dog is an Island, Entire of Itself

Mr. Muffin

When you adopt a dog that has had prior relationships with other dogs – and what dog hasn’t? – you enter, in a sense, into relationship with those other dogs.  For Mr. Muffin (“Finn”), there was the group of ten dogs rescued with him from an extremely bleak hoarding situation.  Because of my work at the shelter from which Finn was adopted, I have daily opportunities to spend time with his previous canine pack.

It has been intriguing to attempt to figure out the hoarding dogs’ family tree.  Eight of the ten dogs are Border collie mixes.  Do they share the same mother or father?  Finn is the youngest of the group at an estimated five years of age.  The others are more senior adults.

Two of the female dogs are a BC/corgi mix (Chloe and Cinnabun).

Two of the dogs appear to be BC/poodle mixes (Cassie Joy and Mr. Muffin).  

One female and two males are most likely a BC/Aussie mix (Cybil, Calvin, and Clark Kent).  

How did these dogs come to be living together?  In what way are they related?  How close are their bonds?  These things I ponder.

  

Finn and Cassie Joy (recently deceased) looked so much alike and had the same mannerisms.  Were they mother and son?  Why do I feel a need to know this?  Perhaps, as John Donne's meditation (No Man is an Island) proclaims, it matters because the death of another with whom we were connected diminishes the whole.  I do feel a real sense of loss when it comes to the dogs that died without ever experiencing the life they deserved.

Whatever the relationships turn out to be, I feel a responsibility to all of these survivors of a shared travesty.  When I made a commitment to be a part of Mr. Muffin’s journey toward a higher quality of life, I bound myself to helping those with whom he was rescued.  Each of these dogs deserves no less.

Of the original hoarding group of thirteen, nine remain.  Sadly, two dogs died before the rescue crew arrived.  Two females, Contessa and Cassie Joy, were euthanized due to advanced cancer.  Six of the dogs have been adopted (Callie, Mr. Muffin, Chloe, Cinnabun, Lanny, and Cybil).  Three dogs are still seeking forever homes (Cookie, Calvin, and Clark Kent).   Until the final three find their new families, my work is not done.  

All of the dogs, like me, are in transition.  We are still trying to figure out our place in a sea of emerging relationships.  We may not be islands, but at times it feels like we need a new set of land legs.  Though we may stumble at times, we are becoming more sure and steady with each passing day.  No doubt, as we learn to communicate with one another in the common language of love, we will come to better understand the new entirety that we are in connection to one another.