Buddy

The shelter was really busy and noisy today; kids are out of school, the cats are on sale; a happy bustle after a few comparatively quiet weeks is nice. At 2:00 all but two dogs had a volunteer walk and one of them was Buddy. He is a beautiful four year old Australian Shepherd who was just in his second day at the shelter and wearing a couple of extra pounds. I've noticed that often when dogs arrive at the shelter as a result of their owner's passing away, they are a little overweight likely from the illness/inactivity of their past owners. As I came to his back door to put on his collar, though cautious, he quietly came to me and stood very still while I put on the collar and leash. He did not seem bothered by all the visitors and other dogs barking as we were walking down the hall and was OK with people stopping to pet him.

Once outside, he seemed happy just walking close by, sniffing and checking back every so often with his stunning pale blue eyes; normal herd dog behavior and excellent leash behavior. About half way into our walk out in the desert, things changed. Al called to let me know he had already picked up the mail, etc and since I had my phone on speaker, Buddy heard his voice. He got quite anxious and immediately wanted to go back toward the shelter. I tried to get him to walk a little further, even using treats, but he was adamant. As we started back, there was little if any casual sniffing, just a purposeful march back to the shelter area. He got very agitated and alert in the parking lot but became normal again once we were inside. Let's hope his new person finds him soon.