Dog Gone Wildwood

Cedar!

I have wanted a dog ever since I used to run with my friend Karrla's sled dog Oscar years ago. I really wanted a dog that was capable of running long distances and I didn't particularly want a puppy.  Karrla researched breeds years ago and decided that a German Shorthaired Pointer would be the perfect breed for me. I researched breeders numerous times, but never followed through on contacting one. I also felt a little guilty not getting a dog from a shelter, but it all was really moot since for one reason or another I never got a dog.  

Two weeks ago while Susan and I were running my husband who was in Germany sent me text to an article about 53 dogs who had been rescued from a La Pine, OR breeder and 22 of them were going to be available for adoption at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland. The article said that Labs, German Shorthaired Pointers (GSP) and Dachshunds were going to be available for adoption starting on Friday. Since 2 days had passed I wasn't sure if any of the GSP were going to still be available. Susan and I decided that we should take her son to look at the dogs just in case some were available. 

After I got home from running I did a little more research and the Oregon Humane Society's website said that any available dogs would be posted. Well, I didn't see any GSPs on their site. I tried calling but there was a recorded message that said they would not answer any questions about animal availability over the phone and to refer to their website. Feeling disappointed that I missed the chance to adopt a GSP, I called Susan and said that I didn't want to go since all the dogs had been adopted. She said she already told Leif we were going and he was looking forward to it. Who was I to disappoint a 6 year old? 

Cedar at the Oregon Humane Society

We walked through the dog area looking at all the dogs and there were a few of them I thought I should meet, but I was still secretly hoping they still had some of the La Pine dogs left. The last kennel we saw had a GSP in it, I got excited but then I read a sign that said the dog was not yet available for adoption. I told Susan that I had to go figure what was going on with this dog. 

I talked to a volunteer at the front desk and he said that "Cedar" was not available to adopt yet because he still needed to be fixed. I asked when that was going to happen and when he would be available. The guy said he didn't know but probably early in the week and Cedar would be posted on the OHS's website as soon as he was available for adoption. I should just keep checking the website. 

I had a work trip to Seattle Monday evening through Thursday afternoon, and my husband was in Germany until late Wednesday, so even if Cedar was available on Monday before I left I wasn't sure what I would do with him while I was gone. Still wanting to know when he was available just in case I was around to get him I went home, I wrote a script to check the Oregon Humane Society's website and send me and my friend Chris an SMS when Cedar was available. 



I got an SMS from my program on Monday evening after I was already in Seattle letting me know that Cedar had been posted on the OHS website. I thought maybe I could get up early, drive to Portland, get the dog, and be back in Seattle in the afternoon for my meetings. But I knew that wasn't fair to Cedar, so I called my friend Chris to see if he could go to the Oregon Humane Society Tuesday morning and put a 24 hour hold on the dog while I figured out what to do. 

My boss was also in Seattle for the same customer meetings as me; I told him about my dilemma, and he told me to call OHS and donate a lot of money in exchange for the dog. I told him that might work in California where he is from, but I am pretty sure bribes weren't going to work at the Oregon Humane Society. He did agree that I could leave Seattle after my presentations on Wednesday, but that would mean Cedar would need to be on hold longer than 24 hours. 

on the couch where he is not supposed to be

I waited anxiously Tuesday morning to hear if Chris was able to put a hold on Cedar. Chris texted me and told me that he was sick but was sending another friend of ours, Larry, to put a hold on Cedar. Larry got to the Humane Society at 9:30 and by the time they opened at 10 am, he said there were at least 6 other people waiting behind him to adopt Cedar. Larry met with Cedar and put a hold on him. I was over the top when I heard the news, but Larry said they would not hold Cedar longer than 24 hours, since there were other people wanting to adopt him.

Cedar's new favorite spot

We decided that Larry and Chris would pick up Cedar Wednesday morning and I would leave Seattle as soon as I was done with my presentations and pick him up from them. After my meetings were done on Tuesday I headed over to Mud Bay to buy all the dog things. 

I got home on Wednesday around 4:30pm and Chris was at my house waiting with Cedar. Cedar was super excited and not sure what to make of his new house, but after a few days he calmed down a bit and stopped marking his territory inside. 

#trailrunning

We have had Cedar for a week and a half now and he has settled into our life perfectly. He still needs some basic behavior classes and needs to learn to walk on a leash, but other than that we could not have asked for a better dog. He has already gone on several 5 mile runs with me and we signed up for the Columbia Gorge Dog Leg half marathon in October. 

sleeping in my office while I work

There were so many things that could have gone wrong but with a lot of luck and a little bit of programming and "mechanical turk", we ended up with an awesome dog. I'm looking forward to a summer of showing Cedar all my favorite trails and what it is like to be a #vanlife dog. And because I am a dork I started an instagram account for Cedar.