Trish Bennett, Editor
Today is Maddie’s Gotcha Day. As a former shelter dog, there’s no way to know her actual birthday, so instead we celebrate the day she joined our family.
Maddie immediately made herself at home three years ago and has been the perfect pet for us ever since. She was housebroken from day one, doesn’t chew or tear things up, doesn’t bark. She’s wonderful with people and children, no matter how small. We’ve never had to put her in a cage when we leave; it’s just, “See you later, Maddie!” She tends to shed but, you know, who doesn’t?
If she has a flaw, it would be that she doesn’t like other dogs. At all. Because of that, we are destined to be a one-dog family until the day she crosses the Rainbow Bridge, but that’s perfectly fine with us.
Unfortunately, the label “dog-aggressive” can sometimes be a deterrent to a dog being adopted. Maddie was a resident of the Wright-Poling Pickaway County Dog Shelter for at least five months before we brought her home. It’s a shame a perfectly lovely animal spent that much time with her life on hold waiting for someone to rescue her, quite possibly because of a personality trait that’s important to some but really insignificant to us.
I’m sure there are dogs at the shelter right now who are also dog-aggressive and need to be in a one-dog home. There are some who don’t like kids and need a home with adults only. There are older dogs who need a little extra care, and younger dogs who need time, discipline and training.
And for each and every one of them, the right home is out there. Maybe it’s your home. You’ll never know unless you go and have a look.
The Wright-Poling Pickaway County Dog Shelter is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 21253 Ringgold Southern Rd., Circleville.
With any luck, you can find your own “Maddie.” And once a year, you, too, can say Gotcha!
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
