IN THE YUKON WITH MY BUDDY, SNOWBALL
"They're looking for a new animal control officer, you'd be really good at it, so you need to talk to Tammy over at Maximilian's bookstore to get an interview for the job." This comment came from a woman who was purchasing groceries at the Dawson City General Store, where I had recently started work as a cashier, back in September, 2000.
I had only been in Dawson for a week or so. The questions going through my head at that moment were, "who are you," "what is an animal control officer," and, "who is Tammy?" Fast forward a couple of days, and I had all the questions answered, and was hired right then and there. Great. Now what?
Well, "now what" turned into a 35 hour per week job as the Dawson city dog catcher. In addition to my almost 40 hour per week position as a cashier at the General Store, I was a busy guy. I've never worked as hard before or since then.
Head office for the new job was at the local humane society animal shelter. When I started the job, there were only three dogs impounded at the time. One of them was Snowball. He had been at the shelter the longest of the three, for about 9 months. One day, shortly after beginning my job, Joanne, the shelter co-ordinator, (and the same woman who had approached me weeks earlier at the General Store) said, "Hey Paul, why don't you take Snowball with you in the truck, while you do your dog catching rounds?" Because I was the new guy on the block, I didn't want to make any waves, so I agreed to Joanne's suggestion, even though in my mind I'm thinking, "why would I want a stinky old dog in the cab with me?" I had signed on to be the dog catcher, not the dog sitter. Unbeknownst to me at the time, was the fact that Snowball was next on the list to be put down, probably within a week. Joanne was aware of this, and that was her motivation to convince me to take Snowball along as assistant dog catcher.
Well, as the old saying goes, the rest is history. I fell in love with Snowball, and it's because of him that I fell in love with dogs. We became a team, so not only did this "stinky old dog" ride around in the truck with me each day, he moved in to Snug as well. One day, some months later as I was grabbing my morning coffee at the local coffee shop, while Snowball waited patiently in the truck, a friend, Wayne said to me, "Paul, you saved Snowball's life." Up to that point, I hadn't given it any thought, but Wayne was correct.
The following year, 2001, I was toying with the idea of moving back to Australia, so I began to look into what would be involved in taking Snowball with me. The hurdles seemed to be too high, including a 6 month quarantine period. I couldn't imagine putting old Snowball through such a process, and so, what to do? It was my day off at the animal shelter, but I happened to be in there using the computer, and some people knocked on the door, came in and asked if they could have a look around the yard, to see if there might be a dog that they would like to adopt, as their dog had recently died. After returning from the yard, they told me that there wasn't any one of the dogs there that had grabbed their interest. On the wall in the office was a collection of photos of dogs up for adoption, and Snowball's mug shot was still on the wall. Technically, I was just fostering him all of this time, which by now was the better part of a year. But who was kidding who? We were now joined at the hip, or more accurately, at the heart. Anyhow, I also had this dilemma going on in my brain with regards to Australia, and what to do about Snowball, so I pointed to his photo on the wall, and said to the couple, "well, there's this dog which I am caring for at the moment. Would you like to meet him?" What was I doing? Selling out my best buddy? The real question was, what was going to be the best outcome for Snowball? He was back at Snug at the time, so he didn't have the opportunity to meet these folks. Anyhow, we set up a meet and greet at their place which was out in the bush, way up Bonanza Creek road. As soon as we walked in, Bernard offered Snowball some smoked salmon. That was a good start. By the time we were ready to leave Bernard and Janet's place, Snowball was sound asleep on their living room floor. He looked totally at home. I made the suggestion prior to saying goodnight, that it might be a good idea to let them have Snowball for a week, to see how things would go, and they agreed. After that week, Snowball was their dog. He had found a home, that he could live out his remaining years. As I sat in their kitchen that night, Snowball put one paw up on my left leg, and looked into my eyes. Was this him saying goodbye, or was he telling me that everything was going to be all right? He ended up living for 17 years, not bad for a dog that contracted Parvovirus just after he was born. According to the local vet who saw him at that time, when he was only days old, her opinion was that he wouldn't last through the night. He did, only to be returned to his owners who mistreated him. Snowball ended up fending for himself as he roamed the streets of Dawson, which is why he ended up at the shelter in the first place. He received a stay of execution, because of his stint as the dogcatcher's assistant, and finally was connected with some loving owners who helped to give him a long, and happy life.
I had the pleasure of seeing Snowball, the year before he died, when I had returned to Dawson for a visit. By that point, he was as deaf as a post, but it didn't matter. We had a wonderful day together, which included visiting Joanne, the woman who had come into the General Store back in 2000, and we even got to visit Harmonica George, who had been the owner of Porkchop, Snowball's father. All in all, it was a wonderful day, and prior to heading back up Bonanza Creek road, to take Snowball home, I had considered a trip down the highway to visit Snug, in order to let Snowball have one last look/sniff around. But he was sleeping soundly in the truck, and I think he had had enough excitement for the day, so we returned to his home, and I said goodbye to him for the very last time.
If it wasn't for Snowball, I am very sure that I wouldn't be doing what I do these days. Because of Snowball, I changed from a human that had zero interest in spending any time at all with dogs, to a human that can't imagine my life without them. It's been a wonderfully rewarding journey.
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES
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And the journey will continue for a little longer at my current location, but by the time my next blog post is due on May 7th, I will have moved on, and Devo, Brownie, and Lilou will have to cope with their owner once again. I'm quite sure that they will be in good hands.
maximizing my moments,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer
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