I should take you home

On Sunday I arrived at the kennel to help bathe the new Greyhounds that had just arrived from Jefferson County Kennel Club, the track from which SEGA gets the majority of its dogs. Most of the hounds were being walked around outside; a few were in the turnout yard.

Dogs just off the track have lived in ways that often allow conditions to develop that we want to address - bathing being the first tactic on the list! But in this group of dirty dogs was one with a shiny black coat and sparkling white teeth, leaning on the volunteer who had been walking him. He did not seem to fit with the yet-to-be-transformed bunch from Florida. I walked over to give him scratches, and asked who he was. "This is John Lee," the volunteer said. I knew that name.

I only occasionally browse the Current Adoptables page on the SEGA site. I have two Greyhounds and enjoy being able to foster a third, but that maxes out our available space and budget. Still, I do enjoy "window shopping" and looking at the dogs SEGA is working to find homes for. It was on one of those "window shopping" visits a month or so ago that I saw John Lee. I'm a big fan of Blues music, and I was sure John Lee was named after Blues legend John Lee Hooker. I jokingly said "I want that dog," but didn't think much more about him. Though I love some of the names our dogs turn up with, names - like coat color - are poor criteria for matching pet to prospective owner.

So, here was John Lee, the lone dog left from a previous haul, still living in the kennel over a month after his arrival. He was eating up the attention - a very sweet, very waggy-tailed boy. I said "John Lee? Why are you still here? I should take you home with me." I was joking. Sort of. But I felt bad for him, and those who heard me say I should take him home were encouraging. Shanna H. even offered me her x-pen so I could confine John Lee while he was getting acclimated to the home environment.

When I looked at John Lee's paperwork I saw that he was not even three years old - still somewhat of a puppy, in a big-dog body. Oops. I have two senior Greyhounds, one of whom is in poor health, and wasn't sure how they'd mesh. But I already said I'd take him, and I felt like I had enough experience and help to deal with anything that might come up while he was in my care. Now that I've had John Lee for a few days I'm thinking it's good that he has the examples of the older dogs to go by.

John Lee, we're discovering, has quite the personality. He's a friendly, enthusiastic boy and the most curious Greyhound I've known to date. He doesn't seem to be afraid of anything except being alone (we're working on that), and he's very quick to learn. I'm sure we'll discover even more of his personality in the coming days and weeks, and I look forward to sharing more about John Lee here.