Page 12 of Taming Georgia

The office is ample in space but simple. An old metal teacher desk sits in the corner with a large desk calendar, laptop, and phone atop it. There are a few filing cabinets, some storage shelves with labeled plastic bins, and probably a dozen cat trees—those tall, carpeted scratching posts and resting areas for the kitties.

“There are a lot of cat trees in here,” I remark to Ethel.

“Oh, yes. Enough for each cat to have two of their own.” She chuckles again. “Drives him crazy.”

“He must really value you. I’ve had some cranky bosses who would’ve fired me if I set out to annoy them.”

“He loves me. You won’t ever hear him say it, but he does. I’ve known him since he was in diapers. I used to work with his mother. We were surgical nurses at the hospital in Ypsilanti.”

I nod knowingly. “Ah, so he has to put up with you. You’re like family.”

“Exactly.” She wiggles her eyebrows, causing me to laugh out loud again.

She sets a stack of papers in front of me. “Here you are. Just says you won’t steal, hurt the dogs, sue us if you get your hand bitten off, yada, yada…stuff like that. Though, if you want to take a cat, I’m sure he wouldn’t press charges.”

“I think I’m good on cats right now.”

“Not a cat person?” she asks.

“Not sure. Haven’t ever really been around them. But I’m also crashing with a friend right now, and I don’t think she’s going to want me bringing rescue animals home anytime soon.”

“Probably a safe bet,” Ethel agrees.

I sign the appropriate paperwork while a couple of fuzzy felines rub against my legs, purring loudly.

“You’re lucky. Xavier and his team of guys were in early today, and they finished cleaning all the kennels. So, you can start with the walking. You’ll be the dogs’ new best friend. They love going out. It will give you a chance to get to know them all, too.”

“Sounds great. I’m here to help in any way I can,” I tell her.

She grabs a leash off a hook on the wall and hands it to me. “I wouldn’t broadcast that just yet.” She winks. “Let’s start you off slow. You seem like a tough cookie, but I’m serious when I say, this job is really hard some days.”

First, she introduces me to Skye, an all-white pit bull mix. “Skye was abandoned in Detroit with her eight siblings when they were just puppies. She’s the last one left.”

“She hasn’t had anyone want to adopt her? She’s so pretty.”

“She’s had plenty of applications. Everyone wants a white pit bull. But all of the applications have fallen through so far. They’ve requested that we not spay her.”

“And that’s bad?” I wonder aloud.

“Oh, yes. There is no shortage of this breed. You can go into any shelter in the United States and find whatever type of bully breed you’re looking for. If someone doesn’t want her spayed, it’s because they want to breed her, and there’s no reason to breed pit bulls. There’re already too many. They get euthanized daily at a very high rate around the country. Also, unfortunately, many people who want to breed pitties also want to use the puppies for fighting or bait dogs. So, we never let a dog leave here that hasn’t been spayed or neutered.”

“What’s a bait dog?”

Ethel looks down. “You’ll get to meet some former bait dogs today. You’ll be able to tell by all of their scarring. It’s a dog that’s used to help the fighting dog build confidence and become more aggressive in the ring. They’re basically bitten to death.”

I gasp, “That’s horrible.”

“I’m telling ya, this line of work is not for the faint of heart.”

She gives me a few instructions on Skye, and I take her outside. I walk her on the leash until we’re in the fenced-in play area. After double-checking that the fence is secure, I let her off of her leash. She gallops through the snow like a bucking bronco, kicking her hind legs up like a bull. It’s hilarious, and I just laugh. She dives her nose into the snow and flicks it in the air.

“They should’ve named you Snow,” I tell her.

She’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen, so happy. Eventually, I take her back, knowing that there are many other dogs that want a turn to walk.

Once inside the shelter, I see that one of the formerly empty cages is now occupied by a skeletal, pregnant pup.

Poor thing.

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