Spencer and Mary Agnes Stories

        Earlier this year, Dogs of Oakville - New Beginnings, was finally published, which was exciting because it featured a page with Spencer, and foster dog Mary Agnes (her diaries can be found on an earlier post).

It also featured their stories, which I had written.

Dogs of Oakville - New Beginnings, was the second Dogs of Oakville book, the first book raised $25,000 for the Oakville Milton Humane Society, and the two incredible ladies behind the books, Maria Bell and Orayln Whyte, were hoping to raise $50,000 with this second book.

To date, they have raised over $25,000+ with the new book, and are working hard to get all the copies sold, because the shelter needs the money very badly.

We were honored to have Spencer and Mary Agnes included in the book, and are happy to announce that Morgan and Tito will be included in the Cats of Oakville book!

The Dogs of Oakville, and Cats of Oakville books are a great idea, and thanks to all the hard work and dedication of Maria and Oralyn the shelter has more money to spend on things like: a new roof, more surgeries and better overall care for the animals.

Purchase a copy if you can, and help make the world a better place for the animals.

TCE 2015

Here are their pages, and their stories:

     

The Spencer Story 

     Spencer came into the Oakville Humane Society a total mess, his hair was overgrown, his teeth were rotted, and he was partially deaf and blind. 

So, of course, no one came to claim him.

Spencer was a lightly golden, senior cocker spaniel, and was what I call a "kicked-out-the-door" dog, meaning: wherever he came from, they wanted him gone, and chose to most soulless way possible, leaving him out in freezing, 

snowy weather, and pretending like he never existed.

The way I am able to deal with dogs like this, is with the knowledge that 

they are much better off with us at the shelter, where there is warmth, food and love, than where they had been previously.

Spencer was very outgoing, and friendly, and acted like he was starving all the time. (He has been a part of our family for almost two years now, and still acts like he is starving all the time, which I assure you he is not).

Spencer isn't his full name actually, his full name is "@#$%ing Spencer!"

As in: "What happened to my ravioli?!"

"@#$%ing Spencer!"

We threw a fundraiser for the shelter, called "Spencer's Garden Party", and within minutes, he had eaten a plate of cookies, a couple samosa's, and had to be removed from his own party.

"Hey, what happened to the cookies?!"

"@#$%ing Spencer!"

Spencer isn't a bad dog, he is just driven, driven to send us to an early 

grave.

He doesn't greet you at the door, instead, you are greeted by the sight of 

him sleeping in a pile of garbage, a pile of garbage that used to be a bag of 

popcorn, a giant box of cookies, and an empty kleenex box. It's liking walking into the house of someone coming off a bender, with crumbs everywhere, a huge mess on the floor, and when you nudge him awake he gives you that "what happened?" look.

"@#$%ing Spencer!"

He sits beside you when you eat, fully knowing that at some point the cats will fight, and when you get up to stop it, he'll use your chair to get onto the table, and eat your sandwich. 

     "@#$%Ing Spencer!"

What makes things so frustrating, is how cute he is. No matter how mad 

you get, you take one look at that face, and melt. And when you bend down to 

pet his head, he runs between your legs and grabs your doughnut, and when you try to take it away, he bites you.

"@#$%ing Spencer!"

We truly love Spencer with all our hearts. He has been a great companion, and has brought a lot of joy into our lives.

We love him, that crazy @#$%ing Spencer.

The Mary Agnes Story 

I remember the first time I saw sweet Mary Agnes, hiding at the back of her dog crate, shaking. 

      She had been at the Oakville Humane Society for a couple days, but was so terrified, that she couldn’t be housed in a normal kennel. She had been put in a large crate that was covered with a blanket for privacy, and placed in the dog kitchen where she wouldn’t be missed.

Mary Agnes had been rescued from a puppy mill, where she had been a breeder. 

      She had stopped giving birth to healthy babies, and was going to be shot.

Through a wonderful twist of fate, her life was spared, and she was brought to our shelter. 

At the time, I had no idea that she would become such a huge part of our lives, and that she would teach us more than we ever could have taught her, about love and devotion, and about the ability to overcome the worst of circumstance, and be able to trust again.

I felt bad for this little dog, and gave her a lot of attention, just by talking to her, and giving her the odd head scratch.

She didn’t trust me, but when I would lift her out to clean her cage, she would never bite, or squirm. What I didn’t know, is that this is a learned trait, that puppy mill breeders keep themselves alive by not fighting back.

Mary Agnes sat in her crate, expressionless, for a couple days, before she was moved into the Canine Training office, where she was very spoiled, and soon began showing signs of progress.

In the office, Mary Agnes received a lot of attention from staff members and volunteers, but she couldn’t handle it, and would hide under a desk, or in her crate.

I would pop my head in the office and would greet her with a: “Mary!” 

Though her first reaction was to run into her crate, after a little time, she learned to recognize my voice, and would come back out, dancing in circles, in what came to be known as the “Mary Dance”.

When she had progressed to a certain point, we began to think that she could benefit from living in a foster home, and our family volunteered to take her in.

We fostered Mary Agnes for 8 months, and letting her go, was one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to go through as a family. We loved her so much, but there was a family out there who needed her more than us, and she has literally been a lifesaver. A life saved, for a life saved.