Things that matter, things that don't

Last Saturday was VGSR's quarterly meeting up in northern VA.  This was supposed to be the meeting where the new by-laws were finally to be voted upon.  They had been talked to death by a few naysayers at every meeting where they had been brought up over the past couple of years.  I didn't attend because I was planning to drive up there to the Gainesville adoption event on Sunday and I didn't want to make the trip twice in one weekend.  Between a quarterly meeting dealing with by-laws and an adoption event, my choice was clear. 

And it was a good choice.  The by-laws got adopted without me, finally, and I got two dogs adopted.  I received this picture of Odie in his new home.  He looks happy and things are going well, initially at least.  Odie is a gentleman, I think he will certainly do his part to make it work. 



Bo, at the vet's office today

 I have also received a couple emails already from the woman who adopted Star.  She lives in Pennsylvania.  Her son had been in Virginia for the past week or so, staying at his aunt's house.  He had also spent some time on the internet looking at VGSR dogs.  They had lost a shepherd just a couple months ago and he was particularly anxious to adopt a new dog.  His mother had driven down to Virginia to pick him up to go back home and he convinced them all to come to VGSR's adoption event.  They did and they met Star.  They were nice folks and were genuinely interested in the dog, but when I learned that they were not local, hadn't yet put in an application, etc., I had to explain the process to them and why we couldn't do it that day.

Disappointed but undaunted, the woman sat down and filled out an application on the spot.  She didn't just answer the questions with a "yes", "no" or by checking the box, she filled up the application form writing about her experience with her last shepherd, the nature of their  home, etc.  We talked, extensively.  Their last shepherd had been a rescue with some pretty typical but severe problems that they had worked through and dealt with.  The end result was that I sent the dog home with them that day. 



Bo, when I picked him up this afternoon

 It violated all the rules and probably many of the by-laws and operating procedures that the group had voted on the day before.  It's not something I would normally do, but I can't say that I've never done it before.  I also can't say that I'll never do it again.  Rules are made to be broken. 

Today I took Bo to the vet for the first heartworm treatment.  The poor guy was scared.  He had become a rather happy, confident dog with the other dogs at home.  But taken out of his element, and forced to interact with people rather than dogs, he tries to just hide his head and wish it all away. 

When I got back home with Bo today (he's now in a crate in my office, along with Luke, Ryland, and Jeremy for the night), there was a slew of email from the shepherd group about the by-laws, someone suggesting that they hadn't been properly adopted or some such bullshit.  I deleted them all.  I just don't give a damn and I don't have time to waste on something so meaningless. 

Buried among the myriad emails concerning the by-laws were two pleas looking for foster homes for dogs in need.  They generated no responses, in stark contrast to the crap about the by-laws.  If everyone who felt compelled to add their two-cents to the by-laws discussion had a foster dog in their home, there would have been no discussion about the by-laws, we would be talking about dogs instead.  As it is, there are shepherds that we don't have room for because we have people who care more about by-laws than the actual mission of the organization.  I don't get it.  I understand the need for rules, procedures, and even by-laws, but none of that matters one whit compared to getting a dog a home.