Rushed hellos and fast catch ups are on the agenda upon my arrival at Cheshire Dogs Home. It’s my first day back in kennels after a year away finishing my degree and I’m eager to get back to what I love. A brief introduction to my duties and the doors are unlocked and the noise of hungry dogs, excited to receive some attention after a night alone, greets me and I release a breath that I didn’t realise that I was holding. This felt familiar. More like home than I had hoped for. I’d worried that my return would feel alien after so long. I digress… To truly appreciate the noise in kennels, first thing on a Monday morning, a few figures are necessary. The noise of a single dog at four feet can be as much as 95 dB, for reference, that’s louder than a Boeing 737 on take off. In the “New Block” at the home, there are 30 kennels, each housing up to two dogs. I pop on my standard issue ear defenders and plunge into the noise. After cleaning, feeding and filling the water bowls, I took a wander down the walkway. Staffies, mouths in wide smiles, lurchers with tails beating an unrecognisable rhythm off the walls and a beautiful lab cross whose whole body was wagging in recognition of human presence were lined up, all waiting for their walks, cuddles and attention. Each seemed more desperate than the last to catch my eye. Some with loud, demanding barks while others bounced off the walls in an attempt to convey how strongly they desired exercise and freedom to run. In admist all of the chaos, a nervous collie with one blue, one brown eye attracted me. He stood, timid, at the back of the kennel. A nervous bark escaping his lips, while his kennel mate threw his heart and soul into greeting me as a long lost friend. A quick glance at his kennel sheet gave me a little more information on Chip. He was clearly wary of new people, a lot of the dogs within a rescue centre had every reason to be. Chip’s history, however, was unknown. A quick check with the progress of the other team members told me that nothing was in urgent need of doing. This allowed me to allot 10 minutes of my time to Chip. I returned to his kennel and found him against the back wall. No point in pressuring him and his kennel mate, Alf, seemed eager enough for attention so I contented myself with sitting on the floor, far enough away from Chip to not pose a threat, and let Alf climb onto my lap. As a dog with a need for attention, Alf was in heaven, a black crossbreed with silver hairs on his chin, he lapped up the cuddles and lay on my lap wriggling, almost unable to contain his excitement to be given the chance to show the world what a wonderful boy he was. I’d just settled Alf with some gentle stroking and I noticed that Chip had deemed me safe enough to venture a little closer. Not wanting to scare him, I continued my calming routine with Alf and allowed Chip the courtesy of exploring this new addition to his space in his own time. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed his body position, low tail, low back but ears forward and nose reaching, as if trying to catch an invisible aura that only he was aware of. He sniffed for a moment, loud enough so I could hear and then retreated back to his corner. My ten minutes were up. I carried on my daily routine, allowing time for 5 minutes with Chip here and there. But I didn’t get to sit down properly with him and Alf until later on in the afternoon. Life in kennels is fast paced and you rarely get more than 5 minutes to dwell on dogs that need a little extra with so many charges. Upon entering the kennel gate, Chip looked up and gave a slight, slow wag of his tail. That was recognition enough for me. Alf was as delighted to see me as he had been earlier and I was only too happy to return to our previous position and allow him a little more of my time. That’s when I noticed Chip make his move. He, very gingerly, approached me, his nose barely 10 cm from my sleeve. His body in the same position as before, but his eyes wary of being in such proximity to a strange human. I kept my focus on Alf, again, permitting Chip to move at his own pace. I did slow my movements so as not to scare him and avoided eye contact to reduce my threatening appearance. For one moment, it crossed my mind that he might be warding me off by his body language and that I may be in a potentially disadvantageous position. But, as if to reassure my momentary worry, Chip did the last thing that I expected. His cold nose touched my hand and then he settled down at my side and lay his head on the floor next to my leg. My body unwound and I felt a moment of victory in the small action from the scared dog I’d met that day. We sat for another 5 minutes, just accepting each other’s company, sporadically reminding Alf that I loved him too and that I still wanted to give him attention to stop him from stirring Chip and then I slowly got up and left with a big smile plastered across my face. Tomorrow, I’d try again, and the next day, and the next day. I made myself a promise that I’d keep going until Chip was lying next to his very own family who loved him as much as he loved them. James Kavanagh He very gingerly approached me, his nose barely 10 cm from my sleeve. His body in the same position as before, but his eyes wary of being in such proximity to a strange human. N O R T H E R N TA I L S W I N T E R 2 0 1 6 9
Northern Tails, Feb 2016
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