Shelter Dogs by Peg Kehret Page A

Fridays so that he would look his best over the weekend, when most adoptions take place. Despite their efforts, Zorro stayed at the shelter.
    On the final day of camp, the dogs “graduated.” Zorro wore his new collar and marched in to the music “Pomp and Circumstance.” The camp’s obedience trainers voted him “Most Cooperative Dog.”
    News photographers attended the graduation, and Megan urged them to photograph Zorro. She hoped someone would see his picture and fall in love with this handsome animal whose good manners now matched his good looks. But the photographers said black dogs are harder to photograph than light-colored ones; once again, Zorro was not selected.
    Megan attached a note to the paperwork on Zorro’s kennel, saying how well he had worked with children during the summer camp and how quickly he had learned his obedience lessons. She mentioned that he was voted Most Cooperative Dog and that he got along with all the other dogs in camp.
    Although the camp was over, Megan continued to volunteer at the Humane Society. Each time she came, she went first to Zorro’s kennel, hoping he would not be there. He always was.
    One day Megan gave him a bath so he would look and smell his best. But a month went by, and still Zorro had no family.
    Each year, the Humane Society’s main fund-raiser is an event called “Tuxes and Tails.” This consists of an auction and a celebrity/pet fashion show where sports stars, radio and television personalities, and other celebrities model the latest fashions. As the celebrities walk down the runway, each is accompanied by a dog. Some bring their own dogs; most use dogs from the shelter.
    Tuxes and Tails always gets wide media coverage, so Megan arranged for Zorro to be in the show. Maybe someone in the audience or watching news clips on TV would want to adopt him. She practiced walking with him, helping him remember how to act on a leash.
    The celebrity wore a black tuxedo; Zorro wore a crisp white bow tie—plus his usual black fur coat and white bib. Zorro pranced down the runway, tail wagging. The audience applauded loudly for the handsome pair—but nobody asked to adopt Zorro.
    Megan and her husband, Ken, discussed adopting Zorro themselves. They already had two dogs. Buddy, a mix of German shepherd, Lab, and husky, had a seizure disorder and needed special medical care. Lester, a beagle/basset mix, had been abused before Megan and Ken found him abandoned in a park, and he was still fearful of new situations.
    Megan and Ken worried that bringing a huge, rambunctious dog like Zorro into their home would not be fair to Buddy and Lester. They weren’t sure it would be fair to Zorro, either.
    â€œZorro is so special,” Megan told Ken. “He deserves to be the only dog in a loving family—not the third dog.”
    Megan often cried with frustration when she arrived at the shelter and found Zorro still there. She always took him to the outdoor courtyard for exercise. Other volunteers exercised him, too, but these brief encounters were not enough for such a large and lively dog.
    As weeks became months and Zorro remained in the kennel, he slipped back into his old habits. Without regular practice, he forgot the obedience lessons he had learned. Zorro became hard to handle again.
    As the days slid past, Zorro gradually withdrew. He was always glad to see Megan, but other volunteers could no longer coax him out of the kennel. Zorro was quickly becoming unadoptable. If he quit interacting with people, he would have to be euthanized.
    Finally Megan could not stand to watch Zorro deteriorate any longer. She and Ken agreed to give Zorro the only chance he would get; they adopted him themselves.
    While Ken drove, Megan sat in the back seat with Zorro. All the way home, he licked her hands as his tail beat against the car window. Happy sounds bubbled from his throat, and he physically shook with joy.
    â€œI promise