Lonely Hearts No More: Longtime SPCA Inhabitants Hopeful of Adoption

This story was first published in The Examiner News.

After spending most of her life watching others find a good match, Avery might have thought she was destined to remain lonely, always on the sidelines. Then, last year, her luck turned.
Susan Bond, 55, visited the SPCA of Westchester in Briarcliff Manor thinking she and her husband might adopt another beagle after their beloved pet of 15 years died. Instead, it was “love at first sight,” when she saw Avery, a reddish-blonde, 55-pound, lab-husky-pit mixed breed.

“The dog picks you. You don’t really pick the dog,” Bond said.
Despite almost seven years (about 42 dog years) of living at the shelter, Avery immediately fit into her new Mohegan Lake home.
“She just belonged here,” Bond said.

The staff and volunteers at the no-kill shelter affectionately refer to dogs that spend more than six months here as belonging to the Lonely Hearts Club. SPCA Development Manager Lisa Bonanno said dogs may get passed over for adoption for various reasons: older age, medical problems or the need to be in a one-animal home. In 2011, the shelter arranged for the adoption of hundreds of dogs; among them were several of the longer-term Lonely Hearts Club members such as Avery.

Harley, a tan colored pit-bull mix with severe arthritis, spent more than five years at the shelter and became the “office dog” before he was adopted last November. Despite this breed’s reputation for ferocity, Bonanno said, “he truly is one of the most gentle, mushy dogs I’ve ever come across. He loved resting his head on my lap while I typed.”

His new owners, Brittany LaChausse, 24, and her boyfriend, already had two ferrets when they adopted nine-year-old Harley. LaChausse, a dog groomer in the New Paltz area, laughed and said “he is timid around the ferrets.” Harley now goes pretty much everywhere with the couple.
“He’s so well-rounded and he loves other dogs,” she added.

Some dogs get passed by for adoption because they don’t “show well,” Bonanno said.

“When people walk past they run, they bark and jump, which turns potential adopters off many times,” she said.

Benny, a freckled nose, white and tan beagle-spaniel mix, came to the shelter more than two years ago after his owner became ill and was unable to care for him. During an afternoon walk with Tom Bidwell, a shelter volunteer, Benny was the epitome of a mellow, tail-wagging dog. Bidwell, an insurance agent from Peekskill, has been a volunteer at the shelter for more than seven years and helps walk the dogs most weekends.

His initial experiences of passing by Benny’s pen exemplify how some dogs don’t “show well.” Describing those first few encounters, Bidwell said, “Whenever I would walk past his pen, he would growl at me.” This type of turf-guarding behavior can make the dog appear deceptively ferocious.

“Once people see that, they tend to make snap decisions. I can’t totally blame them, but it results in many wonderful dogs being overlooked,” Bonanno said.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, some dogs act a little too desperate. Instead of playing it cool in front of visitors, they bounce and bark, akin to kids on a playground who wave and yell, “Pick me! Pick me!” When Avery was at the shelter, she actually tore a ligament in her leg from her repeated high jumping.

Older dogs also have the competition of puppies as adoption candidates.
Acknowledging that puppies have a high cuteness quotient, Bond noted that older dogs often have the advantage of calmness.

“An older dog has so much to give back,” Bond said. “They are so much more adjusted and balanced.”

LaChausse said that she wanted an older dog when she found Harley. “Puppies take more time, training and energy. I think it’s important for people to adopt a pet that fits in with their lifestyle,” she noted.

How does it feel to the SPCA staff and volunteers when one of the longtime dogs is adopted?

“It is those moments that make everything worth it,” Bonanno said.

The SPCA of Westchester is located at 590 North State Road in Briarcliff Manor. It is open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 914-941-2896, e-mail info@spca914.com or visit www.spca914.org.