Maruko's journey (Part 2)

We had been told she was a large dog, but by the time we got there she had put on about 40lbs, grown a foot taller and been renamed Cujo because of the rumour mills and hearsay surrounding the case. The "Aggressive" label tends to bizarrely increase the animal's dimensions. Add to that the tendency that Japanese "large" whether it is T-shirt size or dog size tends to be quite a bit smaller than the western large size. We were convinced she was going to be far bigger than our largest crate. So out the back with us, and there in the dog catcher's truck was Maruko. A skinny scruffy slip of dog, who was beside herself with fear. She would sound off if anybody came within 5 feet of her cage. Junior was standing smugly off to the side arms folded on a belly he shouldn't have had for his age. This was not an unacheivable task it was just going to take some time. More time than usual and more time than city workers had to spare given the current situation the citizens found themselves in. It took 40 minutes to build up Maruko's trust in us so we could put on a slipleash and slowly let her out of the cage.She made a beeline for the grass and made two lengthy deposits. A bit of a short trot around the periphery and then to try and get her into the crate in our car. We decked it out special. It was laden with enticing treats and pink oversized fleece blanket. I mean what lady doesn't like a bit of pampering? The back of the jeep was too high for her to manage but the treats were calling her name. We couldn't yet hoosh her up as she seemed tender in her belly and hip area. We built a "stairway" out of dog food boxes  and she ably clambered up them to claim her prize.

On our 8 hour journey  to the shelter we stopped twice to let her out to stretch her legs and make organic contributions to the surrounding countryside. Now I may get a little too graphic for sensitive souls here so I apologise in advance. She must have pooped about 5lbs in the space of 9 hours. She hadn't been walked at all in the pound and some dogs just will not, however desperate, poop where they sleep.No wonder she was tender she had been in the pound for 5 days, that is a lot of build up. Each time we took her out she was more relaxed and less edgy.

We arrived at the shelter in Niigata and they had a room prepared for her she was in great spirits and was fine with being approached by strangers, unlike a few short hours ago. We walked her around her new surroundings and then led her to her private room. The couple who were helping the vet have promised to come for her when they get all their own ducks in a row. We visited her the next day when we were loading trucks to go out again. She greeted us with a big toothy grin and a tail wagging so hard it became blurry!

One happy happy lady:-)