The Mutt for Me: A Beautiful Transformation from Project Dog to Man’s Best Friend

By Don Hughes

A memoir of second chances, healing, and how rescuing a dog rescued me

​Having never had a dog of his own before, Don was not prepared for what it meant to adopt one of the most behaviorally difficult rescues in the shelter. But something about Barbie, a mutt that everyone had given up on, a mutt so fearful and unresponsive that she was within days of being put down, convinced Don to open his home and his heart for the first time to a canine companion, changing both of their lives forever.

Interspersed with Don’s most poignant memories of volunteering at his local animal shelter, The Mutt for Me follows the many misadventures of Don and Barbie on their mutual journey of growth and healing. You’ll see Barbie transform from the terrified, despondent recluse to the lively and almost always well-behaved dog she is today.

As the first-time dog dad of a pup in need of significant behavioral development, Don shows that with enough love, patience, and dedication, anyone can provide a home to a rescue animal. The Mutt for Me is a heartwarming story about how our pets have the capacity to transform and heal us as much as we can do the same for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
• Release date: Sep 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781632997128

Book preview

Author’s Note

Volunteering at the Maricopa County Animal Care and Control West Shelter has been the most rewarding and heartbreaking assignment I’ve ever done. It has caused me to question my faith in humanity and later restored it, often in the same day. Despite the heartbreak, I highly recommend volunteering at your local shelter or rescue. It is a great way to truly make a difference.

Most days, I worked as an adoption counselor helping people find the perfect dog to take home. For the most part, the dogs and cats pretty much sold themselves. Occasionally, I would bend the rules slightly when I and the dog liked the adopters. One such case is of the young couple who wanted a pit bull but their apartment complex did not allow pit bulls. They were moving into a house soon, so I had the front desk change the dog breed to Labrador to allow our dog to be adopted by a great family.

In another instance, helping a family with two young boys find their first dog was incredibly fulfilling. Both boys were unsure what to do or how to play with the small mixed-breed dog they were considering. Once I got all three of them on the floor, I simply stepped back and let the dog work its magic. Within a short few minutes, the room was filled with squeals of laughter as the small dog went from one boy to the next, jumping and giving dog kisses. I knew there was no way for Mom and Dad to say no.

I witnessed people who cried because they were so happy to adopt a great dog, and a teenage girl who cried because she couldn’t save them all. I consoled her that not only was she saving a dog that had been at the shelter a long time and was in danger of being euthanized, but her adoption also opened up a kennel spot for a second dog. She and her family were doing what they could to make the world a better place.

Then there were the heartbreaking times. One day, a mocha-colored Labrador puppy just appeared out of nowhere by my car door. Someone had dumped the puppy at the shelter before it opened and just drove off. Fortunately, I was able to get a leash on the forlorn animal and take her inside, before I changed my mind and just took her home. Someone did the same thing with a chihuahua who bolted and was killed by a car. This scenario happens often enough that the staff gave it a name: dump and drive.

I recall the puppy that someone beat with a hammer before it was brought in to the West Shelter. Saving the puppy would require extensive and expensive medical care; the county, however, didn’t have the funds to spend that much for just one dog. The rescue community quickly pitched in to raise the money needed for the pup’s medical care, and I told the staff I would cover whatever the fundraising didn’t. Once the puppy healed, she was put up for adoption, and a nice family took her home.

Late in my life, I decided to adopt Barbie, a dog from our county animal shelter, who would go on to fundamentally change my life. With all the behavior problems Barbie had, she was definitely a challenge, especially for someone adopting a dog for the first time. And there are other dogs at the shelter and in private rescues that will be a challenge for even experienced dog owners. But the reward, as I hope you will see in The Mutt for Me, is well worth it.

Too many people believe that all rescue dogs are broken and have serious behavioral or medical problems. My firsthand experience as a volunteer adoption counselor proves that is simply not the case. The vast majority of the dogs and cats at the county shelter do not have the same kinds of behavior problems that Barbie did. If given a chance, most of the rescue dogs there will easily and quickly adapt to their new family and new home.

If you’re looking for a companion that will give unconditional love, not to mention be a constant source of entertainment and amusement, then go to your local shelter or rescue organization; the dog or cat of your dreams is waiting there for you.

Adopt, don’t shop!

Fifteen percent of all royalties from the sale of this book will be used to support animal rescue organizations in Arizona.

Photo by Brett Howe

Prologue

Who saved whom?

That’s the existential question of animal rescue. Does the human save the dog or cat? Or is it the opposite? Or both?

Over the past few years, I’ve come to understand the importance of that question and how the answer is not as obvious as one might think. Clearly, removing the dog or cat from an abusive situation saves the animal from being physically beaten, neglected, abandoned, or worse. And, while shelters are better than a poor home situation, no matter how well run the public shelters are, they can be scary places with constant noise and cramped kennels. Many even euthanize the animals if they’ve been there for too long. So surely, taking the animal home and providing it love and care is better than leaving it to die. But is the answer really that simple?

The answer may depend on the circumstances, but for me personally, the story is more complicated. This is my account of how my involvement in animal rescue and with one special dog led me to my own conclusion.

Chapter 1

Meeting Barbie

As I entered the Maricopa County Animal Care & Control West Shelter, I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety. Strange, I thought, noticing the emotions. I had walked through those blue double doors hundreds of times in the past three years as a weekend volunteer. But today was different. Today, I wasn’t reporting for duty.

I had seen a lot of scared dogs and cats at the shelter. Almost every dog had its own hard luck story—from abused dogs to the ones surrendered by their owner. I had seen countless videos on social media of abused and scared dogs. I should have become hardened to these sad cases, but instead these stories were motivation for me to keep coming back, to do what I could to help. Barbie’s story in so many ways was no different than the others. I thought maybe I could work with her as I had other project dogs to become adoptable or help find the right family for her. Still, everything felt different for some reason. Maybe it was her sad eyes. As I continued walking past the reception area, I reminded myself I traveled too much to have a dog.

A few nights earlier, Andrea, another volunteer friend, had posted a video of Barbie on Facebook. I first noticed her tawny color, black muzzle, and four white socks. Her tail curled up with a white tip, like it had been dipped in vanilla ice cream, and her head was topped by big black-tipped ears that would occasionally fold in half. In the video, she was visibly shaking. I could see the fear in her eyes, even though she never looked directly into the camera. She appeared skinny and slightly malnourished. From my experience, I knew the stress of being in the shelter was likely causing her metabolism rate to increase, which led to weight loss despite being fed twice each day. She’s so scared and sad, I thought as I watched it. I have to meet her.

Hey, Don, what are you doing here? asked Marcia, my friend and fellow volunteer. It was a Monday, and she was surprised to see me.

Hi, Marcia, I said with a smile. I came in to see Barbie. Do you know anything about her?

Yes, Marcia replied. She’s been one of our project dogs, and she isn’t doing well at all.

I knew this, of course. That’s why I was there. Project dogs are those with behavioral issues that are difficult to correct, therefore making them unlikely to get adopted. And when dogs don’t get adopted and their behavior deteriorates at a public shelter like Maricopa, they are scheduled to be put down. Euthanasia is one of the most hotly debated issues within the animal rescue community, with strong opinions on all sides and no easy answer. As the dog’s behavior or health worsens in the kennel, can that dog be saved? Given the limited resources available, should the county spend the time and expense needed to save the dog?

A trainer I once worked with argued that public shelters should immediately euthanize any dog that isn’t adoptable. He reasoned that if a dog came in as a project dog, it was a lost cause. I had already worked with a number of project dogs that proved him wrong. With some work and patience, those dogs not only became adoptable, but also found their forever homes, and the families who adopted these animals discovered what a great dog they had found.

Project dogs often present with aggression toward the intake staff when first brought in; reluctance to interact with other dogs in a play group; and/or sometimes lack of energy, choosing to pancake in their kennel, which means they lie flat on their stomach and refuse to interact with anyone or anything. In other cases, the dog doesn’t know how to walk on a leash and it lacks social skills to behave properly inside the house, with either humans or other dogs. Generally, the underlying cause for any behavior problem is fear, so the staff and volunteers at the shelter try their best to help the dogs overcome it.

Marcia was a dedicated volunteer who worked primarily with