One of the bonuses to my job is I have the opportunity to bring one of my own dogs to work with me on a regular basis. We are allowed to bring our dogs from October to May. This time frame is due to the summer heat we get here. Not a really good public example if we have a dog in our truck when the temperatures can be up to 113 in the simmer, I mean summer. Our dogs also must be well behaved. They become a part of our public image.
Hera is my "Shelter Dog". I adopted her about 3 weeks after starting at Animal Control. Hera is a Rottweiler Doberman mix. We call her a Rotterman or a Dobiewiler. Hera loves to go to work. And she is a great example to the community about two of the "bad" breeds can be wonderful dogs. Any and every opportunity I get to use her a a teaching tool I do.
Hera's owner decided to not redeem her because it cost to much. So she lived in the adoption kennel waiting for her new home. I saw her on my first day. And she saw me. She would get so excited when I was cleaning the kennel. She was still pretty young, barely over a year old, very much a puppy still. It was love at first sight for both of us. One of the kennel attendants noticed how she would react to me and kept teasing me that "She's your dog." I tried to deign it, and even showed her to people coming in to look for a family dog. Even potential adopters remarked how much this dog seemed to want to be with me.
So it was inevitable. I talked to my kids and my boyfriend (who is now my husband).And the decision was made. Hera was getting her new forever home.
Hera joined the family and quickly adjusted to our family. I was a little concerned about Shadow, our hundred year old Golden Retriever (not really but he's 14!) at first. But Hera loved him and he her. She actually brought a little bit of a spark back into him. The cats were another story. I was sure that our female Siamese, Princess Cloe, was going to smother me in my sleep. Bucky, our male Siamese was less pissy and even allowed Hera to pin him down and "clean his ears out. She still does this on occasion. Or he taunts her into chasing him around the house.
Hera also has adjusted to having chickens. She learned that if you play too rough with them they stop moving and making noise. So now she just pretend stalks them until to Rooster squawks at her and then she leaves them alone. She also like to tell the horses what to do. As long as they are on their side of the fence. Otherwise she is running for me or her "Daddy" to save her from the giant dogs.
Hera's got a little sister now too. Milly, a Treeing Walker Coonhound, recently joined our family. Partners in crime!
Hera loves to go to work, she hears the word work and she is at the door. Once we get to the shelter she struts to the Officer Office and must say hello to my supervisor and my co-workers first thing.
When it's time to hit the road, she gets in her seat and waits for her vest to be put on. It's also a seat beat for her for safety.
She is exhausted when we get home, even though she spends about half of the day sleeping, and goes straight to bed with her daddy. When she is home she is daddy's girl. When she is at work she is my partner.
I couldn't have asked for a better K-9 Partner.
