Our week with a dog

What an emotional roller coaster we've been on with this guy.

One day last week I came home from a shopping spree (to purchase needed bedding and towels for the house as requested by the University of Hawaii) and found this little, frightened, stray dog cowering under the outside table. He was so cute and looked in need of some care, so I enticed him to come inside with a few small pieces of cheese. He was very timid and hesitant at first, but within an hour was prancing confidently around the house and looking at me as though I were his chosen person. Thinking that when Ferd came home, he would be frightened and run away, I left the back door open, but when Ferd arrived he was given a doggie greeting as though he'd been expected all along. Thinking he would leave during the night we put him outside, but the next morning, there he was waiting for breakfast.

How could I not let him inside? So he got scrambled eggs.

I called animal control and they picked him up about 3pm that afternoon, after we'd spent lovely hours bonding, he playing and sleeping at my feet while I worked on photos. When he was taken away, I felt such a sense of loss, and then concern over what would happen to him. As it turned out, he had no chip, no one showed up to claim him and the Hawaii Humane Society deemed him not adoptable because of his initial shy behavior and his general hair loss. They said that as a "finder wants" person, I was the only one to whom they would release him. What a terrible choice.

He deserves a chance at a good life, so after making sure with the Architecture School that it was OK to have a dog in the house and after he got neutered, Ferd and I picked him up on President's Day. His name is Kamali'i, pronounced Kamalee-ee (accent on third syllable). On the "Hawaiian dog names list" they said it meant "little boy" but the official dictionary says it is Hawaiian for "Royal Child". Either way, it's a good name.

For three days I considered that my mission for the next 4 weeks was established: to get him to learn to "come", "stay", and "sit", to not feel that he has to mark territory inside the house, and to get his hair to grow. He's about 2 years old. After a visit to the vet, we now know he has a flea allergy and probably a food or inhalant allergy. This will make getting him healthy a little more complicated but how could I not try. With the flea treatment and a restricted diet he is already scratching himself much less and his fur is becoming more silky.

However, on the third day the "higher powers" at the University of Hawaii notified us that we could not keep him in the house. We were both shocked and heartbroken. Ferd has become just as fond of him as I have. There is an organization that we've discovered here that may help us solve this problem - the Hawaii Dog Foundation. They are a group of volunteers who will provide foster homes for unwanted dogs while they advertise the dogs for adoption on their website and have weekly dog "meet and greets" at the many dog parks on the island.

They have a couple of foster homes that may work for Kamali'i. We must surrender him to them this week in the hopes that he'll find a good, loving permanent home. We also have the option that if he is not adopted by mid May, at which time Ferd leaves Oahu, we could readopt him and bring him to Bozeman. I'd have to buy him a sweater for the winter.

Interesting thing I learned through all this is that the Hawaiian islands have no wild mammals nor snakes. Pet snakes are not allowed and if one is ever noticed, they cordon off the area and carry out an intensive search until it is found and killed. It's important to preserve the precious bird life on the island. They also keep house pets very strictly controlled. All pets must be registered and have identification chips implanted. If a pet dog is found running loose and caught, they identify the owner through the chip and charge them a hefty fine for irresponsible pet ownership. But there are still hundreds of stray dogs and feral cats. While waiting at the shelter to pick up Kamali'i for 20 minutes, 3 stray dogs were brought in.

I hope we've saved one sweet life.

Life is good!

Sweet face

Dog on Charlot's stairs

Sun shining through the yellow stained glass reveals....

a golden dog...

who loves this couch but is not allowed after I take this picture.

Kamali'i with Ferd in new shirt