Introducing Max

Whenthe cat died, we said that would be the last of our pets. Forty years of cats,and now it was time to start living. No responsibilities, no worries when outof the house, when traveling. Yet my heart called out for more. A dog.

Inthe past few months, my children sent me WhatsApp notices of puppies up foradoption. My granddaughters nudged me over and over – "When are yougetting a dog? "Soon," I promised them. "Soon," I promisedmyself.

"We'llget a dog when the house renovations are finished," Jodie said to me. Threemonths behind schedule, but at last the majority of the work has beencompleted. It's time for a dog.

It's time for a dog

Ijoined a number of Facebook groups. Dogs for Adoption. Dog Lovers – For AdoptionOnly! Adopting Dogs Limited. Posts of available dogs were frequent, but, noneof them were suitable. Jodie and I had made a few decisions. No puppies—we wouldn'tbe able to handle the training. We wouldn't pay for a dog. No pedigreed dogs.No dogs from shelter that could be suffering from traumas in their past. And,possibly most importantly for Jodie, the dog should not be a barker. In short,we wanted to adopt a dog from a family.

Thefirst dog we interviewed for the position was a big, black, beautiful dog withwhite spots—Panda—who belonged to the brother of the person in charge of NeveIlan's youth activities. Panda lived nearby. Panda was very friendly, jumping tolick your face when you first met him. But Panda was strong. Very strong. Whenwe took him on a quick introductory walk, Jodie immediately realized she wouldn'tbe able to handle him.

How is Max with children?

Ifound a listing for Max on Yad2, the popular site where people sell, buy, give away,and search for everything from apartments for sale or rent, cars, furniture,and apparently, animals.

Icalled the phone listed with Max and a young male voice answered the phone. Iasked a number of questions. "Does the dog bark?" "How is thedog with strangers?" "How is the dog with other dogs?""With cats?" "How is the dog with children?"

"He'svery good with children," the person said. "I'm a child."

"Howold are you?" I asked.

"Fifteen."

Thatwasn't what I meant when I asked about children. Would the dog get along withmy granddaughters? Would he be a good match for my four-year-old granddaughter?

Maxwas born and spent his puppyhood in Karnei Shomron. From there, two teenageboys traveled on a bus for 90 minutes with Max to their yeshiva in Jerusalem.The yeshiva informed the boys that they had 2 days to get rid of the dog. Theboys were rushed to give Max away.

Weplanned to go to Jerusalem to meet Max on Friday morning at 11:00, with nocommitment to take him. But then, the meeting with Panda was set up, so Iinformed the boys that we were considering other options, that we wouldn't becoming into Jerusalem after all. A few minutes later I received an SMS."So, are you coming to Jerusalem?"

Whenthe possibility of adopting Panda didn't work out, I sent another message tothe boys asking them if we could still come. They happily agreed.

We immediately feel in love with him

Wemet Max in one of the boy's homes in the Bayit Vegan neighborhood. It was areligious household—their table was already set for Shabbat dinner at ten inthe morning. Max was a little hesitant about approaching us, but he seemed like afriendly, healthy dog. We took him for an introductory walk and Jodie confirmedthat she was strong enough to handle Max's strength. So, we took Max home withus.

To saythat our family, especially our granddaughters, were excited about meeting Max,was the understatement of the year. They immediately fell in love with him, asdid I. As did Jodie.

Maxis beautiful. Friendly. He gets along with children. He likes other dogs (but notall male dogs like him). He has a healthy appetite. He is healthy, vaccinated,and has an identifying microchip embedded under his skin. He likes to takewalks. He will soon be neutered. And, he also has a mind of his own.

"Max!" we call out. He races on.

Fridaynight dinner. Our entire family is enjoying our meal in Merav's new apartmentabove ours. Max stands to the side, sniffing at the good smells coming from thetable. "No table scraps for you! Sit, Max!" And he obeys. Mostly.

Thefront door is left open a few seconds more than it should, and Max dashes out. Hebounds down the steep steps and into the street. He runs into unknownterritory. Maybe he's heading for his Jerusalem yeshiva? Or for his previoushome in Karnei Shomron?

Werace after him. Erez and I run up the street behind Max. He's fast! And, it'sstarting to rain. Max dashes into a garden. And the rain picks up. It's darkand we don't see Max. It's suddenly a downpour, and we are soaked to the core.We reach the street and follow Max into a four-inch-deep puddle."Max!" we call out. He races on.

Atlast, Max turns into a fenced garden and I am able to slip on his leash. Wehead back to the house, where the entire family is waiting.

Maxis back. Max is with his new family. Max is wonderful. Max is now part of ourlives. And, we'll make sure to keep the front door closed for now.

(Twodays after this story was written, Max escaped again. We really need to keepthe door closed!)

 

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