Evicted

His shelter paperwork included an eviction notice from the Sheriff's office. He was home alone when they came to remove the family's belongings and change the locks, and he too had to be removed. The notice gave his family five days to reclaim him. Five days from the moment their possessions were piled outside and their home became off-limits. Five days during which the family would have to find a place to sleep and figure out which, if any, of their possessions they would be able to keep. Five days to reconstruct a life and reclaim a family member. Five days passed and they didn't come.

His name was "Rock." He waited in a crowded shelter, one more family pet with a sad story to tell and a bleak feature. As a rotweiler, his future was more bleak than most. Many apartment buildings and condos ban his breed and many families are afraid to adopt them. He wagged his tail and pushed a ball around and greeted everyone politely, but the clock kept ticking and he kept waiting.

"Rock" got lucky when some LDCRF volunteers came to visit the old Prince Georges County Shelter on its last day of operation. We wanted to save some dogs who might not make the move and Rock went on our list.

We thought, given all that he had been through, that he deserved a higher title, so he is "Rockstar" now. And he is getting the star treatment. He is at the vet's office tonight preparing for neuter surgery tomorrow and a minor procedure to remove a growth on his eye. He has been bathed, his nails clipped and appropriate vaccines administered.

"Rockstar" is safe and will get a great home. His story has a happy ending, but he serves as a reminder that it is more important than ever to give shelter dogs a chance. Economic downturns are always hardest on those on the bottom rungs of the ladder, and animals are about as low as it goes. The shelters are overflowing with four-legged victims of the recession and they need us to adopt rather than purchase our pets and to make sure they are spayed or neutered. After all, they can't all be Rockstars...