• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

David McElroy

making sense of a dysfunctional culture

  • About
  • Podcasts

We can’t save every animal in need, but I was happy to save Kiko’s life

By David McElroy · December 13, 2018

I didn’t realize it at first, but Kiko was minutes from death when I met her.

It was about 15 years ago and I had just pulled up to my vet’s office on a routine visit for yearly vaccinations. I had a couple of kitty carriers loaded with some of my cats. As I was getting them out of the back seat, a man parked next to me and then got out of his car with a big white dog.

Kiko was beautiful and full of energy. I didn’t recognize her as an akita, because I was unfamiliar with the breed. I told the man he had a beautiful dog, but he barely acknowledged me. He seemed angry and uninterested in talking.

When we got inside the office, he went straight to one of the exam rooms. I asked Barb, one of the clinic employees, what was going on. She told me that the man had brought this beautiful dog into the clinic to have her killed — because he couldn’t control her well enough.

I didn’t know the full story yet, but I was upset that a perfectly healthy dog was about to die. I asked Barb if she would go ask the owner if he would give me some time to try to find a new home for the dog.

I never did talk to the man. Barb went into the room and I didn’t hear anything for a few minutes. At some point, the man left through a back door, so I never saw him again. Barb came out and told me that he was going to give me some time. How much time? That was unclear.

Kiko was still on death row, but she had a temporary reprieve.

It turned out that Kiko was a young un-neutered female akita who was living in a household with a three-legged female dog who also had not been neutered. At least twice, the two had gotten into fights while the owners were away and the other dog had been hurt. So they concluded that Kiko was vicious and they wanted to get rid of her.

In researching akitas, I discovered that female akitas who hadn’t been neutered were often aggressive. This wasn’t an unusual problem.

I quickly started making phone calls. I talked with people in different dog rescue groups and eventually connected with a woman in North Carolina who specialized in akita rescue. We started looking for a good home, but everything seemed to take longer than I wanted.

In the meantime, the clock was ticking for Kiko. She was being boarded at the clinic since the owners didn’t want her at their house anymore. After two weeks, I got a call from the clinic saying they were finished paying to board her. She either had to leave the clinic or they were killing her — that very day.

I already had a houseful of cats and dogs — only two dogs at the time — and I was hesitant to bring her to my home to foster her, but I didn’t have any choice.

When Kiko rode home with me in the car that day, she was an excited and happy girl. I never once saw the signs of aggression that her previous family had experienced. Of course, I kept her segregated from my animals since I didn’t want to take any chances. But as I walked her around my neighborhood every day, she was like a confident and happy queen — thrilled to have attention and care.

I quickly grew attached to Kiko. She would sit next to me on the front steps of my house after a walk and nuzzle her head up against me to show she wanted more loving. All she wanted was a lot of love and attention.

After a few weeks, the dog rescue organization had found a potential home for her. Because of her history of being aggressive with another dog, they were looking for just the right person to adopt her and they were insisting that she went to a home with no other animals or children.

The potential match was a young woman who was a medical student in Atlanta. She and her boyfriend met me at a welcome center at the Alabama-Georgia line and they spent about an hour with her. They immediately fell in love with Kiko, so I was pretty sure this would work out.

She applied to take permanent custody of Kiko and the organization had someone inspect her home. After another week or so, I got the call that I had slowly come to dread. It was time for me to take her on our final trip together.

We met at a welcome center just on the Alabama side of the state line this time. The exchange didn’t take long, but I didn’t want to let this white ball of furry love go.

As we were about to leave, I remembered that Kiko’s previous owners had given the clinic some paperwork certifying that she was a pure akita. I offered the papers to the woman who was adopting her, but she had the same reaction I had.

“I don’t care who her parents were or that she is supposed to be ‘pure,'” the woman told me. “I already love her just for who she is, so I don’t need papers on her.”

She ripped the papers in half and threw them into a nearby trash can. Kiko was going to a home where she was just a member of the family, not where she was important because she had “papers.”

Driving away was very hard for me. I was able to remain composed until I was in the car by myself, but as I pulled out of the welcome center and onto I-20 west, I was crying.

There are thousands and thousands of dogs and cats who need homes. I know we can’t save them all. I can’t even bring myself to look at shelters, because I know how many need help.

It breaks my heart that I can’t help them all, but it warms my heart 15 years later that I was able to save one loving ball of white fur named Kiko.

Share on Social Networks

Related Posts

  • On National Dog Day, remember how love can change any of us
  • How miserable does someone have to be to ‘troll’ a cute dog picture?
  • Three years after she sneaked in, World’s Happiest Dog® is queen

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: dogs, rescue

Primary Sidebar

My Instagram

I just watched a lovely moonrise going on right ov I just watched a lovely moonrise going on right over sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
It was rainy for much of the day Saturday, but the It was rainy for much of the day Saturday, but the skies started clearing just enough before sunset to display a nice display of colors in the sky near my house. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I just remembered that I shot a couple of frames o I just remembered that I shot a couple of frames of the horizon just after sunset Friday evening. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
This was the beautiful scene that I saw driving ho This was the beautiful scene that I saw driving home about an hour ago just before sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
This was right at sunset Wednesday around 7 p.m. T This was right at sunset Wednesday around 7 p.m. This spot is about a mile from my house. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
I like it that we’re getting back to the time of I like it that we’re getting back to the time of year when sunsets happen when I’m in a better position to take photos of them. This was a minute or two before sunset Monday evening. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
The moon looks lovely and bright out here tonight The moon looks lovely and bright out here tonight beneath the bare branches of the winter trees. #nature #naturephotography #sky #birmingham #alabama
It’s been cloudy for much of the day in Birmingh It’s been cloudy for much of the day in Birmingham, but the sunshine’s color was trying to break through the clouds right at sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
It’s been cloudy in Birmingham for much of the d It’s been cloudy in Birmingham for much of the day, but the sun came shining through late Wednesday afternoon just before sunset. #nature #naturephotography #sky #colorful #clouds #sunset #birmingham #alabama
Follow on Instagram

Critter Instagram

Alex poses in an office window late Friday night. Alex poses in an office window late Friday night. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama #caturdayeve
I just got home and Thomas agreed to put up with m I just got home and Thomas agreed to put up with me for a minute or two. But he was quickly done with the indignity of interacting with a mere human. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama #caturdayeve
Alex has decided to stay home and sleep instead of Alex has decided to stay home and sleep instead of going to the office with me this afternoon. I think he’s making a wise decision. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
Thomas has the high ground just before midnight as Thomas has the high ground just before midnight as he keeps watch to see when Alex launches his latest attack. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
The grass of the back yard was cut while I was awa The grass of the back yard was cut while I was away this afternoon and Lucy was happy to find a nice, clean lawn to relax on when I arrived home. #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #cute #cutedog #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instadog #ilovedogs #birmingham #alabama
It’s about 2 a.m. and Alex is camped out next to It’s about 2 a.m. and Alex is camped out next to the door between the office and the bedroom. He’s waiting for Thomas to step through the door — and then he pounces at him, starting another round of their late-night chases. They both seem to love it. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
I think the only reason Thomas is still awake is t I think the only reason Thomas is still awake is that he’s keeping an eye out for sneak attacks from Alex, which often happen without warning at this time of the night. It’s dangerous around here. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
My feline friends are in their evening spots at ho My feline friends are in their evening spots at home to wait for me to turn the car into the driveway, which is right outside these two windows. #cat #cats #catstagram #catsofinstagram #cute #cutecat #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #tabby #tabbycat #instacat #ilovecats #birmingham #alabama
This is the look that Lucy gave me when I told her This is the look that Lucy gave me when I told her that she had to go back inside so I could leave the house for some more work. I don’t think she was ready. #dog #dogs #dogstagram #dogsofinstagram #cute #cutedog #pets #petstagram #petsofinstagram #instadog #ilovedogs #birmingham #alabama
Follow on Instagram

Contact David

David likes email, but can’t reply to every message. I get a surprisingly large number of requests for relationship advice — seriously — but time doesn’t permit a response to all of them. (Sorry.)

Subscribe

Enter your address to receive notifications by email every time new articles are posted. Then click “Subscribe.”

Donations

If you enjoy this site and want to help, click here. All donations are appreciated, no matter how large or small. (PayPal often doesn’t identify donors, so I might not be able to thank you directly.)




Search

Archives

Secondary Sidebar

Briefly

On a live awards show Sunday night, one man made a joke about a female celebrity. The husband of the celebrity was offended and hit the man who made the joke. Or maybe it was staged for entertainment. Who knows? Who cares? Social media is full of discussion — and even arguments — about this idiocy today. This baffles me. Let’s assume for a moment that the event happened as reported. People have been having such idiotic fights ever since there have been humans. Half the bars in the world see such brief dustups regularly. It simply doesn’t matter. The fact that so many people believe they need to talk about this — or even need to have opinions about it — is more evidence of the bizarre media brainwashing that convinces many to care passionately about brain-dead trivia. Your life will be happier and saner if you focus on yourself, your family and your friends, not on whatever scripted (or spontaneous) bilge that the media wants to pipe into your home.

I’m in the middle of migrating this website to new servers this week. This means you might encounter some unexpected behavior until I get all the bugs worked out. Clicking on my links (including this one) might cause your browser to give you the message that it’s a site without a current security certificate. It’s not actually unsafe, but there’s something which isn’t yet set up for the security certificate. I apologize for any such errors you might encounter while the process is going on. If you notice any problems with content which didn’t migrate properly, I would appreciate you letting me know the details at davidmcelroy@mac.com. Thanks for your patience.

I often wonder what animals think when they look at us and consider the society we’ve created. Yes, I know this is fanciful and unrealistic, but what if they could? Would they be astounded at how we treat each other? Would they be disgusted by the ugliness and pettiness which fill so many of our daily interactions? The truth is that I’m feeling pretty disgusted with humanity tonight. I made the mistake of reading some online interactions that I should have avoided — and it sickened me. The people involved appeared to be vile and stupid and arrogant. I wish I could pretend they’re a tiny minority, but I know better. It’s times such as this when I most need to escape much of “civilization” and disconnect from their world. If humans are going to be worthy of “ruling this planet,” we have a lot of growth to do. And I fear that growth is nowhere in sight. So my buddy Thomas, above, and all of his friends would be right to judge us harshly — and to think, “Why do you folks get to be in charge?”

I should have expected this, but I honestly didn’t. The article I wrote last week about disagreements over treatment for autistic children brought me angry emails. You could almost call it “hate mail.” Of the five emails about it so far, two have been to tell me that I’m wrong to even listen to critics of the most popular therapy for autistic children — and the other three tell me I’m wrong for not condemning the treatment as the “obvious” abuse it is. If you read the article, you know I didn’t take a position on the issue, because I simply don’t know enough to have an opinion. But by talking about the issue, I stepped into a heated controversy. The emails from the two sides convinced me of nothing. But they did give me even more empathy for the unfortunate parents who have to figure out for themselves where the truth lies for their children.

Have you ever had what you thought was a new idea — and then discovered that “old you” had the same idea years ago? I had that experience tonight. And it’s been wonderful. I came up with an idea tonight for a very short satirical film that would be a promotion for a fictitious college. The point is to make the college promote — as good things — everything which is actually terrible about most modern colleges. Then I remembered a fake college that I invented back when I was in college. I had created student recruitment brochures and various newsletters back then, so I decided to call my “new” college by the same name I’d invented years ago: Ochita College. As I searched my computer for any old material I might still have about Ochita from the past, I discovered an email I sent to someone in 2009 — outlining essentially the same idea which I came up with tonight. Since I didn’t remember writing that, it felt like magic. So my next film project just might be this one instead. If all goes well, you might soon see “Ochita College: Your Future Starts Here.” This should be fun.

Read More

Crass Capitalism

Before you buy anything from Amazon, please click on this ad. I’ll get a tiny commission, but it won’t cost you a nickel extra. The cats and I thank you. (If you’re using an ad-blocker and can’t see the ad, you can click here instead.)

© 2011–2023 · All Rights Reserved
Built by: 1955 DESIGN