Sophie Needs a Loving Home

Man do I have a heartbreaker for you.

The story starts with a girl named Sophie. She’s a dear little thing. Although she’s not terribly little or young.

The tale begins last March.

Sophie arrived at the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter as a stray and we discovered she was a very sweet girl. She’s now 4 years old and has lived in a kennel for nearly a year. She enjoys affection and hugs and walks.
Sophie is a pitbull. She’s white with a few brown and black spots. She’s strong. She’s got the musculature of her breed, so when she walks, she takes quite the stroll.

Her issue is she doesn’t get along all that well with other animals. That’s a big part of the reason she’s spent so much time in a kennel.
Today, I helped clean and water the pups and as I do, I like to chat with them. I said to Champ, another pitbull who’s a dear boy, that it really is amazing how you can get desensitized to cleaning up after animals. He woofed his agreement.

The majority of our canines in the kennels were up and barking and prancing around, hoping for a kind word or a pat through the wires.

Very subdued.

Except for Sophie.

She was curled up on her bed and every once in a while, she’d pick up her head to watch me walk by, but other than that, she didn’t make a sound or movement. In nearly a year, she’s gotten used to us and she knows who our dogwalkers are.

I’m afraid she’s gotten so acclimated to life in a kennel, she’s starting to think of it as her home.

The tough part about walking by Sophie is her eyes. She has the saddest look on her face. I swear it’s almost acquiescence. She’s become so resigned to her fate it’s almost like she believes she’s not getting out of that kennel.

Like I said from the start, she’s a heartbreaker.

‘Kennel crazy’
See, some animals when confined for long periods of time get what shelter workers call “kennel crazy.” For humans, it would be like living in an elevator. Can you imagine? Think about it the next time you step in an elevator and the doors close.

Look around. That little compartment would be all you know — and from Sophie’s perspective — let’s say for about a year.
Some people every once in a while might open the doors and let you walk around. You get food and water and a bed to sleep on, but other than that, it’s where you live and exist.

And you didn’t do anything wrong, other than the fact that someone, somewhere decided they didn’t want you around any more.

That’s what it’s like for our dogs and some of them can’t take it. They literally go crazy inside the kennel. Some will circle their cage, almost pacing. Others have been known to have such anxiety about being locked up that they chew on their skin and paws. Dogs are very much pack animals and want to be with other creatures. It’s tough for them to be alone in a kennel.

Too accepting
The most upsetting part about poor Sophie is that she’s not even kennel crazy. She seems so accepting of her lot in life that I can’t help but wonder if this is worse. The depressed, dejected look in her eyes is just as tough to see as a dog who’s pacing and obviously stressed.
The reason I’m writing is for help. Help with Sophie. If you know anyone who would like an animal — and she’d have to be the only one in the house — please have them come meet and visit with Sophie.
I’d like nothing more than to see some joy on her face again and I know she could find it in a safe, secure home where she’s the only pet and has room to play and snuggle and sleep and love for the rest of her life.
So, please, can you help find that place for Sophie?

— Jennifer Vanderau is the director of communications for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at cvasoc@innernet.net.

The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at 717-263-5791 or go to http://www.cvas-pets.org/

Visit Sophie's petfinder page here: http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=9901596

CVAS also operates thrift stores in Chambersburg and Shippensburg. Help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the stores.
http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2008/02/29/shipp_news/news472.txt