Little Miss Meli - What I've Learned From Dogs

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Oh my goodness. I’m exhausted. I spent the weekend in Vegas (very unlike me) with my siblings for a fun bonding weekend. I arrived skeptical, a bit wary of the manmade entertainment scene. But quickly, I started to lean in. Although I recognize that it is a city of extravagance, consumerism, and instant gratification, there were plenty of things to delight the senses and break me out of the hard shell that’s grown around me since starting grad school. I dabbled at roulette, I played some slots, watched Cirque de Soleil, ate some incredible vegan food, and sipped one too many $20 cocktails (ick). It was wonderful to spend time with my siblings, too, and I appreciate the adult friendships that we are continually forging with each other after a childhood spent in sibling rival mode.

Anyway, I’m back at work and chugging away on a few different grant applications, updating websites, cruising through emails. I’m tired, but excited. I’m overwhelmed, but happy. And the best part of it all is that I have sweet little Meli sitting at my feet, just content to be in the world next to the people she knows best. I’ve been wanting to write a quick ode to the furry companions that have brought me so much joy throughout my life, and the story of how Meli became my new sidekick.

I’ve been wanting my own dog since I was probably 4 or 5. Specifically, I wanted a chihuahua. I think to my little child brain, a chihuahua was the perfect size to be my little furry shadow. I ended up getting a kitten when I was 8, and that launched many, many years of loyal cat fandom and ownership. There was Hallie, Dexter, Frankie, Meko, and then Boomer (RIP my darlings). My siblings took care of their cats, Cocoa and Velvet. Michael also had a not-so-furry bearded dragon named Spike. The Fritz family adopted a loving if overzealous black lab named Pepper. We had a house appropriately full of little humans and creatures, and I loved it. The feeling of caring for something gave me so much meaning back then. When I left Boomer behind with my parents when I went to college (something they never let me forget), I felt a yearning for his snuggles and purrs and leg rubs. But this was what you did when you went to college. You left them behind and went on to the next chapter of your life. If you were lucky, you were able to bring your pets with you. I wasn’t.

Here are some pics of Boomer. We lost him in February 2020 to leukemia. Love you Puma Bear!

Fast forward 11 years, and 29-year-old Lauren starts graduate school after a decade of galavanting with purpose. I dove headfirst into my classwork, excited for this new and yet familiar identity as a student. But, as it does to some people, the endless pursuit of productivity in output-driven academia started to weigh on me. I started to petsit dogs on Rover as a way to earn some extra cash. I didn’t realize the amount of comfort I would receive from having furfriends around once more. Here’s a bunch of the dogs I’ve hung out with thanks to Rover!

And then I watched Lily…Lily! The most beautiful, perfect little bundle of King Charles Cavalier fluff. She was my favorite Rover dog, and still is. She was the quiet study companion, the coffee shop favorite, the sweet little reminder to slow down and not push myself too hard (she had a heart condition, so we couldn’t walk very far, and it reminded me that quality over quantity is key). Lily solidified in my mind that I wanted a dog, and I mean really wanted a dog. My mental health was on a bit of a slippery slope, and watching these animals gave me a purpose. Another creature was dependent on me. It was calming and reassuring and brought a part of me to life that I’d forced to shush when I traveled throughout my 20’s.

This determination lead me to look at various shelters in the area. I came across Peace of Mind Dog Rescue (POMDR) in Monterey and was immediately excited about their mission. They specialize in re-homing dogs that are given up by their senior guardians when they can no longer care for their pets. They also take in older dogs from nearby shelters, or dogs with medical issues. You know…the ones that are traditionally harder to adopt. I immediately signed up to be a foster parent (this was in October 2021 or so) but was in the process of looking for housing…so my adoption dreams were on hold while I bumbled around Santa Cruz looking at places.

As a side note, it is very hard to find pet-friendly housing right off the bat in Santa Cruz. Maybe this is the case for most places. I’m not sure. But time and time again I read “no pets.” I can understand why most people would be hesitant to rent out a place to someone with an animal that they don’t know. But that didn’t mean I was any less frustrated when no options were coming up. Santa Cruz housing is hard enough to come by in and of itself.

Eventually, around the end of November, I found my place…and the landlords loved little dogs! I knew I wanted a small dog, because I wanted to be able to fly with her or him. I also wanted something older or lower energy, to match my grad-school life of reading and studying and sitting at a desk a lot. So I started to look at the pet listings every night before bed. But even then, I was traveling too much to actually pull the trigger. I took quite a few trips last spring, to Maui, home, and to the Big Island. I was too scatter-brained.

And then came May. I felt somewhat ready. I was going to be in Santa Cruz for a couple of months. I hopped onto the Peace of Mind website and looked at their foster needs. There was a little dog named Benito! A young pup, cute as can be, healing from a leg injury. I called them up and asked if I could foster him. They told me he was already about to be adopted, but there were other dogs available. I looked again. There was a scruffy little yellow dog staring up pitifully at the camera, poor lighting not masking the shy nature of this girl they were calling “Aura.” A stray picked up in a nearby town. “Has some issues with her back legs, with reduced mobility. She needs a full health check with our vet first.”

I volunteered to foster Aura. I didn’t know much about fostering, but I figured it couldn’t be that much different from Rovering. I drove down to Monterey, met the gals at the POMDR office, and waited in the office while they went to retrieve Aura. And then around the corner she came, shy as can be, wobbling unsteadily on her legs, sulking around the edges of the room, but finally making her way over to me and crawling into my lap. With gentle pets and kind words, she warmed up to me. Here we go.

I fostered Aura for a total of 7 days before I decided to adopt her. What really nailed it home was when we went wine tasting and she sat elegantly in my lap, just “happy to be here.” Even though I felt feeling of panic over what it actually meant to be adopting a dog (limited travel, harder time making plans to be away, constant care, etc.) and had an anxiety-induced phone conversation with my therapist over it, I knew it was go time. I would make it work.

I played with a few different names and settled on Meli, which means “honey” in Hawaiian and is similar to the word in other languages (miel in French and Spanish). She also earned the nickname Stinky Pot Pie due to some rather stanky breath. After her full vet check-up, we learned she had some spinal damage from an unknown cause. The vet speculated that maybe she had had puppies, and during the birthing process some damage occurred. Two of her vertebrae are smooshed together. This was leading to some neurological issues with her back legs; they didn’t seem to respond to her brain the way they were supposed to. Surgery, though technically an option, wasn’t recommended. There was no guarantee it would fix anything and also no real need to put her through that; she was getting around just fine.

I knew I’d found my furry sidekick. She’s traveled many different places with me already…North Carolina, Idaho, and Washington. My family loves her. She makes friends everywhere she goes. She leaves a housewarming poo on the carpet of new houses (I can’t figure out how to ask her to not do that, please). She is anxious and nervous but I don’t think things could’ve turned out better for this little lady. She is now living her best life in Santa Cruz, and I have Peace of Mind Dog Rescue to thank for that.

Now, studying is a little less lonely. She gets me out of bed and out on walks. She makes me look forward to my “alone” time because I’m never really alone when she’s around. She’s the perfect companion. Even though she’s a brat. But I love her. And she has her own Instagram as Meli.the.stinky.pot.pie if you’re so inclined to give her a follow.

If you are able to interact with animals in any way, you know the effect they can have on people. Who is rescuing who?? I’m now a happy volunteer with POMDR and love sharing the happy stories that come from their non-profit. Every dog deserves love! Also please spay and neuter your pets.

I wish you many wet doggy kisses and kitty purrs for the rest of your weekend!