Spokane Animal Control asked if we could take an older, blind Lab who had been abandoned. She had been bred many times, and her mammary tissue was enormous. It looked like she’d recently had a litter. We guessed she belonged to a backyard breeder who had moved on to younger breeding stock’ and turned this old girl out.
Well, maybe her breeding days were over…but Evelyn wanted us to know she had a whole new career ahead of her! Why, she could sing and dance! Evelyn turned out to be a cabaret girl in search of a stage.
When she ‘performs,’ as we call it, Evelyn sings with a series of long woof-woof-woofs’ at different pitches. And as she”s singing, Evelyn dances side-to-side in a kind of two-step shuffle. Sometimes all four feet are off the ground. (Can you have a four-footed two-step?)
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We also learned, much to our surprise one evening, that when you clap your hands she’ll leap straight up and put her front legs into your arms. It’s as if she wants to take you around the dance floor.
When Evelyn isn’t busy singing and dancing, she just hangs out as one happy girl. In fact, she seems to be saying I’m happy that I’m happy!”
Of course, even a happy dog likes to unwind after a performance. Evelyn’s favorite relaxation technique is to flop upside down on the grass and roll around like…well, like any other rolling dog.
