Change the Lives of Troubled Youth & Shelter Dogs

This is the story or Ruby, a boxer mix who was rescued from an animal shelter and brought to Project POOCH.

Hi, my name is Ruby, and I recently relocated to Hillside Retirement Community from a temporary position I was chosen for at the MacLaren Youth Correction Facility in Woodburn. It’s been a wild month or so. It all started in early January when animal control employees found me wandering the streets of McMinnville. These caring people took me to their house on Lafayette Avenue. It sure was nice to get a meal and a warm place to stay. A couple of days later when I was feeling better and the doctor had checked me out, I found out I was going to be available for adoption. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I didn’t have much choice. I got the attention of a nice lady who was looking for a new four-footed friend. The reason she liked me best was that among all the noise and confusion going on when she came searching for a new buddy, I didn’t make any fuss or join in the conversations. Good manners do pay off. The woman found out she couldn’t take me home with her right away. I had to stay for a few more days just in case someone was looking for me. She said she would wait. In the meantime, a woman from an animal rescue group called Project POOCH came in and decided one of my kennel mates and I would be just right for a couple of available positions at the kennel at MacLaren. So we were moved to Woodburn. I was amazed I was so popular. My job description at MacLaren was to be part of a team that would teach the youth to refocus their lives by practicing positive reinforcement and behavior modification. Like me, they’d strayed a bit along the way. The youth assigned to me was charged with teaching me to be a good doggie citizen. We both needed help. We worked together for three weeks, and I earned my AKC Good Citizen Certificate. Then I got adopted by the very same woman who had chosen me weeks earlier! When I moved to my new place, I gave my new person the certificate. I hope she will hang it over my new bed to remind me of how lucky I am that I survived and found a good home here at Hillside.

Links:

• Read more updates about Project POOCH in our Spring Newsletter