To the Editor:
Seeing photos of those adorable dogs needing a home on Westportnow.com prompted me to write about our wonderful 16-year experience with Thor, a mixed breed (probably partially Border collie) adopted as a puppy from the Westport branch of the Connecticut Humane Society.
Thor was healthy and had been given his shots when we took him home, and for the rest of his life received loving care from Westport veterinarian Dr. Christian Benyei. With all the dogs available and waiting at the Humane Society I don’t know why anyone who isn’t interested in “showing” dogs would buy one, or even want a purebred; mutts are known to be healthier and smarter.
Thor looked after us with total dedication. He alerted us to snakes in the grass, and to people arriving at our house, had a great bark but never bit or even snapped at a human, or hurt an animal or bird he found – merely brought the creature to our attention.
Thor did, unfortunately, have a couple of tiffs with Boo-Boo, a dog he played with as a puppy, after the two matured and the testosterone, or whatever male dogs have, kicked in.
He also fell in love – with Beuli Getts, Lise Connell’s dog, also obtained from the Humane Society, who looked enough like him to have been a sister, but Beuli was cool to his advances, and the tender letters he wrote to Beuli’s column in the Westport News didn’t alter her indifference.
(Adoptions at the Humane Society then – and perhaps now – were not “open” so we never found out anything about Thor’s original family.) What a blessing Thor was; he truly enhanced our lives.
For anyone thinking about getting a dog, I strongly recommend visiting the Humane Society on the Post Road to find the right dog for a lifetime of love and fun.
Nina Streitfeld
Westport
