Happy Tails
The Artful Dodger
By Melissa K.
Jess, a junior in the college of pre-veterinary medicine program at the University of MN, had grown up with dogs her entire life. Her family would always adopt large breed rescue dogs, and this is how Jess learned to not only love dogs but want to make a future career out of it as a veterinarian.
After leaving her home to attend college, Jess began to miss the loving companionship of a pet. Her part-time job at Downtown Dogs allowed her to play with dogs and enjoy their company for awhile, but it didn’t provide her with the constant friendship she was used to with her family dogs.
One day while working at Downtown Dogs, Jess saw a foster dog jet into the facility and bolt right into her heart. His name was Rocky, a 75-pound 1 year old black lab. Rocky was a stray from Iowa who was found running around aimlessly in a cornfield. He was taken to the pound, and no one wanted to adopt him. In order to save his life, a woman volunteering with People for Pets took him in as a foster. Pet Haven works with People for Pets in Spencer, Iowa, and took Rocky into their foster program as a shelter transfer to increase the odds of Rocky finding his forever home, with access to more adoptive homes in the Twin Cities.
Jess and Rocky both knew that they were meant to be with each other, and the adoption process began. Eventually Jess was able to take Rocky home and prepare him for his new life in a loving family. The first thing Jess did was change his name from Rocky to Dodger. She came up with Dodger, as in the character the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist. With a brand new name and a brand new home, Dodger was ready to begin his new life.
The transition to his new home wasn’t easy, but it all worked out in the end. Dodger suffered from separation anxiety and wanted to be by Jess all the time. After working on the issue Jess was able to help Dodger overcome his anxiety, and now Dodger is a prize winning dog.
Not only is Dodger a graduate of obedience, agility and therapy dog classes, but he is also a prize winning dock jumper. At the nationals in Rogers, MN, Dodger qualified in the novice division and received 8th place. Jess and Dodger are true companions and are always on the go. Her love and appreciation for Dodger has caused Jess to become a dog foster volunteer for Pet Haven. Her hope is that she can bring the same love and friendship into someone else’s life.
