A Dog Run from High Point to Durham

Max drives the dogs crazy

Max's wife is rather partial to animals with four legs. Dogs and cats are her particular favorites.

Believing the Sarah McLaughlin song and advertisement, Max wife and children are big on giving back.

The dog runs (they have them for cats too) move dogs from places where they might not be adopted to places where people want them. In most cases they are matching up the needs and wants of people seeking pets. At least, that is the way Max understands it.

This weekend Max was the designated driver for six dogs. The smaller three got to share a large cage Max's wife borrowed and decided to keep. Max doesn't know the particulars. She probably told him but he isn't the best listener at times.

Anyway the morning started with a discussion of when they should leave. Max likes to arrive a few minutes early and his wife likes to be respectably on time. (That means a few moments late as Max sees it)

Surprisingly Max won the argument only to be caught off guard in his stocking feet when she was ready to go. He wasn't exactly ready. (One must be careful about winning)

They got on the road from Raleigh to Durham when they got a call. In animal runs a lot of communication is needed to assure the animals are not left sitting.

The volunteer at the Charlotte end of the route was getting an early start. (Whew! We had left early, now we were on time).

Half way there we were startled to hear the phone ring. Who could that be? It was my wife's mom with a question about where we were. They were thinking of dropping by our house. Plans needed to be changed because we weren't there.

We had several other phone calls, none dealing with the run as the day wore on. At least Max's wife did. It made the trip go a bit faster is some ways. It is about a ninety minute drive in light traffic to High Point from Raleigh.

About two minutes before Max pulled into the back of the restaurant parking lot, we got the call we were waiting for. The dogs had arrived. The ride had gone okay. Two of the dogs had demonstrated a problem being close to one another. You would know it was two of the boys!

The volunteer had a vehicle that was a little cramped with the six dogs, as three were what are called large dogs. She was so glad to see us; actually, so relieved to see us.

The first dog that came out of her vehicle was a fat little dog with big lonely eyes. She was a real cutie. She was the kind of dog that would sit on your lap and sigh as you stroked her.

The second dog was a medium sized dog with a penchant for chewing. Boy could she chew! The exhausted volunteer described the two males who had not gotten along as she tried to take this dog out by its leash.

The top half of the lease fell completely away into two pieces. Max grabbed the remaining leash as the dog headed for freedom. The bottom half split again. Max got his hand on the dog's collar and the vain attempt at escape failed.

The volunteer would only let us move one dog from her car at a time. This prevented future escape attempts.

Finally we got to the last two. One, a large thin black dog was in bad temper from a recent surgery. It was a dog that did not want to be trifled with.

Blessed with this information, we put this dog in a part of Max's wife's van that would be separated by space and wire from all the other dogs.

The final dog was in a fantastic mood. It was a gorgeous, energy bunny of a Yellow Lab. It was happy and wanted to play and had been penned up the whole trip. We positioned this dog behind Max and separate from the rest. If it wanted to play, it only had Max as a companion.

The run volunteer left us with a big 'Thank You' for taking these rowdy dogs from her. You could see the relief in her face.

Max's wife took the lap dog up front with her. Max has won another argument with his wife. Music is now played on dog runs. This, in Max's opinion, soothes enough of the dogs that the remaining dogs' behavior is tolerable. Max's wife has concurred with this after observing several runs, some without music.

The journey from High Point to Durham went incredibly well. Max had a helper who liked to sit up with his feet on the armrest and watch the road for Max. This was a good thing as traffic was light and the road can get very boring.

Max's wife and her lapdog seemed quite content to rest comfortably.

Except a couple of telephone calls, the ride itself went very fast and easy as runs go. Of course, Max and his wife were forewarned and able to make adjustments. This was not knowledge the prior leg volunteer had to work with.
In Durham, Max pulled in about three minutes ahead of the next volunteer. This was an expert volunteer who has her own bus. Six dogs were going to be no problem on the Durham to Virginia leg of the run.

Max and his wife watered all the dogs and took them for short walks before turning them over for the next leg of the run. The dogs are all wonderful dogs and will make their new owners happy, with a little luck.

With the journey over at about one pm, Max had been on the road or dealing with transferring dogs since about nine twenty. It was now time for Max's favorite part of the dog runs.

Max's wife took him out to Elmo's on Ninth Street in Durham. Elmo's is a favorite of people who like to eat delicious food. It is not a fancy place. It just has excellent meals and outstanding service. It is always too much food, but you won't get any complaints from Max on that. It should only take a few extra times around the Greenway; three or maybe four.

It was a pleasant day to help pet-finders bring together loving animals with people who have a desire to have a pet in their life. It was a day when the volunteers got rewarded by being a part of America's compassion. Some, like Max, even got bonus rewards.

Max writes about greenways, rare diseases, timely topics, places to eat, travel and other issues of interest. He encourages you to add your comments.