Anyone else like to poke their toes out of the blanket like Polly Ester? Photo courtesy of Tory Maxwell.Fall is my favorite time of year. The leaves get crunchy and colorful, and the odd warm days feel like bonus summer.
Being an insomniac, I welcome it when the nights grow colder, because that means sunlight time is shrinking. Darkness encourages sleep.
Animals can sense winter coming just like people can. While we’re winterizing our homes, they have their own chores. Bears prepare dens for hibernation. Squirrels pack nuts away. And dogs and cats…well, they’re trying to stay cozy too.
Meet a four-year-old pup who figured out exactly how to stay warm when the chilly bite of the Pacific Northwest autumn caught up with us last week. Polly Ester—so named because she is a blend of dogs—loves to bundle up in blankets whenever possible.
Her guardian Tory Maxwell says Polly Ester is possibly a mix of American Eskimo and Australian Cattle Dog.
“Maybe??? Who really knows,” wrote Tory. “She came into the shelter when she was three months old. I remember her coming through the door. I don’t think I put her down after that. She was supposed to be a foster. Ha, that obviously didn’t work.”
The shelter Tory’s referring to is Whatcom Humane Society. She supervised the animal care technicians there for five years, and departed in 2006. That’s a lifetime in shelter years. Many employees don’t even last one year in the emotionally charged environment that characterizes the life-and-death reality of shelter life.
Calmly competent, always cheerful and upbeat, Tory’s one of my all-time favorite WHS employees. And I’m not alone in my sentiments on Tory.
Even though Tory doesn’t work at Whatcom Humane Society anymore, she will always be part of its fabric.
And so, for that matter, will Polly Ester. A fine blend indeed.
Here's Tory Maxwell writing her coordinates in my notebook at a shelter social event. I snapped a quick pic because I knew I'd be writing about her some day soon.
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