Two months ago, I decided it is time for me to adopt another dog.
I dropped in to the local shelter a couple times a week to visit the dogs.
Our local shelter is called a humane society although they do not have the space to be idealistically humane at all times.
In other words, sometimes the capacity of the facilities are surpassed and so some dogs get put down in order to make room for the newcomers.
This is one of several reasons that some people hesitate to volunteer their time at the Maui Humane Society.
It is heartwrenching to have walked a dog a couple times a week and then go back the next week and find out the dog was 'put down'.
After many visits with a dog named Laura, a Chihuahua mix (poi dog as we say here -- meaning mixed breed) I decided I really liked her.
I found out all I could from the staff about her history.
She was eight years old.
A man had brought her in when she was about to have puppies.
The puppies were being fostered out so that Laura could get her strength back.
She was fairly healthy now.
It's a big decision when a person is choosing a dog.
A dog is a lot of responsibility.
A dog's departure can cause heartache.
I had had a Chihuahua for two years.
Her name was Nai'a.
She had died due to an attack by a pit bull.
I wanted to be really sure before I made the decision to adopt another dog.
I took a little too long.
Someone else adopted Laura before I did.
I visit the humane society only once a week now.
It is so hard to see all those dogs that need homes, need love, attention, food, shelter and training.
Lately, each kennel or large cage at the Maui Humane Society has two or three dogs in it because the non-profit is almost full to capacity.
The dogs have a sheet of information tacked on their kennel door which says that a nice lady or a nice man found them wandering around the island, hungry and thirsty, and took them to the shelter to be adopted.
A few of the dogs' kennel notes say instead that the owner brought them in and surrendered them because they can no longer look after the animals.
It is sad and amazing how many abandoned dogs have been brought into the Maui Humane Society in the last few months.
Foreclosures on Maui have increased over the past year.
The staff at the MHS see the correlation between the people losing their houses and abandoning their dogs.
A huge number of people who lose their homes to foreclosure then leave the island.
Today when I went to the Maui Humane Society there were several dogs that I liked.
One newcomer was very skittish.
She looked like a miniature Red Setter although I guess there is no such thing.
This little dog, approximately 20 pounds in weight, had been brought in by her owner along with one of her puppies.
I am glad the owner had the compassion to bring the animals in for help if she could no longer look after them.
Another new little dog there was a tiny Chihuahua, ten years old, who had been found wandering around the island.
The staff at the humane society named her Lulu.
Did somebody own this dog for a number of years and then actually think they were doing their beloved little dog a favor by setting her loose to wander around, thirsty and hungry, facing dehydration and starvation? This dog was only six pounds and could have been lunch for a bigger dog out there in the fields.
The owners of the little Chihuahua couldn't possibly have simply 'lost' her.
There is only one main dog shelter to call here to inquire about a lost dog.
The owners could not have inquired or they would have been reunited with her.
Most Mauians who want a dog, want to adopt a shelter dog, a rescued animal, rather than get some purebred for $2000.
Purebred dogs on the Hawaiian Islands are very expensive -- overpriced -- ranging in price depending on breed.
The high prices are due to supply and demand.
There are many regulations for bringing in new dogs to the islands and Hawaii has the longest quarantine period of any state.
Generally speaking, people here prefer to get the poi dog.
They feel good about doing a pet rescue.
There are so many stray dogs on Maui and many of them have a litter or are about to have a litter when they are rescued.
Fostering animals is time consuming and a lot of work, but some people offer to do that here - just like people do in thousands of other localities across America.
Thank heavens for those caring, compassionate souls.
I went for a walk at sunset tonight at one of the grassy beach parks where a lot of dog rescuers walk their dogs.
These are people that have two, three or four dogs happily playing with one another.
The dog rescuers suggest to anyone and everyone they meet, "Adopt a shelter dog, do a dog adoption or a puppy adoption, help the abandoned animals.
" Many of these same people volunteer at the Maui Humane Society or they act as foster parents for the litters of the rescued animals.
This evening, after having a nice chat with a group of these people -- and none of us having remembered talking to one another ever before -- one of them asked me the name of the white Chihuahua I had mentioned owning.
I said her name was Nai'a.
All four people exclaimed to one another or to me - in effect -- "Oh, Nai'a.
Yes, I saw Nai'a.
I know who Nai'a is.
" Talk about dog enthusiasts! They don't remember me, the human being who had been at the other end of the leash, but they remember my dog -- once they hear me say her name.
I like that! Anonymity in a crowd.
Unfortunately, I didn't recognize any of their dogs.
I guess I'm just a dog enthusiast trainee-in-waiting for now.