We have over the years made it a habit of picking up strays and dropping them off at shelters. Max, a large German Shepherd/Collie mix, was our first in New Jersey. We met him, with his owner, on our morning walk in Hoboken. His owner looked (unlike Max) somewhat "Street-worn", and he asked us (after Max had played with our female dog Laila for a few minutes) if we wanted another dog. We told him that we had two and our landlord would surely burst a blood vessel if she stumbled on dog number three. He told us that he couldn't take care of Max anymore and was planning to drop him off at the Jersey city animal shelter. We hadn't heard any good things about the Jersey city animal shelter and we didn't feel like the owner had the means or the intent of doing what he said he planned to do. Moreover, from past experiences with pet abandonment, we knew that the shelters fill up around the holidays: it was two days before the labor day weekend.

Max stayed with us for a month until Mt. Pleasant had room for him. We discovered how bright he was, how much he wanted to please us and how a dog, after three years (a third of his life!) of being bumped around by the vagaries of human nature, could still be "optimistic" about life, and about humans. We hoped Mt. Pleasant would help Max find what he deserves: a good, kind home where he can belong to a "pack" that will take care of him for the rest of his life.

Max got adopted from Mt. Pleasant animal shelter within three days! We heard from his new family that he is doing very well.