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Articles
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| A dog’s best friend |
VOICE writes, "BY JOSHUA GRAY
On a dismal, rainy evening,Jane Altenhofen’s home near Capitol South is a haven for warmth and hospitality. And dogs. Definitely dogs.
Though the aroma of wet pooch is blissfully absent, Altenhofen’s four-legged housemates still make a strong first impression. Lizzie, Angel and Pixie greet visitors with joyous yips, full-body wags and leg-nuzzles. It’s an appropriate introduction to their mistress, the woman neighbors call “The Puppy Lady.”
The greeting party at Jane Altenhofen’s house is just the tip of the iceberg; in the last 14 years, Altenhofen has played foster mother to around 200 dogs, mostly puppies. "
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She works with the Washington Humane Society, relieving the overtaxed shelter on New York Avenue, which, sadly, can never hope to keep up with D.C.’s burgeoning population of homeless dogs and cats. Altenhofen, who is an auditor with the National Labor Relations Board by day, gives lucky puppies a loving environment that helps develop the young dogs’ social skills.
It happened almost by accident, but “The Puppy Lady” is really a natural. Altenhofen has always been a dog person. She grew up with dogs in Kansas, and she has always had dogs. She brought two longtime companions when she moved to the Hill in 1989. In 1993, grief-stricken by the loss of an elderly boxer, she started making regular visits to the society’s shelter, hoping to find a new dog to make her family whole.
“I was coming in once or twice a week,” Altenhofen said, “and the volunteer coordinator at the time said ‘Why don’t you take your mind off of it and try a project? How about taking on a pregnant dog and forget about adopting a dog for right now?’ I don’t know if I was crazy with grief or whatever, but I said ‘OK.’”
A week later, Altenhofen was playing both midwife and nursemaid to that dog and her dozen puppies. Some neighborhoods would be less than welcoming to such an extended family, but Altenhofen’s dog-centric slice of the Hill embraced her and the puppies. Neighbors even helped care for the litter.
“We turned the dining room into a nursery. It was such a wonderful neighborhood process,” Altenhofen recalls. A number of those puppies remained in the neighborhood — Lizzie, Altenhofen’s exuberant shepherd-mix was one of them.
“My neighbors laugh at me because I don’t have children, and I’m often making fun of what I call these ‘yuppie’ parents. Well, I was the worst when she was little,” Altenhofen admits. “She was the first one to open her eyes, she was the first one to take a step. It was really obnoxious.”
That first litter set the stage for many more. Dog owners abandon the mothers frequently.
“People say, ‘I can’t believe that,’ but it’s not at all unusual. It happens all the time,” said Altenhofen. “That’s where I come in.”
The extended family’s size ebbs and flows. “Some years I’m really busy, sometimes I’m not,” said Altenhofen.
Remarkably, Lizzie, Angel and Pixie share their home without any apparent conflict. “I’ve tried to make it so they get a positive experience from the puppies as well,” she continues. “The puppies get socialized, and my dogs have somebody to boss around. Normally, I only take puppies, but occasionally, I take small dogs. Every so often I even take a cat.”
On this stormy night, Altenhofen’s three mutts have the house to themselves. They should enjoy the space while they can, because it’s definitely a temporary situation.
Know of someone making a difference in your neighborhood? Let us know at editor@voiceofthehill.com.
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Posted on Dec 14, 2007 15:19pm.
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