Pure Joy

Whenever I question my sanity for living with a zillion dogs and giving every free minute of my spare time to animal rescue, I point myself to moments like this- moments of pure, unadulterated dog joy.

Brisa and Dibu are a pair of mother-son fluff balls who came to Lost Dog Rescue when a woman came into the PetSmart on an adoption day asking us to take her paralyzed Pekingese. Brisa had no use of her back legs and her rear end was matted and covered in poop. We agreed to take her (thanks Marcia and Peggy) but weren't sure we would be able to do much of anything for her. One that agreement was in place, the woman mentioned that Brisa had a son. Could we take him too? "Why not?" we said. "In for a penny" and all that.

When she returned with Dibu we were shocked. He is at least twice his mother's size and doesn't look much like a Pekingese. When we asked who his father was, we were told, "The neighbor's dog." Ah, well, he was gorgeous and thankfully not paralyzed.

Brisa went straight to the vet on a Saturday night. Xrays revealed a problematic disk in her back-maybe ruptured, maybe just enlarged. She started on steroids and we crossed our fingers.

Once home, Brisa scooted around like a pro. Using only her front legs, she followed me everywhere. For the millionth time, I was grateful for our one-floor living. Within 48 hours Brisa was up on all four legs for brief periods. Within a week, she was walking. Her gait remains odd, but as you can see, our girl can run!

Brisa isn't out of the woods yet. She has had a couple of seizures. The first one we were sure was a Frontline reaction. The second, unexplained. It looks like some neurological testing is in her future and we are hoping and praying to find nothing so she can get spayed and get on with finding a forever home.

What lies ahead for Brisa is unknown except for two certainties: 1- she will get the very best care possible and every chance at an amazing life and, 2- she will chart the territory ahead with her boy Dibu at her side. Momma Brisa and her boy are inseparable and will, no matter what, face life together.

My guess? They'll get through it just fine.

Diving for Puppies

"DOG!!!"
We screamed it simultaneously as a red streak dashed across the highway in front of us and darted through the grass on the side of the road. I hit the brakes, pulled onto the shoulder, puched the hazard lights button and grabbed a leash. Pam was already running.

It turned out to be a puppy, and a very scared one at that. He was determined to get away from us and led us on a run neither of us is in shape for down the side of Highway 29 rural Virginia. He zigged and zagged through tall grass and then-dangerously- headed back towards the highway. Pam followed at a crawl, not wanting to spook him into an oncoming car. She got close. He made a run for it, but she got him by the tail and hung on. He screamed like he was being dismembered and made a very sincere puppy attempt at a menacing bite or two, but she didn't let go. In a few seconds she had him cradled in her arms and, out-of-breath, we headed back to our car.

There was no sign of human life (other than speeding cars) for quite a distance around us- no homes, no businesses, nothing. After looking around a bit and remarking on the amazing amount of ticks on him- in his eyes, between his toes, on his nether regions, completely covering the inside of his ears-we tossed our new friend into a crate in the back of the minivan and resumed our journey north.

"Matty" was a good little passenger apart from vomiting green peas (?) and roundworms, and he has already warmed up to humans quite a bit. He spent the night at our vet's office where he was de-ticked (better them than me!), de-wormed, checked out and vaccinated. Neuter surgery is next.

We're glad we caught him and glad he will not be road kill, but sad at the reality of this kind of life for so many puppies. Barely three months old, Matty was out to fend for himself and wouldn't have lasted much longer. He is a living reminder of the consequences of our society's failure to responsibly spay/neuter our companion animals.

Matty will be on the website soon, so look for the little runaway next week. We'll still be catching our breath...

Sibling Non-Rivalry

In the last six months or so I have had two foster dogs become my shadow, or "mi sombre" as my friend Manuel says. First was Bailey the white shepherd who glued himself to me to night he arrived- scared, skinny and filthy- on a transport from Georgia. I swear it happened the second I brought him into my kitchen and snapped a collar around his neck. For the next couple of months he kept himself in physical contact with me whenever possible and always, always, always in visual contact. Finally, Bailey got adopted and though it was hard to let him go I was happy to see him move on to a new life. 

Enter Raven. After a life of continuous breeding, Raven was turned into a shelter when her owner became ill. When taken out for a walk one day by a representative of another rescue group, Raven slipped her collar and took off. She was missing for months and when she was finally recaptured she was very, very pregnant. We brought her home right away and on the very first night here, she somehow managed to haul her giant pregnant belly over our fence and disappear. We looked for her all night and frequently sighted or heard her but were unable to capture her until the next day when she was just too tired to run anymore.  

Raven gave birth in my bathroom three days later and I sat with her through it all, including the one who didn't make it after being too long in the birth canal. Nine days after the puppies were born, Raven became critically ill and had to have an emergency hysterectomy. It turned out that her uterus was crumbling inside of her as a side effect of over-breeding and causing a terrible infection. Again, Raven fought back from adversity and when she came back home. we became best buddies. She is by my side always, one eye on me no matter what else is happening. The former runaway dog is 100% trustworthy off leash with me and never fails to come when called. I trip over her on a regular basis. 

When I learned last week that Bailey was going to have to come back to my house, I worried. I worried that my two shadows would hate each other and be in constant competition for my attention. I worried Raven would slink away if Bailey was too dominant in demanding my affection. I worried there would be bloodshed. 

My worries were put to rest tonight. I looked down from my stool to find the two of them laying face to face by my side playing an incredibly gentle game of tug of war. The game did not require either to move out of my way or to cede any territory. It was a quiet occupation for dogs who are waiting, ready to spring into action at the slightest indication of human movement. 

Always, I am amazed at the ability of dogs to work it out. Somehow, someway, they make it work, usually when we leave them alone and let them do it in their own way. 

Howling Success!

I'm stunned.

This week I sent out an email to supporters of the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation asking for help. I told the story of the six hounds we took on after they were injured in a fire and asked people to consider donating to help us defray the costs. I hoped it would net us a couple of thousand dollars, maybe a little more.

We started out that day with a little over $3,000. By the end of the day, we had met and surpassed our goal of $10,000. I couldn't believe it. I cried more than once when I got the phone calls giving me the updated numbers. I was in the car all day that day delivering puppies to the vet for spay /neuter and then driving to Clarke County to pick up some gorgeous puppies and drive them all the way back to the Woofs! daycare/boarding facility to be fostered. It wasn't until later that evening that I got to see for myself that the red line had crept to the top of the meter indicating that we had met our goal.

The funds are hugely important to us and we are so grateful to all who have donated and thus enabled us to continue saving animals. Almost more satisfying, however, were there positive comments people shared and the way in which people were touched by this story. It is good to be reminded sometimes of the largeness of the human heart.