Transformations

As we close out 2010, the theme Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation has chosen to highlight is Transformations. The awesome video put together by Collen Learch showcases the amazing transformation from homeless and hopeless to adopted and adored. If you haven't yet watched, now is a good time. Guaranteed to make you smile! Click here to view the video.

All of this talk of transformation has gotten me to thinking about the transformations I am privileged to observe on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, there is a pretty incredibly one unfolding right here in my office...

Sadie came to us skinny, terrified and dirty. Not that unusual, but she also had nine brand new puppies in tow. She was so scared, she had to be carried everywhere and when she was placed outside or on the floor, she just curled up in a ball. Sadie took really good care of her babies, but each and every one of them was claimed by canine herpes- a disease she probably contracted at the shelter and passed to them at birth. That meant that on top of being skinny, scared and in bad physical shape, Sadie was also flooded with hormones she couldn't release and grieving for her puppies.

Sadie stayed on a dog bed in the corner of my office closet for a long time. Each and every trip outside was an ordeal and as soon as she got back in she'd curl right back up into that ball. She wouldn't even eat for the longest time unless she was fed one hand full at a time and with no noise or distraction nearby. If we approached to pet her, she hid her face. 

Slowly, however, things changed. Sadie started wagging her tail the tiniest bit when I entered the room and then more and more enthusiastically. Next, Sadie started to creep out of her bed towards me when I had my back turned. Granted, she would run right back to safety if I looked at her, but it was a start!

Our biggest breakthrough came one day when I went outside with the other dogs and left the front door open. After standing in the yard a few minutes I looked up to see Sadie standing next to me!! I wanted to jump with joy, hug her tight and do a dance. Instead, I looked away and very quietly said, "gooood girl."

Since then, Sadie has made enormous strides. She licks my hands, she jumps on me when I have my back turned, she goes in and out of the house on her own to conduct potty business and she races down the driveway when I return. Most importantly, she is learning to play. As I type she and Freida the cattle dog (a whole other transformation story) are play bowing, play biting, and dancing around the office floor. The sound of their tapping nails is music to my ears.