Abigail is a rescue dog. David took me to the shelter to have me pick out a dog for my Valentine's gift in 2005. We went to get a three legged chow mix that had been advertised as we were certain that no one would want her. When we got there.... and told them we were there to see that dog they laughed... because everyone in the city had come prepared to adopt the three legged dog. We were kind of bummed... we had even picked out the name " tri-pod" ( I know totally original.) Still we decided to take a look at what they had. We looked at several dogs, took them out to get to know them. All of the dogs that we pulled out were all about the dogs in the cages rather than about us. I know that shelter dogs rarely show their best foot at the shelter...but we wanted a dog to at least LOOK at us. We were about to leave and had walked out the door... when Dave said " well there was one other" and I said " yeah I saw one I kind of liked too" and he said " the one on the corner" and we finished "with one eye!" Well that decided it for us. We BOTH had thought that the same dog might be worth another look. So in we went and got her out of the crate to meet her. She was ALL about us. So excited that we were with her that she could barely calm herself. We knew in a second that she was ours.
She had been at the shelter since Jan 6 and it was Feb 10... and this poor sweetheart was so emaciated that you could count every rib. Even with more than a month of being fed at the shelter she was so thin that she looked horribly abused. She had scars everywhere and she had lost her right eye. She looked so pathetic it was heartbreaking... and this was after MORE THAN A MONTH OF CARE! I don't want to even imagine what she was when she came in. My mom was skeptical. " A Pitbull huh?" I said " Well yeah... but meet her." So she came over to meet our as yet nameless little nameless pup. She got tears in her eyes and she immediately went about getting that puppy " fattened up" We decided on the name Abigail ( despite Dave wanting desperately to name her Popeye or Cyclops.) We got a voucher when we adopted her to have a free spay or neuter... so we took her to the vet the next day. She was in such rough shape from her past that the vet immediately gave us a nasty look and was a bit short.... until she got the voucher... which made it clear that she had been adopted only the day before. She smiled and told us that she had been prepared to really dislike us because of the condition of the dog.... but that she was so glad that we had adopted her. She looked her over and told us from the scarring and the condition that the dog was in she thought that she had been a bait dog.... and that she thought that Abby was perhaps about 7 months old. We got her spayed and brought her home.... where she has stayed every day since. The vet wanted to do weight checks on her because she was so thin. In the first week we put 12 lbs on her and 8 lbs the second... and then it evened out and got slower.... but the vet wasn't worried she could tell that Abs had a good home with people who loved and fed her.
Abigail has the most loving and forgiving nature. She loves so completely and has been a blessing in our home since the day she came into it. We have to be careful with her... she can dislike a person for seemingly no reason. She has happy tail syndrome and breaks it open every now and then and bleeds all over the place. She gets nervous and scared about what seems like nothing. But she has been with us for eight nearly nine years..... and in that time she has offered so much to us that we feel the trade has been well worth it.
Sweetie Pie is a dog we got from the pet store. She is hardly a rescue.... and hasn't known a hard day since she was 8 weeks old and came into our home for the first time. She is a boxer/shar pei mix.... and is the cutest thing you have ever seen. She is as big as Abigail... but thinks of herself as a lapdog. She sleeps in the bed on my feet most nights... and she has only ever known being part of a family. I wanted to name that dog Bear.... but my girls were firm... she was Sweetie Pie.... and I guess that was that.
She was little enough when we got her.... that the kids could lift her. She was about the size of a newborn baby and was often held like one ( which might explain the lap dog syndrome.) She has helped us to teach our young girls gentle touch with animals... and has been patient with them. She managed the final test like a champ.... when Taryn accidentally tripped and fell on her she kissed her and got up. No growls no nastiness.... just checking on the kid and getting out of the way. When you have children there are those moments that no matter how hard you work to protect everyone... they fall on each other. A dog in a house full of kids.... has to be patient with that and Sweetie Pie IS. Not to mention she never tries to steal food from the kids ( Abby does so we have to watch) But then she has never known a moment of starvation or hunger. This dog was the best addition we ever could have made to our household.
We are so very blessed by these awesome animals. We are grateful every single day for them. Abigail had a stroke a few months ago... Dave got an aspirin into her and the vet believes that saved her life. She is a little wobbly now and she barks and walks around in circles about once a day... the vet said an aspirin a day for the rest of her life. There is no telling how long she will be with us. But we will give her a home until she makes that transition... and we will mourn her when it comes. Still we are proud to have had such a wonderful companion with us. We are so happy that we have been able to give this wonderful spirit a life that is worthy of her. I am a strong advocate of animal care... maybe not RIGHTS so to speak.... but caring for and being a good steward for the earth and her animals. I am at my max capacity for animals to care for. I can't take on any more, but every time I see an animal who needs care in the way that Abby did, I share it on Facebook, sometimes I shed a tear.... and then I go hug my dogs. It makes me feel like I am doing something. What I can at any rate. I love my furry kids.... and I am so grateful they are in my life. They complete my life.
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