The following is by MamaLiberty. She sent it to me a few weeks ago to pass along to the local animal rescue group. Then she reminded me that I could use it here, also. So here you go; something nice to relieve the stress of real life and unreal nooz.
Laddie’s Tale
By Susan Callaway
Laddie gets a homemade treat each morning when he cleans up his breakfast. He takes it to his bed and savors each bite, then vacuums the pad and rug around it to capture each molecule. This morning, as usual, he got done with that and came to rest his muzzle on my knee. He’s very obviously giving thanks.
This morning I scratched his head as usual and said, “good dog.”
And he replied:
You rescued me from those who hit me and starved me. You were patient and kind while I learned to trust and love again.
You give me food, warmth, play time and security. I remember when I got out once and was so lost and frightened – and then you found me and saved me again!
You humans must worry about everything in the world. All I have to offer is love.
I love you, and I’m so glad to be your dog.
****
And I wept for joy. What could be more precious than that love?
Laddie’s story
Laddie is a 3- 1/2 year old Welsh Corgi male. He was originally rescued from an abusive place by the breeder who gladly took him back when she discovered his situation. She gave him to me, and I’m so glad to have found him. He’s been with me two years now.
He was painfully shy and timid, willing only to be touched on the face – and that with fear. He had obviously been hit with sticks and other things because in the early months he would not approach, or tolerate approach if I had anything in my hands. Learning to come when called has been the most difficult thing, but we have made marvelous progress. He would originally not tolerate being patted, no matter how gently, on his back or hindquarters. He now seems to enjoy any kind of gentle scratching and rubbing, but is still a little shy of actual pats. He used to nip, but now just looks around warily sometimes.
Laddie did not bark or make much sound of any kind for the first three or four months. I was worried about this, since one of the reasons I wanted a dog was to bark at strangers. I actually had to encourage him to bark at first, and he still does very little of it. Since Corgis are notorious for being noisy, this is actually a good thing. But though he is very aware of people who come to the house, he has only recently begun to bark sometimes, usually only rushing to the door to greet them.
Anything passing on the road is well noted, however, and certain trucks, all horses, birds, dogs and people require at least a few “woofs.” And some of them require being chased from one side of the yard to another along the road. I have no idea how he figures which is which. A bunny got into the yard once, and Laddie nearly turned himself inside out trying to catch it. Good thing for the bunny that it was smaller thanthe holes in the chain link fence!
In the beginning, he would stay in his bed in the basement and come out only reluctantly. Now he mirrors my every move much of the time, challenging me to race when I go up or down the stairs. I’m sure he is mighty amused that he beats me every time! The sight of the leash and “go to town” collar makes him giddy with delight, but once the leash is on he is quiet and impressively obedient.
What a very good dog. And a lucky one. I hate to think of all the dogs with so much darker a beginning, and so many who have never found any rescue or love at all.
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Happy weekend. Got any shaggy (or non-shaggy) dog stories to tell? Put ’em in comments to brighten the days.
Back when we were raising kids we were ably assisted by a Cairn terrier, Andy.
http://www.talonsite.com/gabrielle.htm#Cairn (Andy’s the wheaten one on the left, with his good friend Corky)
One day, when I was away for two week’s reserve duty, Andy got to sniffing around Mom’s desk and gruffing. Mom assured him that there wasn’t anything in the desk to worry about. Andy wouldn’t let it go. Finally Mom decided to show him, and shifted the desk.
A rat took off across the floor. (The back yard was a big open field.) The rodent made it about halfway across the living room before Andy caught up. Then it was snap, shake, and deposit the carcass at Mom’s feet. Or where her feet would have been had she and the kids not been standing on the couch.
By the time I returned a couple of days later, everything had been cleaned up, but Andy was still walking tall. As my eldest daughter described the action in lurid detail, he sat there with a grin that said, “Got ‘er done, Boss.”
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog… or something like that. And very small dogs often are amazing that way.
I had an 8 pound (full grown) mini doxie, years ago. I also had an older beagle/doxie mix and, temporarily, a big neurtered male cat. Because I was gone from home for long hours, there was a pet door into a fenced back yard, though the cat wasn’t contained by the fence, of course. He used to bring in all sorts of things, from bugs, lizards and birds to mice and kangaroo rats galore. He almost never killed them, just turned them loose in the house for the dogs to chase. The fact that this was often at 1AM did not make this sport popular with me, which is one reason why his residence was temporary.
The 40 pound beagle/doxie was delighted to crash around after the critters, but was not too effective at catching them. The mini doxie was small, fast and relentless. He would not give up until the thing was killed, and he wanted no help in killing it! I assisted by moving furniture and swinging a broom, as needed.
One day I came home from work to find the three animals ranged around a laundry basket that had been left in my office for some unknown reason. In the basket was a large, bright yellow snake. It appeared to be dead, and the dogs/cat seemed to be discussing what to do with it. I tipped the basket out the front door, and the “dead” snake came to instant life, dashing away into the desert as fast as it could go.
I found a new home for the cat soon after that. I was quite sure he’d eventually bring home a velociraptor or something equally fun. 🙂
Corgis are wonderful. One of my friends in Des Moines had one that he’d rescued; he had apparently been kept in a small cage all his life, and couldn’t believe the fact that he could now roam around the house and yard. When the front gate was open (a very necessary precaution; they live not far from downtown Des Moines and have several dogs) the Corgi would run away from it fast, fearing to be thrown through back into the cold cruel world.
My friend credited that dog with saving his life when he had a heart attack. Sadly, the dog died a few years back, and he is still a living presence in the family.
Not sure about bright yellow, but the hognose snake is well-known for playing possum.