The Little White Dog
Lucky!
Day One,
My daughter was late to school again today because of her mothers 'antics'. Today, her mother had to dart out of a running car in the morning car line, in jammies, to save a little white dog from getting hit. The plan was simple. Grab the dog, read the collar, take him home. This little white boy was light as a feather. I could feel every bone in his body. I know that he is white, tho he looks pink and brown and is covered in natures debris. He is also limping. He doesn't like to use his back leg. All I can do is sigh.
Lord, I think to myself, I have four dogs already. Besides that, my heart and I are currently 'under construction'. 1 of my dogs and I are having serious relationship issues. I said that four was more than enough but I can't leave this dog out here all alone to starve or get hurt. So of coarse, I take him home to my crew. The first thing I do is get the poor thing some food. It's obvious he hasn't eaten in weeks. He looks at me in disbelief and eats in the weirdest way. I would think he was counting his bounty and saying thank you with every bite because he kept looking up at me, touching his nose to my leg. Then he officially meets the crew. They all seem to know that he is weak and unfortunate. Even my moody old man doggie looks at this dog with pity. There is such a big difference between the size of my crew's healthy bellies and this little hollow dog.
I think to myself about what he must have gone thru and how long he was out on his own. From the look of his body and nails I can tell that this little dog has been out there too long. I can see and feel bones that I didn't know dogs had. His nails were brown and curled back into his paws. I think even without the help of on-coming traffic he would only have had a few days or a week tops of life left in him. With finances low and my own cross to bear, do I have what he needs to get him to health. What if I fail and he dies? Can I deal with it? I think that I can because even if for a few days or weeks, he would have a loving home, but this is hard to analyze for me right now. Who is this doggy? Where did he come from? What was his name? How old could he be? I don't know anything about him. I don't even know what breed he could be. He is certainly not a shitzu like the rest of the clan. I am sure when my daughter gets home from school today, she will name him Lucky.
10 days later...
Today I am happy to say that Lucky's belly is no longer concave. It will take a while for his bones to be filled, but he is a sweet boy. He doesn't jump on the coach or bed. He doesn't bite and rarely barks. He loves relaxing. He shows his gratitude everyday. He is struggling with potty training, but I guess it is to be expected when the world is your bathroom. I did the responsible thing and let a few trusted locations know that I have found him incase there is a sad and responsible owner. It turns out that there is an owner but apparently not a responsible one. It turns out that a woman claims that her dog was stolen. When I asked how long ago, the middle person mentioned that it was recent. I don't need 5 dogs! I just wanted to say that before I say that the time frame was not enough to explain the dogs condition without assuming neglect. So, even while contemplating what the best course of action will be with the one little monster I have, it would appear that I am blessed with a 5th. We think he may turn into a maltese once he is healthy and his hair grows back in. Right now he looks like a cute and grateful, partially used fuzzy q-tip. Sigh... This is a happy, but slightly overwhelmed sigh, not a bad one.
about the monster...
My monster is cute but extremely high energy. He will be one in a couple of weeks, so I am hoping he will grow out of this craziness soon. Honestly, I think my others are too old for him. He is not happy with the relaxed life the other 4 have. The yard is not enough for him. He wants to go, go, go. I think he needs to be the only dog child in an active family. We wants a child that will throw the toy a zillion times and that will rough house with him, not minding the occasional innocent, playful bite. I think his spirit wants to be taken on rides and long daily walks. He would love to be with a jogger or runner. He is well taken care of. He will be fine forever if he stays. I just think I want more than fine for him. It is just hard to process. Even tho I want what is best for him and I want him to be happy, it feels a lot like giving up. I have issues with that. I don't give up. I don't like it. I have, however seen the consequences of stubbornness before. We will see what more time does. Failing and quitting are things dealing with ego. I am not that into ego, so if time passes and I can't adapt to what he needs I will do what is best for him. This happened because we didn't meet before he came. He needed a home, my husband wanted another dog, and I wanted to surprise them both. That is not the way to choose a dog child.
