I got Stanley's food ready so I could go in and feed Annie and thought about how crazy it seems to cook chickens for a dog, just to get her to eat. Then thought about how sad it was that she just laid in her bed all day. Then thought about how horrible it was for a dog, to be so broken and sad and tortured.
I've said it before, I have never met a dog like this. A dog that is so reaction-less, a dog that is so...quiet. Never ever uttering a single noise. Its almost unnatural. And its most definitely heartbreaking.
I went in and I sat with her. She was behind her bed, in the bottom half of her crate, so I took her bed out, thus making her get out of the crate. She went and peed and laid on the bed next to me. I just looked at her sad little face and started crying. I know that you're not supposed to convey overly strong emotions to them, because they feel it. But I told her that I just wanted to love her and show her that this is home, this is what a home IS. I told her that I just wanted her to be happy and healthy and normal and be loved. Be LOVED for the first time in her whole life. I told her I just want to love her. And I want to feed her and make sure shes warm and safe, for always. To make sure that she never ever ends up on a street living under a pile of box springs again.
And you guys know what happened? She looked at me square in the eyes and she ate that chicken from my hand. And she SAT UP and faced me and ate the chicken from me. And when I got up to get her dog food, she didn't run away. She didn't cower. She sat there.
I read something today that I thought was really nice.
"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
You are his life, his love, his leader.
He will be yours faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.
You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.
-Anonymous
Over all with her, its been a good day. She went potty, which is great.
But sometimes when you get into a quiet house, your mind starts to race and you think of all the things that are wrong and you just have to cry about it. So I did.
She is going to be a good dog. I can not wait to see her become a great dog.
I think I just found my calling.
Well, I'M crying too... I can't wrap my mind around the fact that for three years---Three Years!--this beautiful girl has had to be constantly 'on guard" literally for her life. Every move she made, every breath she took--(yeah, I know it's a song lyric)---was potentially dangerous--cars, heat, cold, storms, predators--coyotes, other dogs, snakes, biting insects, humans-- and she was all alone.......it's no wonder she is so overwhelmingly cautious. She is incredibly smart to have successfully survived! What you are doing for her is awesome and I can't wait for the day she will --and I do believe she will---cast off the worries and fears and begin to enjoy life!
ReplyDelete