I Rescued a Human

I didn't write this, don't know who did, but it spoke so strongly to me after the recent loss of my little companion, Cowgirl, I felt it was worth passing along.

I rescued a human today.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor, peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Joy Journal: A good night's sleep and the love of my remaining dog, Sidekick

Eulogy for a Cowgirl

We had gone to the public park to play our weekly league tennis match and decided to take our little “Snocker” dog (half schnauzer, half cocker spaniel) with us so she wouldn’t have to stay home alone. Her name was Smut and we had lost her companion dog about 3 to 4 months back and Smut was beginning to show signs of stress from being home alone all day while we were at work. We noticed that the local animal shelter had set up an adoption center just a short walk away from the tennis courts so when my match was over I walked down to see the dogs, never intending to adopt one. Of course we did. Otherwise I wouldn’t be telling you this. There was a gorgeous 2-year old black Cocker Spaniel that I fell in love with. And since we had Smut with us I went back up to the tennis courts and brought her down to introduce her to the cocker. Instant dislike. But there was a pen set up with a mother and puppies that Smut kept going over to. And one puppy in particular. So we took this teeny tiny little black and white puppy out of the enclosure and Smut licked her face. A partnership was born that lasted until Smut’s death. The puppy was part rat terrier and part Chihuahua and part who knows what. She was white with big black spots on one side and little tiny black spots on the other side and a big round black bulls-eye encircled her white tail. I can still see her running down our driveway with her tail wagging in a circle framed by that bulls-eye. She was never a pretty dog, her bottom teeth stuck out at funny angles, her head had the distinctive Chihuahua shape and was smaller in proportion than the rest of her body – we couldn’t keep a collar on her since her neck was larger than her head and she could get a collar off with no problem at all. And she was all “attitude” and heart. Never a lap dog, she didn’t care at all for being picked up and cuddled, but she did enjoy sitting next to me on the sofa. And she never warmed up to anyone other than Gene and me.

In the last few years she had become totally deaf and arthritis made getting up and down our stairs a chore. So we carried her up and down the stairs (she wanted to sleep on her dog bed in “her” bedroom). She couldn't jump up in the living room chair and stare out the window watching for anything that moved. Moving around became more an act of will than a natural act. And finally, last night, the arthritis overwhelmed her will and she could no longer get up and move about. So this morning we had to make the painful decision to put her at peace. She loved us with all her heart for all 17 years of her life. My life has been richer for her having been a part of it. And my heart is broken.

Joy Journal: Today, I feel no joy. Only pain and sorrow.

Endings

They say that all things must come to an end. Summer disappears amidst a flurry of fallen leaves. And ahead is a bleak, dreary winter world. I do not like winter.

My wonderful little dog, Cowgirl, is going to leave us very soon. She gets weaker by the day. Today seems especially bad. And now my husband and I face a heart-breaking decision. Losing her will leave a bleak, dreary winter world in my heart. But, oh, the joy she has given me over her years with us. I'm grieving for her already even while she is still here. So maybe it is time.

Joy Journal: Cowgirl's unconditional love

Thank you, Lord

For Letting Me See the Colors.

This was taken on my walk yesterday and has not been retouched at all except for resizing. This stunning color was created by the sun shining through the leaves and highlighting everything about them. Beauty can sometimes be breathtaking

Joy Journal: Looking for and finding the perfect Christmas gift for my mother!

A Carpet of Gold

Sitting inside on a cold, damp, windy day isn't how I planned to spend my free weekend (my dear sweet husband is at my mother's house babysitting for me). But it has allowed me to do some little things that I have put off doing. Things like opening up the laptop and let it do all of the updating that Windows, Photoshop, etc. all like to do every few minutes. Things like do a little organizing of my photos in anticipation of buying a new desktop computer. And things like (tomorrow) shampooing the carpets - a 19-year old dog creates issues with carpet. I've been away from my blog (and everyone else's, too!) for way too long. I've allowed the drudgery of parts of my everyday life to overwhelm the fun parts. But I'm back now and hope that the postings will be more frequent.

Even though the weather didn't want to cooperate, I managed a walk around a beautiful lake lined with nearly bare trees. I got my feet muddy, well, my shoes, not my feet, but I got up close and personal with an old bridge that I've been wanting to photograph. I watched the sun shine through the leaves as the cold wind made them dance. I saw the beautiful brilliantly blue sky become grey and rainy and then become a beautiful brilliant blue again. I was about a week too late to get the best of the fall color while the leaves were still on the trees but the simple beauty of a starkly bare shrub with just a few remaining leaves was beautiful to see. And the warmth on my hands and feet from the heater in my car when the rain forced me to find shelter was truly glorious. The sugar maple in my front yard has been gorgeous and I've gotten a great deal of pleasure looking out my bedroom window each morning and seeing it's reddish-orange glow. Now the ground beneath it is a bright carpet of gold and yellow. Makes me miss the days when my body was nimble enough to jump into piles of golden yellow, shocking red and muddy brown leaves and scatter them everywhere while my mother was elsewhere raking up new piles. But now I have the pleasure of seeing the beauty in the colors and feeling the glow of the sun as it shines through the leaves remaining on the trees. A blessing of a day.

Joy Journal: Having a stranger give me her unused 50% off coupon at Michael's just as I was making an expensive purchase!