"You have to find something else to do besides take care of people and rescue dogs" my father observed as I showed him my latest "find".
A lady on the next block was practically throwing away puppies-she had two female dogs (looked like Glen of Imaal terriers, aka scruffy) and a male chihuahua in the backyard, and a litter of pups on the ground and a baby of her own due in 6 months. Of course, the girl pups were already spoken for.
I really wasn't going to take one, and then the one I was going to take didn't have a nice personality, but Oliver, the one I took, kept making eye contact and wagging his tail hopefully. He was the lady's son's favorite too, and he really wanted him to find a "good home"...although I could have taken the whole box of pups and they wouldn't have cared. But that kid really did like this little fellow, and it showed in how well socialized he was compared to the others.
No, I can't save them all, so I wasn't going to save any of them. But Oliver just kept staring and wagging his tail.
Neutering him alone will help rid my neighbhorhood of hundreds of potential unwanted dogs. Housebreaking will give him a fighting chance for a forever home. Crate training him will give him an even better chance.
Oliver has his father's tan coat and his mother's scruffy hair. He didn't get any masks or markings like his siblings did. My hairdresser, who works from her built in garage across the street will be delighted that one of the litter found it's way into a place where it will be neutered.
And Daddy IS right, I do have to get off my ass and start generating revenue again. But, while I'm doing it, I can also take care of one more little scruffy dog no one wants.
Daddy sees an ugly dog. I see an old person's face light up at a visit from a scruffy dog, or kids laughing at tricks he could learn. At the very least, I see a lot of unfathered puppies who will never be born, and one dog who will not end up at the end of a needle.
Yes, I believe in everday angels, every day miracles. Today, a free puppy sign caught my eye and I could have ignored it, but I didn't. Sometimes, in the absence of a master plan, you just have to pitch in and do little things to help make the world a better place. And, I think the world will be a better place if Oliver is fed, vetted and neutered.
And yeah, I fully realize I am picking a small thing I CAN do because there are so many big things looming that I can't seem to do right now....but you know what, at least I picked something.
11 comments:
man oh man it's great to be home, and back reading your blog,this made me tearful =you are so very special and i know it, hell we all know it, do you know it?
here! hear! YES, debra kay!
You guys are sweet. Oliver is a good project dog to have. I'm sure he's wormy, but his lungs are clear, he's eating well and will probaby survive until Monday when I can get him vetted. He is very very vocal, not just when he's unhappy-I can see why the little boy chose him to be his favorite.
His nose is what makes him, err, scruffy-it's quite large for the back part of his head. So, our first task is to teach him to touch things with it on command-it would be a good nose for light switches, etc, and he'll be able to carry things my smaller dogs can't. The possibilities for an able bodied dog are endless, aren't they?
The rest of the crew comes back on Monday, but I am not really worried about bonding times. Puppies bond almost at once, I am the new boss, let's move on shall we? I really do love dogs.
I don't think you could find a more worthwhile thing to do than saving unwanted animals.
I have always done the same, and abused and abandoned horses, dogs, cats and a wolf all found a home with me. I simply cannot imagine life without four-leggeds, and somehow, the money to feed them and take them to the vet has always materialized.
I came over here from Red Mojo's site, and I'm glad I did.
when do we get to see a picture of the lovey scruff pup?
I'm glad you did too.
Helping things always makes ME feel hopeful too. And, it's what I want to do right now, so dang it, that's what I'm gonna do.
Way to go debra kay. I have a real soft spot for animals too, and I'm sure I would not have been able to resist helping at least one puppy.
I just wish so many didn't need our help.
Switch I'll put up a pic tomorrow.
Remember me blogging about Blackie ... the stray dog in our neighborhood? Well, they did catch him but then the lady who had agree to take him backed out so they are looking for him a home now. A family with small children came to look at him yesterday and then backed out because he nipped at Zoe when she came up behind him. I felt bad but at the same time, he probably shouldn't be around small children. I just don't think he has the personality to tolerate kids. I'm going to post his pic in a few days once I get it out of the camera. Maybe someone will take him.
Better to find out now than have him move from home to home. Some nipping can be worked with, some dogs are never reliable around kids, just depends on the kid and their background.
Oliver, and his siblings, with the chihuahua/schnauzer/dauschund thing are little biting dogs ready to happen-turn them out in the backyard with unsupervised children...shudder.
And it's all due to lack of knowledge and lack of caring-people think kids are "entitled" to dogs-but no one thinks about spending time with them to teach the kids or the dogs proper social skills.
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