I love dogs. I love dogs better than people because I can see the face of God in them. They have so much love to share and no matter what kind of a day you have, they greet you with excitement, love and acceptance.
My life is somewhat chaotic working full time in a stressful teaching hospital as a social worker. Healthcare demands are increasing daily as people are living longer as well as the economic struggles occurring throughout the country. When I leave work, I go home to my elderly Father who has seen better days from a health standpoint. He has had multiple cancers that have taken his voice, his strength and his ability to eat normally. And then there are my 4 wonderful canine kids. Jackson is a beautiful tricolor Jack Russell/Australian shepherd mix, 12 yrs old; Billy Bob, 7 yrs old, is my Jack Russell/dachound, and who knows what else, mix; Lucas my 2 yr old feist (rat terrier) and Allie Mae, the only girl of the house, having just turned 1. I’ve always had dogs and last yr I decided I had to have Allie Mae.
I saw her in a cage at my favorite animal rescue place and it was love at first sight. There’s just something about a solid white puppy! I picked her up and she had fir that was as soft as cotton. And best of all, she had puppy breath. I love puppy breath. So I adopted her and added her to the family. Being the only girl, she pretty much took over and this past yr has been full of love and many challenges. Allie has a strong personality and when her mind is set at destroying any piece of furniture, she consistently works to the completion of her goal. But that little girl has the biggest brown eyes and can charm anything and anybody.
So at this time in my life, the dogs are pretty well housebroken, still enjoying stealing kleenex and shredding furniture and shoes and life seemed to be getting a little easier when 2 days ago, I decided to go back to the Prov 12:10 Animal Rescue place, just to look at what they had. In no way did I ever consider another dog because as you’ve already read, I have plenty. I just thought it would be fun to go look. Well, having adopted Lucas and Allie Mae from that group, the regular volunteers knew me. As I was holding and cuddling a little 6 week old puppy and trying to get her to lick my nose for that intoxicating puppy breath, I saw a beautiful, very thin feist (rat terrier) that I thought looked a lot like Lucas. I could tell she had recently had puppies. She was walking on top of all the dog cages, bending down to lick the dogs in the cages.
One of the volunteers said to me that she was a wonderful dog, just 8 months old and already had birthed a litter of puppies. I was told that she had been found by the Dickson animal control group under an abandoned car. They got her out and took her back to animal control and was going to give her 48 hours to live. If no one claimed her or adopted her, they would inject her and kill her and babies. The owner of Prov 12:10 got her and placed her in foster care and within a week, she had given birth to 6 beautiful little puppies. (the volunteer telling me this story actually was the one helping with the birth) He said she had been a good mother and at 4 weeks when the babies were healthy and ready to wean, she weaned them and all 6 puppies were adopted, leaving the mother dog.
Typically, mother dogs/cats are the hardest to find homes for. Everyone seems to want a cuddly puppy but few want older animals. But this beautiful pup was only 8 months herself. She probably had gotten pregnant the first time she had come into heat. The foster placements she had been in for the past 3 weeks all had dogs around and she liked other dogs. She was also housebroken! And I thought she looked a lot like my Lucas. They had the same hair coloring and both were about the same size except this little one was very thin. So guess what happened? I fell in love again.
I took her home to foster to see if the other dogs would be OK with her. They all were of course, jealous but adjusted and continue to. Three hours after I had taken her home, I took her back to Prov 12:10 to make the adoption official. I bought her a purple collar and leash, several toys, and goodies for all the dogs. She’s so very sweet and gentle. She’s not at all aggressive. In fact, she’s pretty fearful and passive. There’s no telling what this little girl has seen or been through. It certainly appears she’s been hit because she cowers if you raise your voice or your hand comes at her to pet her. She doesn’t bark much – her brothers and sister make up for her quietness. She loves to play if she feels safe and she can “high jump” over furniture. Dad says she looks like a fawn. She’s really quite pretty and she’s soaking up being petted, kissed on and being able to sleep in bed w/the other dogs and me. Her name is Missy. I love her. The other dogs will love her to, in due time.
I didn’t go to God and ask if it was His will to take on yet another animal. It just felt like the right thing to do. I have a once again, joy for life. This wouldn’t have been my goal that beautiful cool day in August to get another mouth to feed, more responsibility on a daily basis, but my heart is full of love about this new member of my family. God sends us blessings in many ways. I truly believe Missy was a gift from Him. I hope to never forget that there are many surprises that come to us. I usually just expect “bad” surprises. But again, my Father in heaven has surprised and blessed me in ways I never thought possible. Thank you Father for the gift of this beautiful creature you created and sent to me.
Story and Photo by: Pam MacArthur
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