So, if you know me and you are reading my blog, you know I
am a bit of a crazy animal person. I love all animals (except maybe snakes and
spiders and mosquitoes and flies), but I think I love dogs the most. They each
have their own personality, and they offer a lot. They make you smile, and
laugh, and cry. They provide comfort when you are sick or sad. And, they
sometimes drive you a little crazy.
You also probably know that The Musician and I work with
rescue and foster. My favorite breed is the American Eskimo Dog. . .probably
because of White Boots and Wolfie. We have fostered many R'eskies in our day
and worked a lot with Eskie Rescuers United in the National Capitol Area. Since
our move to San Antonio, we are working with SA R.O.C.K.S. They are an all
breed rescue . . .and of course, we pick up the occasional stray. Seems there
are so many stray dogs in our neighborhood, which makes me very sad. So, I've
decided to share about the temporary dogs we host(ed) since moving to Texas.
First up--Eeyore
Driving home from a race, we saw this gentle giant ambling
along the side of the road in our neighborhood. We stopped the car. ..he
stopped walking. We walked over to him...he laid down. He had no collar and was
skinny and dusty. His poor head was probably wider than his body. And he was
BIG!!! We looped a leash (because we always have one with us) around his neck
and he hopped into the car. He was hungry and thirsty and he ate well. I don't think he could hunt for himself. He
would let you take food out of his mouth . . .even when he was hungry. If you
wanted it from him, he would give it to you. He was able to worm his way
through the Girls' doggie door. He was housetrained and quiet. I'm not sure he
ever made a sound .
Then we panicked . . .we were going out of town in a week!!!
What were we going to do?!?!?! Every no-kill shelter and rescue was full . . .if they called us back. SA R.O.C.K.S
didn't have a foster home available. He didn't have a
microchip.
He didn't play with toys, but was stuck to my leg like
velcro. Not demanding anything, just wanted to be close. He did NOT like to be
alone. Left outside in the backyard, in about 10 minutes he ate and destroyed
our gate. . .desperate not to be alone.
He whimpered at night when he slept in the bathroom. I slept
on blankets in the bathtub to keep him company. I couldn't sneak past him to
bed when he started snoring. He must have slept with one eye open. He would get up in the night to drink, then he
would drop his head into the tub to check to make sure he was still there . .
.dripping water from his big mouth. I was quite the sucker.
We had to leave town and we boarded him with the local
kennel who provides rescue discounts. On the day before we came home, his
kennel was being cleaned. Five minutes was all it took and he started his
roaming again. We were heartbroken. The kennel manager was devastated because
he planned to adopt Eyeore. I pray that someone else found him wandering and
took him home. He is a great big boy.
