Lady-
Lady first appeared on a sub-zero evening, I believe the year was 1983. My first glimpse of her was a white and black streak that ran past me when I opened my front door to leave. She went directly to the food bowl of our little Sheltie mix Tippy-Too. She was already eating with Tippy looking on when I got to the kitchen. She was a friendly, skinny, starving pup of a little less than a year old. Thinking perhaps my neighbor had a new dog, I carried her next door to check with them. I sat her down inside their front door and off she ran, right to the food bowl they had in their kitchen! She was not theirs, although they both said they’d seen her around that day.
She stayed the night with us, and off to our vet for a checkup the next day. She stayed there for a couple days for a bath, worming, and to make sure she was healthy enough to be with our Tippy-Too.
My vet, who didn’t know me too well yet, asked me “What have you been feeding this dog! From her stools it appears she has been eating rags. And, I don’t think that tail was docked, I believe she ate it from hunger.” It is my belief she was a German Shorthair born to a nearby breeder that was turned out when he found out she was afraid of loud noises. Thunder terrified her. She’d have never made a hunting dog out in the field with guns going off. Needless to say she was ours
for the next 18 years.
What she taught me- Patience and the importance of a living being over a spotless house.
Lady was an outside dog for many years. I couldn’t house break her, although I did not have much patience when I was younger. She probably only went in the house once or twice before I decided she would live outside. I think she had a happy life. The outside areas were always pretty big and there was always a warm soft place to sleep in the winter. She was never alone, there was always another member of the pack with her. It was my loss that I didn’t have her companionship. When she was around 15, she had a stroke. The first few hours, she couldn’t even get up, but she was alert. A short stay at the vet and it was determined she had a chance to recover with some meds and time. When she came home, she couldn’t walk very well, and couldn’t be outside with her bigger brother bumping into her. Also, the uneven ground would have been too much for her wobbly legs, as was leading her down stairs or even a ramp to go outside.
There was no doubt though that she would be given every chance to get better. We made her a room all her own. All of the carpet was removed from the room next to the living room. We put up a gate at the doorway. This way she would not be isolated, but right where she could see what we were doing a lot of the time. Papers were put down, but were of little use. There was a lot of cleaning over the next few weeks, but slowly her gait got steadier. Finally she was walking pretty well again, although one leg stayed a little stiff for the rest of her days. She didn’t let it slow her down much though! She went back outside with her brother, the room was cleaned up and new flooring put down. She is a cherished memory. I was blessed the day she came into my life.
For my special little Lady,
| Mark and Karen Howk |