How can she not be here any more? I get ready to walk her – and then I remember. I get ready to feed her – and then I remember. I hear her trying to get up from the floor – but she’s not even there. I had rescued Lady when she was only 6 months old. A young man I knew – a true animal lover – kept asking me to adopt her – she was an abandoned dog, living in the yard of an oil company [and would also stay in his back yard]. I went to meet her a few times & finally DID take her because I was informed that she was in possible danger from some neighborhood guys who were coming around her with their pit bull. I hooked up with a rescue organization and I agreed to take Lady to a vet for a bath & shots & said that I’d foster her while they helped me find her a good home.
This plan went into action but soon changed course when Lady (who had already been named before I met her), started acting in an aggressive and unpredictable manner. She also had never been indoors & needed LOTS of walks to introduce her to the ways of being a house-broken dog. It was very obvious that it might not be safe to adopt her out to someone, not knowing how she would interact with other people and other pets; therefore, I became her very reluctant owner. During the first year of living with her, I had 3 different dog trainers. I was told I’d always have to be careful with her as she had “fear-aggression”, probably because she had been somewhat abused by a homeless man who “cared for” her before I met her. I had to find & purchase a special collar to make sure she couldn’t get out of it – she was very, very hyperactive & while walking, she also jumped into the air & started to spin!! People would ask me how I trained her to do that – believe me, I only wanted to get her NOT to do that! Luckily, Lady LOVED cats, as I had several. Some of them just tolerated her and one adored her! Lady was really terrified of one of my cats – this cat could just stand in a doorway & Lady wouldn’t walk past him – it was so comical to watch! Some people had cats sitting in their windows – I had a German Shepherd in MINE !!!
Neighbors would report to me that shortly before I came home from work, Lady would be sitting on the window sill in my living room! (Since I live on the first floor, she could easily be seen by all those who passed by!) Despite her behavioral problems, Lady was very loving, very smart & had a great sense of humor. For the most part, she didn’t like other dogs but she did have a great time playing with a neighbor’s pug for a while and another neighbor had a Jindo (a Korean dog, very much like a white Eskimo dog) & he & Lady were crazy about each other.
The years passed and Lady endured a few minor surgeries, then had a benign tumor on her spleen – had both spleen & tumor removed. Of course, she got arthritis as she got older but just kept on truckin’. “Animal people” know that it’s sometimes hard to say just what a pet means to us and how many different & amazing qualities our pets have – there’s so strong a feeling, so strong a bond. Lady was now in her older years & developed a progressive, neurological condition, called “degenerative myelopathy”. Everything gradually became harder for her to do – walking, sitting, even just getting up from the floor.
Many accommodations were made for her until it reached a point of no more choices, no more accommodations, just the horribly sad truth of what had to be – and so it was. Lady lived to be 15 years & 2 months old -she truly had a great life. Yes, it was a tremendous challenge to live with her but although she often gave me much stress, she also gave me a tremendous amount of love and affection. As the days go by now, there are so many things I start to get ready to do for her or do with her …………..and then I remember.
With constant thoughts of what was,
| Lady |
| 29, June 2008 |
| Geri |