Pets are Talking

Olive asks a difficult question...

I'm surprised and in tears this morning. I'm not sure what to think about my latest conversation with Olive.

She's been tense. Her acupuncturist, the great Becca Seitz, says that she has some of the tightest muscles in her back that she's ever felt in human or animal. 

I'm working on rubbing out her back, and we're keeping things light and fun here.

Today, she was lying in her chair, having a bad dream. I sat down next to her, woke her up, and said "Olive, you're my sweet girl, you NEVER have to worry about being hurt again."

She said, "But what about the other dogs?"

She showed me a row of kennels, pictures from the LA harbor animal shelter. 

"What about those dogs?" 

I thought that life would be great for her, moving forward. I thought she'd play ball and eat snacks and sleep under the covers until she died peacefully in her sleep at an advanced age. 

I thought that while we've started up Olive's Heroes, a group that raises money for rescues that help dogs in need, that she'd be a sweet spokesdog who'd get annoyed having her picture taken. 

I didn't expect my girl, Olive, to be thinking about these things. I didn't expect her to be so attached to those she left behind. She feels guilty and sad. She's so serious these days. 

She's four years old. She should be thinking about tennis balls and snacks. That's what every dog should be thinking about. 

I know, if you're reading this, that you love dogs. I bet you've got some good ideas of how to help dogs. Would you share some ideas here? 

Olive joins a herd...

Today, Olive and I went to the pasture to see Ed. Olive has no fear of the horses, and they like her too. They have been Olive's friend since early April. 

The four horses in the field have always been sweet to dogs. They sometimes take Olive's ball away to make sure it's not an apple. Olive wanders amongst them as easy as a 6 hand high  mare.  

Today, there was a new palomino in the pasture (which is about 5 acres wide). She kept herself apart from the rest of the herd. I'm sure Ed chased her for most of the day. 

After a round of apples, I saved a chunk for the palomino. As I approached her, Olive did too. The mare turned on Olive and pinned her ears, snaking her head. Olive started to run away to avoid those hooves. 

Bailey, Ed's good friend, ran up to Olive and stood between her and the mare. Ed flanked her on the other side and Mick stood behind her.  Buddy ran up to the new horse and kicked at her. The palomino turned tail and ran. 

Bailey reached down and sniffed Olive to make sure she was okay. Olive skipped up to me, perfectly fine, not even worried, and certainly not surprised that her friends came to her rescue. Our herd followed us to the gate. 

Olive will not be playing in the pasture until we can be reassured that the palomino is okay with dogs. That mare probably had a really hard day. 

Reading of the Week: Bonita

This is Bonita. 

Here is her story.

Bonita was the loved pet of a family in Los Angeles. Then they were evicted from their home. They set her loose in a park. They were very sad about it. 

She made her way to a car dealership where a kind mechanic gave her food. She started hanging around the place in the evenings, staying out of sight of customers. They were nice to her here, and she liked to sleep on the steps of the dealership at night. 

One night, a man whistled at her. She ran up to him and he gave her a bite to eat. He put her in his car. He took her to a place with chain link fences and beat her with a wrench. He beat the crap out of her and then dumped her body in a ditch. She came to, got a drink of water and dragged herself to a place where someone would find her. 

She healed a little bit, scrounged for food, lived on the streets for a week or two.  Then someone called the LA shelter and they picked her up. 

A vet tech saw her. She thought that Bonita had been in a car accident. Her injuries were pretty bad. Her cuts were infected. Instead of putting her to sleep, she fell in love with this plucky little girl.  

The vet tech rallied for her. Bonita spent a month in the hospital recovering from her injuries. 

When she was healed up, the shelter became full. The hospital was full too. There was no-one who wanted Bonita. No rescues had room for her either. She was put on the red list. This is the list of dogs that will be euthanized if they don't find a home shortly. 

Bonita has a friend named Nicky Gore-Jones. Nicky volunteers at the shelter. Here are Nicky's words about why she wanted to help Bonita find a new home:

She's red-listed as of last week and I took her out for the first time yesterday to have her pictures taken. Her joy at being out of the hospital kennel and seeing the grass and sunshine again was clear.  She was introduced to a small puppy who was having his picture taken, too and she was gentle and loving to him and so happy to see him.Any dog she saw just increased her joy more and more.  She met a child and was thrilled and very gentle with her.   From her reactions to everything she encountered, I think she thought after her terrible injuries and a month in the hospital that she would never see the world again! 

Just watching her enjoy her ten minutes outside in the sun made me determined to try to help her.  And as I write this about her and think about her sweet little personality, the tears are rolling down my cheeks!  She's just a delightful little being! 

If I can't find her a rescue/foster within the next few days, she will get no second chance at life, because she is red-listed, our kennels are full again and the hospital is full, too!

Due to her car accident, she walks a bit like an old lady with bow legs, but is doing well.  She has such a sweet and loving disposition and would make the perfect pet for any gentle person or family and she would only need very short walks, so would be ideal for an older person, too.

This was the note that I received last week. 

I tuned into Bonita to get her story. The folks on Twitter got busy and raised funds for Bonita, but no-one came forward to adopt her. I told Nicky that I'd be willing to foster her, but surely someone in LA would come forward. No-one did.

Nicky called me on Monday, "Still willing to foster Bonita?"

I said, "Yes." 

Nicky said, "Okay, my husband and I will drive up on Thursday and drop her off Friday afternoon." 

I said, "Can people donate money for your trip?"

Nicky said, "No, that's okay."

I said, "You can use the money raised by the rescues and on twitter?"

Nicky said, "No, no, I'm happy to do it, and so grateful that Bonita won't be put to sleep." 

It's 962 miles between LA and Portland. 

Nicky said that she can't help but think that Bonita has an important purpose in life. She sees in Bonita a great heart. I have to agree. I see in her a great heart too. I'll put up more pictures as she integrates into our life, and as we search out for the perfect home for her. 

Bonita is excited. Nicky sprung her from the shelter and took her home. She's glad to be out of the kennel. She's a little nervous about what's in store for her up here. I've told her about my dogs and kids and cats. She is very excited and has promised me that she will be nice to the cats. Being nice to the cats includes licking the cats. We'll need to work on that! 

When I look at the people in Bonita's life, I see- a family that loved her, a mechanic that fed her, a vet tech that healed her, a volunteer that saved her life, a new family to love her, and one asshole with a wrench. The world is a good place. I think Bonita would say so, too.