From scared to fearless~!

It is Frisbee Wednesday at Serendipity’s blog and Marilyn’s post today made me think about our dogs as well, about how much they mean in our lives. We have two older dogs, both with white muzzles and our new puppy, that wasn’t planned, is running through my workshop, in search of something she can use as a toy – ignoring the ones on her bed.

I know what Marilyn and Garry have to go through today. I remember last year too well, when our Booboo took her final last walk. I often think about her, look at her picture and smile. She was an amazing dog and her story, our story, was unusual.

Years ago I drove along a country road on my way to a friend’s house, when I watched a truck pulling into a field. It was early in fall and it was raining hard. The door of the truck opened and the driver leaned out and put something on the ground. I passed by and watched him in my rare-view mirror. The pickup turned around and left in the opposite direction.

“What would you drop in a field on a day like that?” My imagination was going wild; too many crime movies made me fear the worst. I am curious by nature, so I turned around and stopped at the field. I didn’t see anything, when I parked where the truck had stopped.

I rolled the window down and looked into the field, there was nothing and I felt relief. I wanted to drive off and then I heard something, like a whimpering. I got out of the car, walked around in the field and followed the sound . Then I saw two puppies, tiny, little fluff balls. They were soaking wet and shivering and so was I. I picked them up and drove to my friend’s house.

We had lunch and shopping on our list, but the puppies changed it all. They were so cute and so little. It didn’t take long and we made up our minds, that I would take the black one and my friend the brown one. They were little dogs, very young and we had nothing to offer. We changed our plans and went to the next pet store instead; both of us were holding our little puppy with pride and joy. We bought everything a little puppy could need. Training pads, a little collar, toys and puppy food and of course a little bed, because puppies want to cuddle.

My friends puppy was very active, ours not so much. It slept all the time and seemed lethargic. I made an appointment with the vet and then I got the list of things that were wrong with the puppy. It was a very long list. Parasites, fleas and worms, blood in her stool, an ear infection and mange and pneumonia on top of it. I held my breath, when I saw the estimate, on how much it would cost me to bring her back to health. The vet said there was a good chance she wouldn’t make it, we dealt with the pneumonia first and all the other issues later on.

The puppy and I had a rough start and I called her “my piggy bank”, since I had to pay the Veterinarian on a weekly base. She pulled through and four months later she was a healthy puppy and I was broke. 🙂

She was healthy, but scared of everything. She never left my side. The slightest noise left her frightened and shaking. I walked her every day and she had her tail between her legs form start to finish. Kids, cars, bicycles it didn’t make a difference, everything scared her. I drove to the lake, tried to find quiet places, but it didn’t help, she was frightened of the water and of other dogs. I could find her under our bed and hidden behind furniture, when we had thunderstorms or rain, her tail was always tucked between her legs.

She wasn’t little anymore, she had turned into a beautiful shepherd mix with an impressive look and bark, who ran away from everything. We were fine with it, we knew Booboo wouldn’t be a watchdog and joked around, that we had to protect here, in case of a burglary or any kind of emergency.

She was about 2 years old, when a customer came by who made me feel very uneasy. I am very careful who I meet in my workshop and I can’t really explain why this guy scared me, but he did. I felt nervous inside and wanted him to leave. There was something about him that made my neck hair stand up, something that I couldn’t explain. I walked through the room toward the door and wanted to ask him to leave, when Booboo came out from underneath my desk. She looked at the guy, showed her teeth and growled. I had never seen her like that, I had never heard her make a noise like that.

The guys face turned pale, his whole body stiffened and he walked backwards toward the door and left. He didn’t even say Good-bye, neither did I. I have no idea who this guy was. I have no idea, if he meant me any harm, or if I just overreacted.

Booboo changed that day. Her tail went up and she became the most confident dog I have ever seen. She walked our fence line every morning and made sure everything was alright. Later, when we got another dog, she acted like a Mom, played hard and raised him well. She became the pack leader, told the other ones when to bark and when to be alert. She wasn’t scared anymore, she was confident and believe it or not, she could smile.

She slept in front of my bed every night and made me feel safe. Last year she got sick, stopped eating and we knew we had to let her go. I could see it in her eyes, she was ready…but we weren’t.

She was with me every day 24/7 for 12 years and the Orchid that I bought in her honor is now blooming beside her picture, like she is showing approval of the new rescue puppy.

Marilyn and Garry have to walk down this road today and many of us know how it feels. Our pets are much loved family members, but they don’t live forever.