Skip to main content

I Like Big Mutts and I Cannot Lie



 

I love dogs. Mutts and purebred. Small dogs and dogs that make you turn your head to wonder if it was a dog or a bear that you just saw. Dogs that shed all over the furniture and my clothes. Young pups and seniors. Dogs that drool, bark, and fart. You name it, I love it. I have a real soft spot, though, for the dogs that find themselves in shelters- whether found on the streets, lost, surrendered by their owners, or rescued from abusive/neglectful situations. These are the dogs that steal my heart. These dogs are often scared, sad, and confused, especially when abandoned by those they considered their family. So far we have adopted three dogs that were strays; and each of them rescued us as well. Each of these dogs helped to heal our hearts, enrich our lives, and bring us so much joy, comfort, and love. If they could talk, I know they would say the same about us.

 

Our first dog, Chili, was first adopted by my brother and sister-in-law. Unfortunately their other two dogs did not take to this new pup, and it was clear she could not stay with them. At the time my husband and I were in the throes of infertility and felt having this little pup would help heal us to some extent. After begging our landlord, we were able to make Chili our “first born.” We think she was a mix of Black and Tan Coonhound and German Shepherd. Who knows and who cares. This dog was 100% love.

 

The shelter said she was found in a dumpster. I just cannot understand how people can be so heartless!! It was clear to us that for sure, Chili had spent some time in the trash- she was terrified of garbage bags. With patience and treats and gentle exposure to the kitchen trash can, she slowly gained confidence. What helped I am sure is that being surrounded by love, she knew we’d always keep her close and she had nothing to fear from us. Seeing a rescue dog make progress from fear to trust is so heartwarming and fulfilling.


November 2020


www.cooperthedog.com



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cooper Comes Home

  The unconditional love we receive from our dogs is indescribable. Friends may come and go. Days can be good or bad. Our moods can go up and down. We have bad hair days and gain a few pounds. There are days that we know we are not behaving our best. To our pups, it just doesn’t matter. They only see the best in us, and through them we can often see the good where otherwise it might be hard to find. This far makes up for the heartache we know we will have when their time with us is up. We realize that this is the price we must pay for being so lucky to love a dog so much. It’s how we find it possible to open our hearts to another one. At the age of twelve, we lost Charlie to cancer. We searched on  www.petfinder.com  to see if we could find that pup that was meant to be our next family member.    Five days later again, we adopted Cooper, a mix of Pit Bull, Rottweiler, and a splash of Golden Retriever. Again, not to replace, but to refocus and to honor Charlie. Cooper keeps us on our to
Post a Comment
Read more

You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown

  Chili was truly our furbaby and our love for each other was immeasurable. She spent each Friday with me in my law office, on a 50 ft leash. She happily greeted each client as they walked through the door. Only six and a half years (and two kids) later, Chili died from an infection- we were completely shocked and truly heartbroken. We missed her and that dog energy in the house. Not to replace (never) but to refocus, we started our search on  www.petfinder.com  and found our next dog, Charlie, at a shelter nearby. We adopted Charlie only 5 days after losing Chili. Too soon? Nope. That is a personal question for each person. Charlie helped us heal our broken hearts, and we knew Chili would be happy to know we saved another dog. Charlie was a 100 lb mix of German Shepherd, Chow, Collie, and a bunch of other breeds- and yet again, 100% love. He had the coolest Eddie Munster-like widow’s peak on his forehead- he was a really handsome boy.   During his lifetime we had another three childre
Post a Comment
Read more