Friday, July 20, 2012

The timeline of a 2nd chance

Originally posted 5-9-2011



So, for those that do not know..I'm an animal person. As in, the 4-legged kind.  Anyway, I foster/rescue on occasion when a homeless  pet is in dire need.  So, a few days ago, my roommate told me that another neighbor mentioned that the elderly lady down the street had to go into a nursing home 2 months ago, and her dog has been living there on his own for 2 months. The neighbor would go over twice a day to feed it, but that was it. The owner's sister told the neighbor to take it to the pound, but he wanted to try to find a home.  My heart broke when I thought of this poor little guy who had the only person he knows just disappear, and then living alone for so long.

Sigh.  "Alright. I'll take him" (kicks toe in the dirt)

I was told he was a shih-tzu, but...he's more like a cockapoo, or simply, a mutt from a long line of mutts.  He's housebroken, current on tags and shots, and sweet as cherry pie. His name's Buddy.

I decided to bathe him before bringing him home, and figured I'd bathe him in his front yard.  However... that's not how it worked.....

4:30pm-Go to Buddy's house armed with towel and pet soap

4:35- Realize that his front yard is simply mud and foxtails, and probably isn't the best place for this.  Figure I'll try anyway.

4:38- Realize that his hair isn't supposed to be as long as it is, or as dreadlocked... or as matted to every inch of skin he has.  Uh-oh. I've done enough rescues to know what this means...this is going to be a loooooooong process

4:40- me and sopping wet dog walk down street to my house

4:45- Sopping wet dog runs through my house til I finally corral him and get him into my bathtub, and turn the water on..

5:00-still bathing him, no progress other than discovering that yes, if fur is matted enough, it WILL be impervious to water.  Good to know.

5:15- Give up on trying to comb out the snarls and foxtails.. grab the scissors...

6:00- Still cutting, a little progress

7:00- still cutting, a little more progress, but...getting frustrated..I still only have about 1/4 of the matts out.

7:30- start finding hundreds of foxtails embedded in his skin, causing all sorts of owies... grab the tweezers...find a drywall screw in the middle of one of the matts..yes, a drywall screw..I don't even want to think about how uncomfortable that was for him to carry around...

8:12- still pulling foxtails out of his skin when I feel a hard bump on  his flank.. I figure it's another foxtail, when I pull on it with tweezers, a BB gun pellet pops out.  I am speechless, and momentarily immobile while I contemplate what this poor little guy has been through..

8:13- while I am still thinking about what I'd like to do the rat fucks that shot this little defenseless dog with a BB gun, Buddy reaches up and rubs his nose against mine, then settles in my lap and curls up.  I spend the next 5 minutes crying. 

8:18- after over 3 hours, I'm still not even close to halfway being done.. time to call in reinforcements.. call a friend who says he'll come over in a little bit.  I decide that a breaktime is in order.

8:22- pour a big glass of ice-cold chardonnay, and put water on the stove to boil for pasta.  Call Mom and wish her happy mom's day and give her a Buddy update.

8:32- Friend shows up quicker than expected and brings with him electric clippers.  SCORE!!!!!!!  I set down  my chardonnay on my nightstand and we run into the bathroom to continue Project Buddy..

9:20- Friend says "Do you smell something burning?" Oh shit.  I fly out of my bathroom, through a faint cloud of smoke in my bedroom, a thicker cloud in the hallway, and a cloud thicker than pea soup in the kitchen where the pot of water I set to boil has boiled  down to nothing except the olive oil that I splashed in there with it.... spend next 20 minutes choking, coughing, and trying to air out the house...

9:40- Open some windows and fan the doors.  Explain to the neighbor that she does NOT need to call 911, my house is not on fire.  Head back to help with Buddy some more.  I stop in my bedroom and drink down entire now-warm glass of wine in one gulp.. continue with project Buddy...

10:45... we're pretty much done except for some fine tuning such as his whiskers, and claws.  Buddy looks like a thatched roof, and a completely different dog.  My bathroom loooks like  8 poodles exploded in it, minus the blood and guts.  For shits and giggles we gather up all the hair we pulled off of him and dump it in a box and take it to the kitchen to weigh it.  2 1/2lbs.  Of fur. From a 14lb dog.  DA-YUMM!

12:04- Finally done sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, disinfecting, de-hairing, and bleaching down the bathroom.  Take a long, long, lo-o-o-n-g  shower..

12:30- A little herbal supplement  to make sure I sleep well (been having insomnia lately).. I look at Buddy asleep on the floor  as I lay down and turn off my light and wonder why on earth I take on the ones that no one else seems to want, who are so much work, who are so hard to place in good homes...

12:32 Buddy softly climbs up on the bed with me, curls up behind my shoulders pressed  against me, and lays down after first reaching over and licking me on the cheek just once.
Oh yeah.  THAT is why I keep doing this.

3:04am-like I said..insomnia..decided to write this blog when I woke up a few minutes ago

"I was dark gray and brown til my bath...now I'mm strawberry & platinum blonde!"
"The new human says I look great!"
"I really don't like that flashy thing!"




1 comment:

  1. Mistress Kiley May 9, 2011 5:48 PM

    Storm, I applaud your service to animals!! Your story brought a tear to my eye, for sure.

    A couple of years ago my neighbors moved out…middle of the night kinda thing, and they abandoned their three cats, just left them in the backyard.

    Needless to say I and one of my neighbors are now their foster homes, we share feeding and care of the three of them plus a couple more that have been abandoned in the neighborhood.

    Keep up the good work, the animals need it

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