Post by Kim Synow on Feb 11, 2010 21:43:01 GMT -5
Ok, you talked me into it. I'll go first! LOL
I hesitated to tell you this story because of the breed of dog it's about. But I couldn't not tell my best rescue story. I know there are strong opinions regarding particular breeds, but that is not why I wanted to share this. I wanted to tell you because this dog introduced me to the world of rescue. Without her, I would never have begun rescuing, training and placing dogs into permanent homes.
Thank you Storm. I miss you.
Storm found me in the winter of 1999. I opened my door one day and there she was sitting on my front porch looking back at me. The first thing I noticed was she was skeletal skinny. The second thing I noticed was that she was a pit bull. Yikes! I slammed the door. I was terrified! I had never met one before and I didn't think this was an optimal situation in which to do so.
I waited about 1/2 hour and opened the door again and there she was...still. Looking back at me. This time she wagged her tail. I now noticed she had cuts all over and appeared to have a severe case of mastitis. I couldn't leave her outside. We were at the beginning of a winter storm the likes of which Seattle had never seen before. It was starting to snow and the temp outside was plummeting fast. I let her in. 5 minutes later we lost power and it didn't come back on for 9 days. It was a storm that is still talked about to this day in the Emerald City!
Yes, she is named after that storm!
I knew nothing about her breed, but I did know she needed medical care. I loaded her and my poodle mix (Doc) into the car and to the vet we went. She weighed 22 pounds. She had a uterine infection, a UTI, failing kidneys and odd straight cuts everywhere that were infected. The vet thought it looked like she was cut with a knife or a razor blade.
The vet opened all her cuts and put drains in some of them. Heavy antibiotics and many (159) stitches later we went home. This was the beginning of a relationship that lasted 16 years.
I learned that she had been living under my porch for the last month and a half. Our neighbor thought that I knew that. I worked nights and I never saw her until the day of the storm.
Sometimes when I would let her out to go potty, she would whine and dig in the ice by my back deck. When the weather cleared later that month I looked under there. She had had pups under the deck and they had not survived. We buried them together and she never went back to look under the deck again. She seemed to be so sensitive and intuitive. I was surprised how quick she was to learn and how "in tune" with my emotions she was.
Long story short....she lived with me and became my best friend. She was one of the best dogs I have ever owned. I came from a place of fear because of her breed, but she taught me tolerance. She also taught me that dogs can roll their eyes This was her response each time a new rescue dog was brought home. It was if to say "Oh, Mom! Not another one!"
Here is a picture of her when she was 17 years old. She is sleeping with my best friends child. Naps with dogs are his favorite thing in the world, and it was certainly hers too!
Please note, I do not advocate for or against any breed of dog. The dogs I have owned have all found me and it was not a choice of breed, color, temperament or any other thing. It was simply they needed and I gave. Please know that any dog that had shown up in that condition on my step would have been cared for as Storm was.
When she was in her prime she weighed 77 pounds. When she found me, she weighed 22. The vet thought she was about a year old when I took her in. I cannot believe she was able to live such a full life!
I hesitated to tell you this story because of the breed of dog it's about. But I couldn't not tell my best rescue story. I know there are strong opinions regarding particular breeds, but that is not why I wanted to share this. I wanted to tell you because this dog introduced me to the world of rescue. Without her, I would never have begun rescuing, training and placing dogs into permanent homes.
Thank you Storm. I miss you.
Storm found me in the winter of 1999. I opened my door one day and there she was sitting on my front porch looking back at me. The first thing I noticed was she was skeletal skinny. The second thing I noticed was that she was a pit bull. Yikes! I slammed the door. I was terrified! I had never met one before and I didn't think this was an optimal situation in which to do so.
I waited about 1/2 hour and opened the door again and there she was...still. Looking back at me. This time she wagged her tail. I now noticed she had cuts all over and appeared to have a severe case of mastitis. I couldn't leave her outside. We were at the beginning of a winter storm the likes of which Seattle had never seen before. It was starting to snow and the temp outside was plummeting fast. I let her in. 5 minutes later we lost power and it didn't come back on for 9 days. It was a storm that is still talked about to this day in the Emerald City!
Yes, she is named after that storm!
I knew nothing about her breed, but I did know she needed medical care. I loaded her and my poodle mix (Doc) into the car and to the vet we went. She weighed 22 pounds. She had a uterine infection, a UTI, failing kidneys and odd straight cuts everywhere that were infected. The vet thought it looked like she was cut with a knife or a razor blade.
The vet opened all her cuts and put drains in some of them. Heavy antibiotics and many (159) stitches later we went home. This was the beginning of a relationship that lasted 16 years.
I learned that she had been living under my porch for the last month and a half. Our neighbor thought that I knew that. I worked nights and I never saw her until the day of the storm.
Sometimes when I would let her out to go potty, she would whine and dig in the ice by my back deck. When the weather cleared later that month I looked under there. She had had pups under the deck and they had not survived. We buried them together and she never went back to look under the deck again. She seemed to be so sensitive and intuitive. I was surprised how quick she was to learn and how "in tune" with my emotions she was.
Long story short....she lived with me and became my best friend. She was one of the best dogs I have ever owned. I came from a place of fear because of her breed, but she taught me tolerance. She also taught me that dogs can roll their eyes This was her response each time a new rescue dog was brought home. It was if to say "Oh, Mom! Not another one!"
Here is a picture of her when she was 17 years old. She is sleeping with my best friends child. Naps with dogs are his favorite thing in the world, and it was certainly hers too!
Please note, I do not advocate for or against any breed of dog. The dogs I have owned have all found me and it was not a choice of breed, color, temperament or any other thing. It was simply they needed and I gave. Please know that any dog that had shown up in that condition on my step would have been cared for as Storm was.
When she was in her prime she weighed 77 pounds. When she found me, she weighed 22. The vet thought she was about a year old when I took her in. I cannot believe she was able to live such a full life!