Thursday, July 10, 2014

She Saved Us

The house was empty, the hole - gaping. Another dog was out of the question. How could we?

I was beyond one foot in front of the other. At that point, I couldn't even comprehend what a foot was. And as far as putting anything in front of the other - forget it.

We'd just returned from our most recent trip to The Institute's. Upon walking into the black and silent, my mind swung like a pendulum, while my head whipped. The words flew, "I'm ready. Tomorrow. We have to get that dog."

A leap of faith was an understatement. That little pup would have some awfully huge paws to fill. I didn't think it was possible.

Fate stepped in and due to a case of kennel cough this unnamed, picture-less dog was just released for adoption after being held under quarantine while we were in Pennsylvania for 13 whole days!

The phone rang. It was Dave, "Are you ready? I'm on my way. I'm going to stop, you jump in. We might make it by closing."

Aviana was sick with a cold. True to his words, Dave did a drive by. I ran out, strapped Aviana in with cat like reflexes, and off we went on the over three hour drive. Poor Avi. She couldn't lift her head and was sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, drippy head, unable to rest for the entire drive. The car was no place for our sick little Meek, especially a Mook with no head control. This was definitely not our proudest parenting moment, but we knew it was for a good cause.

We made it just after closing. Since we called, they waited for us. We were grateful! From a distance, this black little pup came walking towards us. With Aviana on my lap, I knelt down as she approached. We rarely put shoes on Aviana so barefoot she was. Strike 2 for us as parents to this sick child. We could have at least put socks on her, but had we, never would we have seen the beauty of what next transpired, so I say yay us!

The little pup calmly walked up and sat down right beside us. She then licked every one of Aviana's little toes. This made forgetting the socks worth it! Aviana sat staring straight down at her the entire time. That was it. I was done. This little dog was coming home. She was ours.

As all this was happening, the woman at the SPCA was feeding us every last known detail about this black dog. All I remember was being taken by every ounce of her sweet disposition. I love all animals, but I was kind of surprised by the way I felt after all we'd just been through.

I immediately looked up at the woman and for the second time, told her "We'll take her." She gave a faint smile and continued on with her schpeel about how sweet, how this, how that and the other. I had to tell her a total of three separate times that we would take her.

I could instantly tell that I, we, all three of us felt a soul connection with this girl. Something magical happened between the four of us. I never wanted that feeling to end. Much had been horribly broken over the past days. As we placed this beauty in the back of our car - I laid eyes on her, and for the first time since saying our final goodbye to Kama, I felt a glimmer of hope - a stir of life.




 Our light, in the darkness




She had no idea...

We're going home baby.




Rainey just had her first bath.

Aviana wasn't so sure.




She saved us, and continues to from that day forward.

We've had some saving to do ourselves, especially over the past 8 months...

Our song for our girl




16 comments:

  1. Love this post. Cat like reflexes? How did you know? You knew without knowing, you know? I always say I have cat like reflexes when I'm driving. Trina used to laugh at me whenever I would say it and now I've got mom saying it. Cat like reflexes.

    I love Rainey.

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    1. Because I'm quick like that...and I used to study Zoe and have competitions. Very competitive. Let's race.

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    2. I love how you love Rainey.

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  2. Beautiful post -- I love dogs, too, but when you feel IT with YOUR dogs, you just know. And yes, they save US. That cosmic connection with our companion animals is healing. It brings that peace that the Bible talks about that I never really understood until I had a "heart dog" -- the "peace that passes all understanding." It's not that they make our troubles go away but their strength and steadfast support is something that a human cannot offer (and a human cannot often understand).

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    1. Your comment is one of my very favorite of all time. It's perfection, because it's so very true and brings calm just by reading.

      Dogs : )

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  3. So, so sweet the way it all happened. I remember the day you got her, I was so happy for ya'll. You're right, when the connection is there you just know it. I have so many questions if you ever have time. How old was Rainey when you got her? 6 months? Do they know how she wound up at the shelter? She's a lab mix, do you know what the "mix" part is? Did you ever worry that getting a dog from a shelter was riskier than buying a puppy from someone? I've always had this fear that dogs from shelters were most likely abused at some point and therefore unpredictable or could turn on me if I did something that unkowingly provoked them because of something that happened to them in their past. I guess Rainey proves my fear irrational.

    Rainey makes me smile. Post Rainey pictures anytime!

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    1. She was 6 months when we got her, and weighed 48 pounds. We thought she would get a little bigger, but she never did, which we are happy about. She's the perfect size! They found her and her sister Brooklyn on the streets. We have a made-up story that Brooklyn was always getting in trouble, and Rainey was always saving the day, finding their food, getting Brooklyn out of trouble, etc. We make the Rainey voice talking to Brooklyn constantly. When speaking for Rainey, she calls her sister Brooks. Rainey didn't have a name in the pound : (

      She's a lab/pit bull mix. I bought a DNA test at Costco (of course) because I was curious beyond the lab/pit : ) A little Plot hound came up too.

      I love dogs from the pound. I actually prefer them. I feel they know where they came from and are more appreciative dogs for some reason. But then again, I also think it's all in matching personality, demeanor, and breed too. I also much prefer a mix to any pure bred dog as well. Just our preference though.

      I'm so sorry this took me so long. I forgot all about it. Things got really crazy : )

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  4. I think Rainey is a beautiful dog with a big heart. She fits right in her family!

    XOXO
    Dixie

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  5. It has been so long since you posted I have begun to worry about you. You have been through so much in the past few years. Hoping you are vacationing or having fun somewhere. Just wanted you to know that I am praying for you. Blessings, Vicki from Memphis area

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    1. Thank you for always caring about us : ) : )

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  6. Eating some Frosted Flakes and thinking of ya'll. Random, I know. Just wanted to say hi!

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  7. Rainey is adorable. So happy you have her! I wonder if you'll get her a dog friend someday :)

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    1. Thank you! We feel like the luckiest people in the world!

      We've thought about it, but I think we are good for now. Maybe when she gets a little older. Rainey was actually supposed to be a second dog for our other Kama, but then Kama suddenly got sick and sadly passed within 20 days.

      I never say never : )

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