I enjoy listening to fascinating dog tales as we humans stand around the dog park watching our pets enjoy their romps. Many owners who have rescued their pets don’t mind relating their often poignant histories.
Ruby, a beautiful three-year old 55-pound Vizsla (a popular Hungarian hunting dog aptly described as gentle, loyal, energetic and affectionate) ran happily about the big park, playing with her Labrador retriever ‘brother.’ She regularly checked in with her human family, dashing up to nose their hands and look deeply into their eyes for a minute before happily charging off again.
Ruby’s teats were more prominent than usual. Before I could ask if she was a recent mother her owner noticed my interest and elaborated, smiling.
“Oh, you should have seen them a couple of years ago; they were over four inches long, and swayed when she moved. The vet told us they’d probably not shrink much, but was he wrong! Just look at them now- only a little over a half-inch long!
“A notorious puppy mill was raided and Ruby was one of the wretches they rescued. She’d produced litter after litter, and had mothered and nursed them tirelessly until they were snatched away too early and sold. When we got her she was completely exhausted and very thin, and shrank from people. She avoided eye contact and looked so bewildered and lonely. Her body language was pure apology; Heck, she apologized for living. She didn’t trust anyone and had never experienced affection, or a gentle touch, except, perhaps, from her pups. Locked up her whole, short life she’d never been outside, never learned to play…Her circumstances were heart- wrenching, to say the least.
“We brought her home, introduced her to our three-year-old Lab, Roscoe, and began her rehabilitation. Just look at her now!” He smiled at her and stroked her face. She stared up at him, her brown eyes soft.
“Initially she didn’t know what to do with so much freedom and space. She cowered, crept around the edges of our yard, and felt safest in corners. One day, though, her nose picked up some interesting smell, and she dared to move carefully through the grass to investigate, lifting her paws high, because the sensation of walking on grass was so different. Roscoe was delighted, and encouraged her to play. That day was the turning point. She began to relax, and notice things in a new way.
“Our vet gave her a thorough checkup: she needed vitamins, worming, and had to gain ten pounds before he felt comfortable spaying her. Amazingly, those super-long teats began to shrink slowly, but steadily, as she got stronger. In a few months she was ready for the operation, which went well.
“About two weeks after the surgery I woke up to find my cell phone missing. I always put it on the end table at bedtime, but that morning it had vanished. My wife and I looked for it everywhere- under the bed- in the car- before finally giving up.
“Come to think of it, where was Ruby? She was always very near one of us, like a shadow, but not that morning. She wasn’t with Roscoe, either. We found her lying on her side in her own bed, with four small, stuffed doggy toys- and my cell phone- nudged into a row next to her teats! We were astonished! She’d clearly missed nurturing her pups, and found great comfort in arranging this scene. Her babies had been the source of her only good memories.
“She’s never felt the need to do it again…”
He wiped his eyes, still moved by the image. I wiped mine, too.
Ruby, a too-young mother too often, is now herself reborn, free of the daunting responsibility of trying to nurture endless little ones in appalling conditions, only to have them ripped away.
Now the tables have turned. Her family will forever cherish and provide for this gentle, trusting dog.
There’s a sort of justice at work here.
Ruby, a beautiful three-year old 55-pound Vizsla (a popular Hungarian hunting dog aptly described as gentle, loyal, energetic and affectionate) ran happily about the big park, playing with her Labrador retriever ‘brother.’ She regularly checked in with her human family, dashing up to nose their hands and look deeply into their eyes for a minute before happily charging off again.
Ruby’s teats were more prominent than usual. Before I could ask if she was a recent mother her owner noticed my interest and elaborated, smiling.
“Oh, you should have seen them a couple of years ago; they were over four inches long, and swayed when she moved. The vet told us they’d probably not shrink much, but was he wrong! Just look at them now- only a little over a half-inch long!
“A notorious puppy mill was raided and Ruby was one of the wretches they rescued. She’d produced litter after litter, and had mothered and nursed them tirelessly until they were snatched away too early and sold. When we got her she was completely exhausted and very thin, and shrank from people. She avoided eye contact and looked so bewildered and lonely. Her body language was pure apology; Heck, she apologized for living. She didn’t trust anyone and had never experienced affection, or a gentle touch, except, perhaps, from her pups. Locked up her whole, short life she’d never been outside, never learned to play…Her circumstances were heart- wrenching, to say the least.
“We brought her home, introduced her to our three-year-old Lab, Roscoe, and began her rehabilitation. Just look at her now!” He smiled at her and stroked her face. She stared up at him, her brown eyes soft.
“Initially she didn’t know what to do with so much freedom and space. She cowered, crept around the edges of our yard, and felt safest in corners. One day, though, her nose picked up some interesting smell, and she dared to move carefully through the grass to investigate, lifting her paws high, because the sensation of walking on grass was so different. Roscoe was delighted, and encouraged her to play. That day was the turning point. She began to relax, and notice things in a new way.
“Our vet gave her a thorough checkup: she needed vitamins, worming, and had to gain ten pounds before he felt comfortable spaying her. Amazingly, those super-long teats began to shrink slowly, but steadily, as she got stronger. In a few months she was ready for the operation, which went well.
“About two weeks after the surgery I woke up to find my cell phone missing. I always put it on the end table at bedtime, but that morning it had vanished. My wife and I looked for it everywhere- under the bed- in the car- before finally giving up.
“Come to think of it, where was Ruby? She was always very near one of us, like a shadow, but not that morning. She wasn’t with Roscoe, either. We found her lying on her side in her own bed, with four small, stuffed doggy toys- and my cell phone- nudged into a row next to her teats! We were astonished! She’d clearly missed nurturing her pups, and found great comfort in arranging this scene. Her babies had been the source of her only good memories.
“She’s never felt the need to do it again…”
He wiped his eyes, still moved by the image. I wiped mine, too.
Ruby, a too-young mother too often, is now herself reborn, free of the daunting responsibility of trying to nurture endless little ones in appalling conditions, only to have them ripped away.
Now the tables have turned. Her family will forever cherish and provide for this gentle, trusting dog.
There’s a sort of justice at work here.