Anyway, I got a shout out on a blog-friend's blog today and I gotta say, it was just the kick in the pants I needed to get something new up here.
Hmmm, and now where to begin?! Oh it is so tough. Well, here is Sally:
She has been here a week. These things I know about Sally...
*She's just a wee peanut of a thing, at around 35 lbs
*She's fascinated by her mirror reflection in the windows at night
*She's awesome in her crate
*She's better with the cats than poor Mel (seriously Mel, it is time to make friends with those furballs!)
*She's got some of the greatest, most comical, entertaining zoomies
*She is smart; I would swear her little brain must be exploding with how quickly she is taking things in, overcoming fears, and getting used to no-doubt brand spanking new stimuli (key among them, a toddler!)
*She is a bust dog
Our rescue brought 8 dogs from this summer's huge bust into our program. Sally was the lone adult we were able to carve out room for, the rest are pups ranging from 2 months to 5 months. Sally is no bigger than the 5 month olds. ;)
Despite what I know about Sally, there is so much more I don't know. We can make a lot of conjecture about her early life based on the dogfighting bust, but the fact of the matter is that I don't know--I don't know if she was fought, I don't know if she lived on a chain in the woods or in someone's basement, or even if she might have lived a life not all that different from her life now. I have no idea what her early socialization was like, if she knows how to play with other dogs, or how she'll react to people of different sizes, shapes, and ethnicities. Her initial responses to Grady paint a picture of a dog who had never seen a young child; but she is coming along remarkably well to life with a toddler around just the same.
The truth is that I like to think of her largely like I do any of the dogs we bring home--I use caution, I watch closely, and I give them every chance to show me their best. I know it is prudent to understand her background and what that may mean for her behaviors. I also know that I don't want her past--a past she never chose, a past she was unfairly born into--to define her. I refuse to let her past dictate what she is capable of or what her limitations are, when she is right here, willing and able to show me herself.
Because I feel slightly remiss if I post without a picture of the Bugga, if nothing else for Memaw and Papaw...
There, I feel better. ;)
It's Thanksgiving week! I adore Thanksgiving. What are you thankful for these days?
3 comments:
I'm thankful for people like you, and the rest of the Minnesota Pit Bull Rescue, who help to save bust dogs like Sally.
I'm also thankful for my pit bull Noelle, who brings so many smiles into my life.
And I'm thankful for my friends and family - especially my husband, who has become my partner in dog rescue so much more than I ever expected.
Look at your sweet boy!!
Just for Memaw & Papaw??? ;)
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