Struggling Saints
In a category of Strange ButTrue, I am having an interesting relationship with a 175 lb Saint Bernard.
It all started 10 years ago when my son, Adam, got a Saint who he named Bella. Everybody likes Bella and my wife got involved with a shelter that provides for the needs of abandoned Saints.
It is sad when any pet gets abandoned but it seems to happen to Saints more than other species. They are especially cute puppies but they get very big, they shed, they eat a lot, most of them drool, and they leave poop bombs around the size of footballs.
Recently a nearly-deaf 8 year old female named Saddie was taken to a kennel and then the owners just never picked her up. The shelter that we work with was called to the rescue.
The managers needed a short-term foster home for Saddie and my tender-hearted wife agreed to love the gentle giant for the stated time. We have performed this function twice before: Once with Ben and another time with Camen.
All of these gentle giants take to Patty right away. She walks them and feeds them and brushes them and talks baby-talk to them and gives them treats and she is a master belly scratcher. Who wouldn’t love all that attention?
When we went to pick up Saddie we expected the same thing would happen, but this time things are different. No matter what kind deeds that Patty employs with Saddie, the 4-legged monster seems to prefer my company. Imagine that!
I have been nice to her but no nicer than I was to Ben or Caymen and I am definitely not as attentive as Patty is. Still, Saddie hangs around me, not Patty. We have guessed that the deaf Saddie must have been owned by some other fellow who was good to her. Perhaps he lost his job or something like that and just couldn’t care for her any longer.
Such is the plight of too many Saints and other critters as well,
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In a category of Strange ButTrue, I am having an interesting relationship with a 175 lb Saint Bernard.
It all started 10 years ago when my son, Adam, got a Saint who he named Bella. Everybody likes Bella and my wife got involved with a shelter that provides for the needs of abandoned Saints.
It is sad when any pet gets abandoned but it seems to happen to Saints more than other species. They are especially cute puppies but they get very big, they shed, they eat a lot, most of them drool, and they leave poop bombs around the size of footballs.
Recently a nearly-deaf 8 year old female named Saddie was taken to a kennel and then the owners just never picked her up. The shelter that we work with was called to the rescue.
The managers needed a short-term foster home for Saddie and my tender-hearted wife agreed to love the gentle giant for the stated time. We have performed this function twice before: Once with Ben and another time with Camen.
All of these gentle giants take to Patty right away. She walks them and feeds them and brushes them and talks baby-talk to them and gives them treats and she is a master belly scratcher. Who wouldn’t love all that attention?
When we went to pick up Saddie we expected the same thing would happen, but this time things are different. No matter what kind deeds that Patty employs with Saddie, the 4-legged monster seems to prefer my company. Imagine that!
I have been nice to her but no nicer than I was to Ben or Caymen and I am definitely not as attentive as Patty is. Still, Saddie hangs around me, not Patty. We have guessed that the deaf Saddie must have been owned by some other fellow who was good to her. Perhaps he lost his job or something like that and just couldn’t care for her any longer.
Such is the plight of too many Saints and other critters as well,
To comment simply register as a "follower" You will not be put on any mailing list
4 comments:
Maybe she senses that you have vision issues and figures that she can act as your eyes, and you can act as a supplement to her near-deaf ears. Now only if you could see where she is at or she could hear you calling for her, you guys might make a good pair.
I have a special fondness for Saints too. We had 3 over the course of my chilhood and into my early 20's.
The first one, Machen, was given to us by a family who's home the dog out grew. Her family was so sad to see her go and yet never came to visit so I am not sure of all the circumstances surrounding our adoption of her.
We had several other dogs and many cats who accepted her as another of the pack and she thrived on the attention of my sisters and myself.
We lived on the main road and it was not unusual to see a stray animal that had been bought to the mountains and dumped. If one of these lost souls wandered into our yard and was not to traumatized and confused they would usually stay.
The first stray I can remeber was a dog we named Skipper who was the size and shape of a Border Collie but marked like a brown and black German Shepard. He had a special hatred of brooms and would attack the straw end with a vengeance leading me to believe there had been some kind of mistreatment involving him not doing his share of the chores or something like that. Anyway I learned to keep the broom away from him and he became my constant companion.
We now have a Shih-Tzu we got last summer from that breeds rescue group. His name is Walter. When he came to us we were told that he was 1 1/2 years old but not house trained or obedience trained either.
His name at the time we adopted him was Danny Boy. He did not respond in any way when called. After a few days of no response to his name I decided to sit with him and my wife Diane and ask him if he would like another name and to respond to us if that was the case. We started going through a list of names and at some point Walter came up. He showed an immediate response when I asked him if that name would be suitable. From that point on he has tried his best to please and has overcome a lot of bad habits in a short amount of time. He truly seems to appreciate his new home.
We have another dog ,a Tibetan Terrier, named Tashi we got last September at 11 weeks old. He has never known a minute of hardship or adversity in his very new life and is so casual and laid back without a care in the world. He is happy to do whatever is asked of him but with no sense of urgency or fear of punishment.
He is very loving and companionable and is always ready to do whatever activity presents itself but does not demonstrate the strong desire to please that Walter does.
Every day for Tashi is just another day in the ongoing dream and he does not suspect that there is any other way to live.
Walter on the other hand remembers life from before we met him and seems genuinely grateful to us for adopting him. Little does he know that I am as grateful for his presence.
I give thanks everyday to the Creator of pets big and small for allowing me to spend some time basking in the glow of these elevated souls.
Well Mr. Foley. I have heard it said that you have had a few problems with your heart, but it seems to me that you have a great one.
Very kind of you to say that.
I think I view myself as just another pilgrim working my way through life and I do appreciate the opportunity to stop and reflect on the journey. Thanks for the forum.
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