Beautiful Day
I’m pretty happy-go-lucky as these things go. So I get pretty darn shocked when I experience something not-so-good. Take last week for example. I was visiting the gorgeous 3000 acre property of the historic Shakertown at Pleasant Hill here in Central, Kentucky. I was there with my horse. So far so great. This is a charmed day.
He and I were waiting in their guest barn for some other friends to show up. While we were chillin’ an employee of the place dropped off a hound dog into one of the empty stalls. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Probably a stray. My friends came – we saddled up and went out for a glorious ride.
So sad
When we got back that afternoon it soon came to our attention that the hound dog was still there and he or she was not at all happy. Hound dogs can howl pitifully. My friend Mirian and I decided to stay out of the sun while the others in our little party headed back out on the trail. This was just the chance we needed to get to know the pooch.
Turns out he was thrown out of a moving car there and literally dumped. Thrown away. An employee saw it happen. We were dumbstruck. The poor young dog. He was severely traumatized. Morose. So we took him out and decided to give him some fresh air and attention. It took him some time to open up but slowly he did.
What to do?
It was easy to bond with the little guy. He was all beat up from his fall out of the car, and in a state of depression for sure – but he started to rally around. Soon it was time to leave and the plan officially was to leave him safely in a stall for the weekend until a kind hearted rescuer could come get him on Monday. After what he had already been through so far that day I knew a weekend alone like that would break his young and already damaged spirit. So even though I have three dogs at home and didn’t know how the hubby was gonna take it I proclaimed I was taking him home. Strangely Mikey, the hubby, who was there to pick me and my horse up didn’t balk at all at the suggestion. As long as “he comes back on Monday to be picked up for re-homing”. I agreed readily.
I figured a weekend with me would help set him right and give him a much better chance at connecting with good people.
Love From Every Corner
Almost immediately I knew I wanted to be the one to help him find his forever people. Wanting to help him get a jump start in the marketing campaign it was going to take to get him a family I made a video of the dog we took to calling “Roger” first thing Saturday morning. I also posted his photo and a recap of his story on my Facebook pages and the outpouring of love started up immediately.
Here’s the first video of Roger:
It was suggested almost immediately that we keep him. And for so many reasons that would have been a perfect solution except we’re already all dogged up. We don’t have the biggest cash flow here at DogTrot Hill so it’s important for us to live within our means and take care of the pets we already have properly. I knew he couldn’t stay forever. But I also knew I could find him a good home!
Compassionate Angels
Someone suggested I ask for help paying for his vetting so I could extend his foster care with us. I thought that was a great solution and asked my Facebook friends what they thought. Almost immediately funds were PayPal’ed into my account on Roger’s behalf. Karen, Ouisha, Keiko, Mary O., and Leann sent money right away. Is that not compassionate? Wow. More was promised and would have come in too – but read on…..
Smart Boy
I started his potty training immediately on Saturday after a Friday evening ‘accident’. We had slept on the porch so it was non-issue that night. He started getting it almost immediately. What a good dog. He was also starting to really blossom. I wanted his potential people to see his new attitude so I posted another video on Sunday:
He was cheerier. And I was starting to get some serious inquiries about the young hound.
Joy Joy!
By the time Monday rolled around a friend who runs a kennel up the hill from our house had offered to put him up for free if we couldn’t continue taking care of him. Then I got two for-real serious inquiries about meeting him to bring him home. TWO!
Of course by now I’m totally bonded to him and he’s following me around like a–well, like a puppydog. So now it’s not going to be so easy letting him go. But that was the whole point. To give him a better start so he could connect with his forever people.
Happy Ending
And that’s exactly what happened last night! The first family who made a serious inquiry came to meet him with their two dogs and it went so well he went home with them. Of course it was a bittersweet moment but when the photo came showing him already snoozing on one of their beds next to a laptop – I knew he’s going to be fine. Plus I know them – I get to visit whenever I want!
Moral of the Story
So how do you make a happy artist even happier? Give me a chance to make a difference in someone’s life and show me the results once in awhile – just like this!
Postcript
The other gal who made a serious inquiry about Roger was of course ‘let down’ when she heard he’d gone home with the first folks. But look what she just wrote me in an email:
Thanks Marti! I’m glad for Roger! I guess we all learned a little something from the little guy. I think my husband and I are going to open the door and begin a search for a pup, and definitely a rescue! Thanks!
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