Happy Tails: Something to Wag About!!

Sweet Pea found her forever home with the Old Fella volunteer who rescued and fostered her. We’ll let Kathy tell you Sweet Pea’s story:

I carry three of her pictures around with me and show them to people. Everyone who sees them is amazed that it is the same dog. I'm attaching the three pictures.

The first one was taken a week before she was rescued. That's the day I first saw her at my mailbox which is half a mile from our house. I gave her some food and after she ate, she walked across the road and laid down in someone's yard. She wasn't sure she could trust me so I wasn't able to get her to come back. I knocked on the door of the house to see if she belonged to someone and no one was home. Even though she was so badly neglected, I couldn't just take her......in case she belonged to the people there. So I had to wait until the next day when I caught the people home. The woman came to the door after her two boys answered the door. One of the little boys was about 3 years old. When I described Sweet Pea and asked her if it was their dog, the little boy said, "My daddy shot that dog in the head". Most people wouldn't have understood what he said but I have small grandchildren so I understand the lingo. Ha. The woman told me that the kids had been feeding this dog and another one that was hanging around because their dog had died.

I didn't see Sweet Pea again all week and I just knew the little boy had told what happened to her. But one week later, she came walking up the road to my driveway again. I saw her as I was coming in from buying dog food and a cat litter box so I stopped and put some food in the cat litter box. I had some dog crates in the back of my car that I was returning to Old Fella for someone and I took out one and put her in it. Poor thing. I had to leave her while I went back to my house to get the bigger car to transport her in. She probably thought she was doomed since she was trapped.

I took her straight to Dr. Ford. She smelled so bad that I put a towel around her just to carry her inside. Even that first day, she was so sweet natured. But she was covered in fleas so bad that they were mating each other on her. Dr. Ford told Corey to take her straight to the bath and told me she would keep her over the weekend and treat her for worms. I was amazed that she didn't have heartworms or mange. When I brought her home, I put her in a kennel with a big pillow in her doghouse and fed her twice a day. She spent most of that week just eating and sleeping. She probably needed rest in a warm safe place as much as she needed food and medical attention.

After I got the okay to put her with other dogs, I put her in the yard with Booboo. And she has just blossomed and continued to have the sweetest disposition. I don't know who she belonged to before but she still was wearing a worn red collar that was huge on her. I don't know how it stayed on her as loose as it was. She turned out to be so pretty that I thought maybe someone just lost her and maybe she had a ID chip. But she didn't. I had her checked. She's very obedient too. I think she must have already known some basic commands because she quickly sits when you tell her to. She loves playing with other dogs and loves showing off. One of my dogs loves to roll on her back in the grass. Sweet Pea never did that until she saw Shelby do it. And she only does it after she sees Shelby do it or when wants Shelby to play with her. She is a clown. She also is the only dog that Shelby accepts and plays with here, other than my dogs that were here before Shelby. Every foster that I've had, Shelby barks like crazy and I don't let her near them. She seems to think they are all intruders. But not so with Sweet Pea. So the first picture is when she was in really bad shape, obviously.

The second is when she was in much better health but you can tell she still isn't happy. The last picture shows her now, smiling and frisky. I've really been back and forth in my heart about whether to adopt her or let her go. I know she would be adopted easily. And she would probably get more of the special attention she deserves if she was adopted. But yes, I'm going to keep her. This is home to her now. And I don't want to let her go.

So there's Sweet Pea's story.

Kathy