Well, we talked about it, we watched others with them, we just never really thought we would really be pet parents. Until, we went to the Dr. and he suggested getting a dog because they eleviate health conditions and they are constant companions. We talked with one of our daughter's, who had just become a pet parent as well. She thought it was a great idea too.
We were working in FL then, and took a month hiatus to recoup and renew our lives. We talked again about it at length. We decided to look at the SPCA here in Knoxville TN. There are a few shelters here. We looked and thought, okay maybe this "doodle" dog would be a good fit. We got down to Pigeon Forge and drove to the shelter. The doodle dog was hyper and my hubby said, nope that isn't going to work.
In a kennel in the corner was this teeny tiny, skeered, little girl, not saying a word. She just looked. We almost missed her until the workers said, we have this little one that needs a home. She has been here for 6 mo. and she needs good parents. They brought her out and she was shaking so bad, her hair was falling out, she was pitiful looking. I was holding her and my husband was looking on, I gave her to him and he looked at me and said "she isn't staying here any longer, she has a home now". We named her Mary Magdelaine! We then took her down town to Gatlinburg with us in my bookbag and she was so content! We got back to our trailer and our "neighbors" we hadn't met yet, came over and we talked. They gave us shampoo, a backpack for her and a syringe to fill with water to give her. (She doesn't know how to drink from a bowl, YET!)
Mary is Shih Tzu/Papillon mix. She stands just 12" tall, is currently 5 lbs (we need to get her to about 9 lbs healthy wt.) and she is about 5 years old. Her past home life wasn't great but she is house broken and she loves to take walks on the leash. We had a reg. leash to train her first, but within a wk, she went to an extention leash. She sleeps in a soft kennel at night with no problems. Eats well and is learning to socialize with others (humans and animals) .
She loves my husband and I.
I had had cats before and my dh had dogs years ago, but we just never thought we would have enough "room" in our lives for animals!
She has opened the doors to meeting others. She rides in our doggy backpak and doesn't bark or make a peep. She watched everything!
Just thought we would share our story with you.
Melstar said
05:21 PM Apr 16, 2011
Sweet story....you saved her....she is so lucky and blessed to have you as her parents!
My daughter, while in a campground in Bakersfield, had a dog come up to their motorhome and "adopted" them! They tried to give her to a neighbor, the office to bring her to the "pound", but this little dog kept coming back to them.
They have kids....she fell in love with the kids....now she is part of the family and the sweetest dog. She indeed was saved from who knows what. She had been left off near Orange Grove RV Park....and she picked out who she wanted to be with! :)
janni said
05:35 PM Apr 16, 2011
Oh how lucky you (and Mary) are! I found my cat the same way. She was at the shelter and my friends kept saying "look at all these cute little kitties" Casper was sitting in a corner and soo nervous her hair was falling out all over! She was 5 when I got her and 14 when we had to put her down in February. I love and miss her so much. Thank you for sharing your story.
travelinmama said
06:58 AM Apr 18, 2011
I had two cats like that as well. Pal and Misty. Misty was about 8 when she found us and skeered of the two yr old and the many cats she was living with. She hid in our lanai in Hawaii and would not go home. Her owners said keep her.
Pal was a litter of 4, whose mom came to live with us until after she had weened them. She was found in beach park in downtown Hawaii. I knew she was about 4 weeks preg. and knew if they caught her the babies would needlessly die. So, we scooped up mom (tripper) and gave her a home, she had the babies and something was seriously wrong with mom, so we took her to the SPCA after that. It was sad, we cried, but something was terribly wrong. We gave the babies away, except one. Pal.
Pal and Misty were our constant companions for years, they sat with the kids when they schooled at home, they studied and read with us, they were part of our daycare, our school, and our lives. They traveled from Hawaii to Nebraska to the Azores to St. Louis- all by plane and then rode by car to Norfolk NE and Omaha.
They were pretty old by then 18 and 14. 4 years ago, I had to put them to sleep. Pal was so nuerotic and bathrooming everywhere and not where he was suppose to, Misty went from 18 lbs to 8 and when we left the Azores, the vet said that would happen. Pal's behaviors started when I got divorced, the kids moved out because they were old enough and he was losing it. The decision to do that was intense and took months and lots of vet visits. I cried like a baby, those were my babies for years.
So, Mary is a welcome addition and hope that years go by before we have to make any health decisions. Thank you for all your thoughts and comments.
Well, we talked about it, we watched others with them, we just never really thought we would really be pet parents. Until, we went to the Dr. and he suggested getting a dog because they eleviate health conditions and they are constant companions. We talked with one of our daughter's, who had just become a pet parent as well. She thought it was a great idea too.
We were working in FL then, and took a month hiatus to recoup and renew our lives. We talked again about it at length. We decided to look at the SPCA here in Knoxville TN. There are a few shelters here. We looked and thought, okay maybe this "doodle" dog would be a good fit. We got down to Pigeon Forge and drove to the shelter. The doodle dog was hyper and my hubby said, nope that isn't going to work.
In a kennel in the corner was this teeny tiny, skeered, little girl, not saying a word. She just looked. We almost missed her until the workers said, we have this little one that needs a home. She has been here for 6 mo. and she needs good parents. They brought her out and she was shaking so bad, her hair was falling out, she was pitiful looking. I was holding her and my husband was looking on, I gave her to him and he looked at me and said "she isn't staying here any longer, she has a home now". We named her Mary Magdelaine! We then took her down town to Gatlinburg with us in my bookbag and she was so content! We got back to our trailer and our "neighbors" we hadn't met yet, came over and we talked. They gave us shampoo, a backpack for her and a syringe to fill with water to give her. (She doesn't know how to drink from a bowl, YET!)
Mary is Shih Tzu/Papillon mix. She stands just 12" tall, is currently 5 lbs (we need to get her to about 9 lbs healthy wt.) and she is about 5 years old. Her past home life wasn't great but she is house broken and she loves to take walks on the leash. We had a reg. leash to train her first, but within a wk, she went to an extention leash. She sleeps in a soft kennel at night with no problems. Eats well and is learning to socialize with others (humans and animals) .
She loves my husband and I.
I had had cats before and my dh had dogs years ago, but we just never thought we would have enough "room" in our lives for animals!
She has opened the doors to meeting others. She rides in our doggy backpak and doesn't bark or make a peep. She watched everything!
Just thought we would share our story with you.
Sweet story....you saved her....she is so lucky and blessed to have you as her parents!
My daughter, while in a campground in Bakersfield, had a dog come up to their motorhome and "adopted" them! They tried to give her to a neighbor, the office to bring her to the "pound", but this little dog kept coming back to them.
They have kids....she fell in love with the kids....now she is part of the family and the sweetest dog. She indeed was saved from who knows what. She had been left off near Orange Grove RV Park....and she picked out who she wanted to be with! :)
I had two cats like that as well. Pal and Misty. Misty was about 8 when she found us and skeered of the two yr old and the many cats she was living with. She hid in our lanai in Hawaii and would not go home. Her owners said keep her.
Pal was a litter of 4, whose mom came to live with us until after she had weened them. She was found in beach park in downtown Hawaii. I knew she was about 4 weeks preg. and knew if they caught her the babies would needlessly die. So, we scooped up mom (tripper) and gave her a home, she had the babies and something was seriously wrong with mom, so we took her to the SPCA after that. It was sad, we cried, but something was terribly wrong. We gave the babies away, except one. Pal.
Pal and Misty were our constant companions for years, they sat with the kids when they schooled at home, they studied and read with us, they were part of our daycare, our school, and our lives. They traveled from Hawaii to Nebraska to the Azores to St. Louis- all by plane and then rode by car to Norfolk NE and Omaha.
They were pretty old by then 18 and 14. 4 years ago, I had to put them to sleep. Pal was so nuerotic and bathrooming everywhere and not where he was suppose to, Misty went from 18 lbs to 8 and when we left the Azores, the vet said that would happen. Pal's behaviors started when I got divorced, the kids moved out because they were old enough and he was losing it. The decision to do that was intense and took months and lots of vet visits. I cried like a baby, those were my babies for years.
So, Mary is a welcome addition and hope that years go by before we have to make any health decisions. Thank you for all your thoughts and comments.