The Story of Millie and How She Grew (or is Growing)

This was Millie only five sort months ago. Do you see that cute little handful of a dog? She started out as one of five pure-bred Great Pyrenees puppies unceremoniously DUMPED on the side of the road in Abilene, Texas. Millie, one sister and three brothers were picked up by a concerned passer by and taken to the Abilene shelter.

This is that little ball of nothing today.

It is totally hard for me to believe how big of a change there has been in her. She went from being a little runty (but quite feisty) pup to a 60-pound bundle of energy, joy and love. It seems like overnight.

Great Pyrenees are known for their herding and guarding abilities. Quite often, they are placed as puppies with a flock of goats or sheep (and usually an adult Pyr) to learn the guarding and herding secrets that are passed from Pyr generation to Pyr generation. At least that's how I *think* it works. Maybe I am getting Great Pyrenees mixed up with American Indians. Maybe I am confused. Maybe I need a nap.

However, Millie (or Mildred Jean when she misbehaves) is nothing at all like the herding guardian she is supposed to be.

Nope. Not at all.

Carl, my dear husband, has totally spoiled this little monkey. She is totally and deeply in love with her Papi and has him wrapped around her tiny little dew claws. Anything Millie wants, Millie gets. (Hey - I feel a song coming on here.) Whether it's a puppy treat, an hour-long tummy rub, snuggle time with a nap for good measure or the opportunity to clean his plate after dinner, he denies her nothing. NOTHING! What a sucker!

Millie fell in love with Carl on the ride home from Abilene. Our rescue group took in four of the five pups (don't worry - the other girl was adopted by a shelter worker and is living the high life too). From the time Carl (and Lorrie) picked her and her brothers up, she has rarely left his side.

Anybutt, I was looking at some photos of her, and am just truly amazed at how she has grown and how deeply she is entrenched in our lives. The problem with us (the League's) and rescue dogs is that once we have them all well and healthy, we find it too hard to give them up to new homes.

So, obviously, Millie is a foster failure. She joins Jude, Henry and Genie - all failures too.

Seriously, is there ANYTHING we don't suck at? GADS!

EDITED: Here is a photo of Millie in Carl's arms right after he picked her up from the shelter. Can you SEE why she is Papi's girl???


Note: Millie was only 8 weeks old in the first photo. She is now almost 7 months old. What a cutie!

Blooming Like a Flower

One of my very first posts on this blog was about Nick, a dog Carl and I had the opportunity to rescue from Longview, TX on Christmas Eve. You can read about his story here.

Well, the good news is that Nick was adopted a couple of months ago. I totally neglected to update this blog with a photo and story, but hey - better late than never, right?

Take a look at the initial post, when Nick was nothing but a bag of bones, covered in mange and stinking to high heaven, practically toothless, scabby, hairless. He was in such sad shape, I cried (and I don't cry a lot).

This is a photo of Nick today. Wowza, ya think???

It is totally amazing what good food, a little vet care, and lots and lots of love can do for an injured, mistreated and abused animal. This is the reason we work in rescue. Nick has a good home now, with a couple of squiddos to play with. He is totally loved, totally adored, and will never again be that scab-covered mongrel he once was.

We are so fortunate to have played even a small part in his rescue, recovery and re-homing. Nick is a true sweetheart - one Carl and I will never forget.

Merry Christmas to St. Nick

Husband (I'm sure he hates being called "husband") and I do work for a rescue group called SPIN - Saving Pyrs in Need. This group rescues and rehabs Great Pyrenees and adopts them out to good homes across the United States.

The day before Christmas Eve, we got a call about a pyr in east Texas, almost to Shreveport. This "girl" had been abandoned and was in pretty sorry shape. You name it, "she" had it - mange, stinky, emaciated, running eyes, worms, who knows if "she" had heart worms. We were sent a photo of this awful looking dog in a cage and of course, we were moved. Carl (aka "husband") said we would go to east Texas to get her if someone could foster. Looks like Angel would have a good Christmas after all.

Well, Christmas eve, we get in the car and head east. I've brought along a couple of small packages of cookies, a leash and blankets for our newest rescue. We get to the shelter, the worker lets us in, and brings to use the most God-awful looking and smelling BOY pyr either one of us has ever seen.

I swear, when I saw him. I wanted to cry so badly. About a year old, this boy was practically bald, his skin all crusty and scabby, he smelled to high heaven. And yet, he was the most polite and GRATEFUL boy ever. I opened a package of cookies and gave them to him on the spot. It was like he hadn't eaten in a while - his ribs and hipbones were sticking straight out of him.

Carl took him out of the shelter to walk him while I did the paperwork. Come to find out this pyr was basically abandoned, yet still technically "owned" - we were kidnapping this boy so he could not be returned to his "owners." God bless this shelter for allowing us to do this.

We got this little body of bones into the truck and headed back to Dallas. We stopped a couple of times to let him potty. Clumps of hair were literally falling off his body. I took Carl's knife and cut off this HUGE clump that was hanging by a couple of strands of hair. He looked at me gratefully, like I was cutting off a huge piece of his past.

We fed him cookies, jerky and slim jims on the ride home, all the way driving with the windows wide open. He would hang his face out of the window, always facing forward - he never once looked back. I don't believe he ever sat on the drive home. Between looking out the windows, he would lay his head on husband's shoulder, and then on mine, or he would come and ask for a scratch under the chin - the only place that seemed safe to touch him. The rest of him was so cracked and crusty and bleeding. His eyes were framed by ancient looking scabbed-over skin in deep folds - there was literally no fat, no waste on this dog anywhere. But his eyes - oh his eyes were SO happy looking - like he knew something better was about to happen.

We got him to Cindy's house, where he will be staying. When Love saw him, she started to cry. There has never been a pyr this bad taken in to the group before. Oh they have seen some bad ones, but this one was so pitiful.

Love gave him his shots, a bunch of pills, a bowl of food and water. I looked around and took some animal cookies from a jar and gave them to him. He took them gently, one by one, eating them and looking for more.

He began to feel safer and made himself at home on Cindy's couch. Love said she was going to try to give this boy a bath - he smelled SO bad. There was infection all over him.

There were a bunch of emails flying back and forth amongst the group about what to call this "girl." Of course, now that we found out he is a BOY, my suggestion was Beautiful Joe - after the dog in the book of the same name (if you have a chance, read it - it will break your heart and then restore it). But I guess I was overruled.

So little Nick woke up today in a warm house, with food in his belly and antibiotics flowing through his system. He might be the ugliest pyr right now, but give him time. He's going to be one Beautiful Joe.

Merry Christmas, Nick. Thank you for letting us be a little part of your story.