Beautifully Unique : If You Rescue One Dog....

Monday, November 28, 2011

If You Rescue One Dog....

I found this quote on somebody's blog. I have no clue who said these words, but they instantaneously spoke to my heart:

"If you rescue one dog, you won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that dog."

Mmmm, so true, so true!! Before we adopted Rose from a local shelter on September 21st, 2010, she had been caught wandering some busy street. Sort of like that scruffy-looking mongrel, Tramp from Walt Disney's "Lady and the Tramp". Then, respectable dog-catchers somehow grabbed her. Drove Rose to our shelter. She wore no collar. Was never microchipped. Had no name.... Rose seemingly knew zero basic commands. Either nobody taught them to her, or they were not very consistent!! So Rose learned everything from me!! She had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Temporarily. Only until she settled into our family, that is!! Rose must have been an outside-only pet. Because our backyard was where my Beagle/German Shepherd cross always wanted to be!! Strange.... The sliding glass door would open, and Rose ran swiftly in that direction, as if she was going to miss out on some great adventure!! My independent girl.... I worked hard on encouraging her in this area. I have a comfortable bed.... She is welcome to lie on it.... I will provide her with nonstop petting and affection!! She suffered from Separation Anxiety. A mild case, anyway!! She would leave behind poop "accidents" every time we left home, and "abandoned" her. Then I discovered that pumpkin is a natural canine laxative!! I began feeding it to her. Problem solved!! Rose refused to interactively play with us. She would just snatch her toys and roll on them. How sad was that? This left me to wonder if Rose's previous owners were the go-go-go type and paid her no attention. Now she interacts with friends' children, as well as us!! Rose will frequently find me--toy in mouth--and "ask" to play!! It is adorable!! There.... A deeply personal, proven example of the truth in this quote!! And Rose is, indeed, my greatest life accomplishment!! Seriously!! But I think that the reverse is also true: Rescuing one dog changes your world!!

5 comments:

Stacey said...: SUCH a great post and I can't think of any truer words than you've written about here!

I found that qoute a while back and I just thought how amazing it was. I'm so glad Rose came to you and found her forever home!; November 30, 2011 at 10:21 AM
Mary Lou said...: Stacey....
Thanks for the comment!!
In YOUR case, however, you rescued TWO dogs.... AT ONCE!! ;-}; November 30, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Stacey said...: aw, thanks :-) they're a handful though

Your Rose is gorgeous!; November 30, 2011 at 12:41 PM
Ruby said...: God truly did put the two of you together! So neat to see!; December 4, 2011 at 10:13 PM
Mary Lou said...: Ruby....
Agreed.
Thanks for the comment!!; December 5, 2011 at 6:46 AM

"It's A... Terrible Privilege"

{Taken from "The Avengers"}
Tony Stark: You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart.
[Stark points at the mini-arc reactor in his chest]
Tony Stark: This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a... terrible privilege.
Bruce Banner: But you can control it.
Tony Stark: Because I learned how.
Bruce Banner: It's different.
[Banner tries to read the computer screen, but Stark slides the data aside with his finger so the two can see face-to-face]
Tony Stark: Hey, I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you.
Bruce Banner: So you're saying that the Hulk... the other guy... saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for... what?
Tony Stark: I guess we'll find out.
[Banner and Stark get back to work at their respective computers]
Bruce Banner: You might not enjoy that.
Tony Stark: You just might.

Raelyn:

I am a 31-year old American woman. I was born with multiple birth defects. Craniosynostosis. {I did not have any soft spots.} Congenital diaphragmatic hernia. {I had a hole in my diaphragm.} And Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. {I had an irregular, rapid heartbeat.} All three birth defects have been surgically repaired!! I live with "developmental delays". Learning disabilities, if you will. Such as--unfortunately--premature short-term memory loss. Oh, and I have attention deficit disorder, as well!! I do not like to evade such an issue as my learning disabilities. No. It hurts sometimes to be different. I was also diagnosed with a condition called folliculitis decalvans. {I am more than likely going to lose my hair, go bald, and unveil twain Frankenstein-like surgically-created craniosynostosis scars. Permanently.} But God is gradually teaching me that we are all, as my phrase goes, Beautifully Unique!!