A damaged life worth saving… I arrived at the office early one crisp fall morning with Bravo, my magnificent nine year old Australian Shepherd, to find half of my staff scurrying around the business park. They were frantically trying to capture what seemed to be a very wild, large, white stray dog; lost, wounded, and bound for disaster, if she weren’t confined in a hurry. This creature exuded only fear and mistrust and couldn’t be lured with calm words or even the yummiest treats. Her eyes darted in every direction and we could see how afraid she was. Keeping her out of harm’s way was not going to be easy with cars zooming by from every side street. Fortunately Bravo got her attention and we were able to contain her. At first we tried diligently to find her owners. But, as we started to observe her more closely, it occurred to us that we could never send her back from where she came. Sadly, this dog had obviously been beaten and abused as she shook uncontrollably when anyone approached. She was bleeding from being in heat, was covered in ticks, and her long white coat was terribly matted. We knew with great certainty she was used for breeding and had countless litters of pups, all very recently. This pitiful dog was horribly underweight and initially refused any food or water for several days. She possessed no socialization skills and was petrified to set foot in my home, but seemed just too weak to resist anymore. We gave her a warm, snug place to sleep, with a view of the rest of the curious household (which included Bravo, his sister Jasmine, and a very roost-ruling cat named Kitty). Initially, our new companion refused our wonderful home cooked meals with lots of fresh meat - great protein is brain food and this dog needed an abundance of additional nerve-building minerals to help balance her. After two days, the strong aroma of our delicious fare proved too much for her to resist and she finally began to trust us enough to take food (provided no one was looking). Life with Sweetie was not easy in the beginning; each day she seemed to regain strength, but the emotional part took longer to resolve. While she was healing physically with so much great food (Spot’s Stew®) fortified with Vita Mineral Mix® and fresh herbs, it took longer for her brain to connect. Time, patience, nutritious food, and wisdom eventually created a healthy and magnificent creature. Sweetie finally found peace, a loving environment, and now has a great job of guarding the house every day. She has become so beautiful; she is now pursuing an exciting career in modeling!

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 11:07 am and is filed under Pet Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.