Rescue Animals Make Loving Pets
July Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Cute Creatures”
Loves, eats, sleeps, does not play
Our first dog had many health problems. After she left us, it took several years before we were ready to adopt another rescue dog. When we finally decided to get a new dog, my wife said we needed to make sure it was healthy. One cute but shy little dog caught our eye. We picked her up and took her to a quiet area where she wouldn’t be scared by other dogs or people. We tried to walk her but she wouldn’t move, she just stood frozen where we had set her down. After 20 minutes of coaxing my wife said “I just can’t take another dog with health problems, we need to give her back.” She picked up the dog, and we walked back to the adoption event. We were about to turn her in when my wife started crying and said “I can’t do this, we need to take her home”. We named her Dena.
We had been told that Dena was rescued from the backyard of someone who had called the pound and told them to take her away. For the first week with us, she hid under the bed and didn’t make a sound. Whenever we raised our voice, she would cower and take a submissive pose that exposed her belly; whenever she did that, I would get down on the floor next to her and give her a tummy tickle ever so gently. She barked for the first time after about three weeks. Now, years later, she tells us whenever someone is at the door, or when she thinks it is time for a walk.
Our first dog loved plush toys, and used to carry them around the house like they were newborn puppies. We realized that Dena had never learned to play when we tried to get her to play with a plush toy we called Lamykins. You can see Lamykins just peeking out from behind the dog-bed. Whenever the house-cleaners put Lamykins into Dena’s bed, she would lay on the floor rather than move the toy. To this day we have to move Lamykins out of her bed before Dena will lay there.
Dena always wants a tummy tickle before bed and rewards me with a dogy kiss. She doesn’t know how to play, but she is our constant companion, reminding us on our daily walks to live with her in the moment.
