Sweet little Tuesday...

Every once in a great while, a dog comes through the rescue that just tears my heart strings to pieces... After so many years of doing rescue, your heart tends to get distanced 'cause you know you can't keep them all and you don't want to fall in love with any of them... Your job is to get them healthy, do the things they need done to become adoptable and then do your best to find them a great furever home... That's your job and you celebrate when you have accomplished the saving of a dog's life and another job well done... 

TLC did not participate in the mad rush to Bakersfield as they were told to vacate their location and find somewhere else to have the shelter... SVMP did the treks to save dogs' lives but did bring us back three pregnant doggies... The first one ("Sundae") delivered on Sunday, September 1st... The second one ("Wednesday") delivered on Wednesday, September 4th...  And the third one is Tuesday and she's still preggers...

When she arrived in my care, for the first three days I could not get her to eat for me no matter what of my bag of tricks I tried...

On day two, I was syringe feeding her, for her belly and sides hung away from her spine... Ribs sticking out, I told myself if I did not see improvement in a week, I was taking her in for a spay abortion as much as I am against that practice - I just didn't think she would make it if she went into labor...

Finally the meds started kicking in and the bouts of heavy, heavy coughing started lessening... In about 5 days, I no longer had to wipe out her nostrils from green guck so she could breathe... But she still laid there, limp and listless... If I put her on her feet, she could not stand up under her own power... The back hind legs could just not support her or she did not have the strength to stand...

I began the practice of taking her out every morning to the chair in the back as I drank my morning coffee and listened to nature and God... I found that if I put my legs up and crossed them, she could sit comfortably with her belly resting between my legs and her head on my chest... Just petting her though was certain to leave you full of gobs and gobs of hair - she was not just blowing her coat - it was shedding emass... I was SO worried about this little girl, and kept pushing aside thoughts that I'd come home from the rescue shop and find her passed away...

Two plus weeks have passed now and I am more hopeful she will deliver and the pups will survive as well as her... Originally?... Most days I had no hope at all...

Tuesday has become very addicted to that lap straddling position now though!  It is her favorite position to lay in, either upright or on her back... If she lays on her back, she loves the belly rub she gets... And I guess the weight is off of her for a bit, so she probably likes it even more...  Her back is supported with my thighs and the belly's weight is distributed across my lap...

I wish I could capture the unconditional love and devotion she looks up into my face with... She nestles into my chest and gently touches my cheek with her paw... Almost as if to say, "Thank you for trying to hard to save my life... I'm not giving up if you're not"...

Her coat has now stopped coming out in gobs - in fact, it is silky to the touch... Yes, she is another one of those 'tan, nondescript Chihuahua mixes' that flood our shelters and rescues through no fault of their own but irresponsible owners... The sweetness of her caresses and cuddles is virtually priceless though and I have wondered oh so many times how someone could get a dog like this and then abandon it because they didn't do the right thing ahead of time and have her spayed...

This is one of those few dogs that I wished spoke the human language so I could find out what happened to her and how she ended up in the shelter and now TLC's lap (or rather mine!)... What a sweet and gentle spirit Tuesday has... I hope deeply that she finds a great furever home once the litter is birthed, weaned and then she comes up for adoption after being spayed... Whoever does adopt this wee little girl will be gifted beyond belief and maybe for the first time in their life?... Know the true meaning of unconditional love and loyalty to infinity and beyond...

Linda