Monday, December 22, 2008

How it All Began, or Where I Came From


Since today is my birthday I decided to share my story with you. You are my friends and loyal subjects so you should know it all. Happy Birthday to me, and God bless you all!

The details are a little sketchy because I don’t remember all of it. And some of it I just don’t want to talk about, but I will.

I was born on December 22, 2005 in the state of Washington. Somewhere around Vancouver, I believe. I don’t have a proper certificate of birth, just a classified ad clipped from the newspaper that has already yellowed. I assume I had siblings, but canines are not big on family unity so it doesn’t matter much. I do know that I was offered for a goodly sum of money and that a nice young family paid that sum and took me home. I was pretty small but evidently a handful because they named me Taz. That’s short for Tazmanian Devil. (Now I ask you, is that a proper name for a Princess?) In any case, it was a great family. Four little kids and one other canine, and of course the adult humans. I was so hopeful that they would all love me and we would be a big happy family. I think the kids did love me in their own way, for awhile at least. But it wasn’t long before I began spending my days on the end of a chain in the yard.

Then one morning, when I was 18 months old, my lady human made a frantic phone call that would change my life, and many others, forever. She found a place called Border Collie Rescue and she asked them if they would take me off her hands. She was crying the whole time she talked. The lady, named Jill, said she would see what she could do, and that my lady would have to pay a surrender fee and give up all rights to me.

Now, about that same time, the Duke and Duchess were looking for a companion for Bear. They had lost a beloved canine a few months before and Bear was inconsolable. The Duchess saw an ad on Craig’s List that said foster homes were desperately needed at Border Collie Rescue. So she talked to the Duke and then answered the ad. She had to fill out tons of paperwork for the lady named Jill before her castle and kingdom were finally approved.

One day Jill called her and said she had a canine in need and could she come out over the weekend to introduce him to Bear? The Duchess said yes and then waited anxiously. The day before the scheduled visit the canine suddenly went lame and was put on kennel rest for the next week or more. That day was the same day that my lady human called hysterically wanting to be rid of me. So, without meeting me at all, Jill called the Duchess and told her I was in need of a foster home right away. They all agreed to have me meet with Bear the following day. My human lady and 2 of my kids brought me to see the Duke and Duchess, and of course Bear. It was a pretty tense meeting for me. I bared my teeth at Bear and tried to bite the Duke. When things finally calmed down a bit my lady gave the Duchess my water and food bowls and my pathetic excuse for a bed. Then she took my kids and walked out of my life. No one cried, they just said “Good bye Taz”.

I watched them go through the gate and then for weeks afterward I watched that gate in case they came back for me.For the next month I tried to fit in but couldn’t. The Duchess called Jill and said things were not working out very well and how long did she think it would take to find me a permanent home? Jill said she would double her efforts and stay in touch.

About a week later Jill called and said some people were interested in me and could they come to visit? The Duchess said yes and they set a time. Now the funniest thing happened. The Duke and Duchess were faced with losing me forever to strangers they knew nothing about. It didn’t take any time at all for them to realize they couldn’t and wouldn’t let me go. They LOVED me. And so did Bear. I had finally found my real forever home and I am living Happily Ever After. Really.

2 comments:

  1. Our momma has all that wet stuff comin' outta' her eyes. She does that sometimes when she is happy. You see, our momma has been doin' rescue fur a long and long time. Alla' us over here are rescues. Peoples just don't realize that even if someone has a dog that cost lots of green papers that doesn't mean that it has a home fur-ever, nope, it doesn't.

    Our Scout the 'triever is a rescue who was all skinny with hardly any hairs on his body. That was six years ago and now he is kinda chubby...just a little. All our kitties were dumped in ditches or the woods when they were just wee ones. Our Freyja is a purebred German Shepherd Dog who came right from the breeder who called our momma and said he didn't want her and she was only 14 weeks old!

    We are so, so happy that you have a home. We will be your friends.

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  2. Hi. I love your story. I was born in Ohio, far southern Ohio. I don't really remember much about the first 18 months of my life. I've sort of wiped it all out. Anyway, my human took me to a rural shelter and told them I was a stray. I don't know what that means but there was also something mentioned about not being able to see. I don't understand that, either. Anyway, next thing I know I'm put in this really smelly little concrete room and there's lots of other dogs barking and boy did it ever stink in there and I was so scared cause I was alone. I don't like being alone. so then there was this lady Vicky, she smelled like horses, and she looked at me and talked to me a little and then she went home and sent out a message to all her dog-rescue contacts trying to find someone who might want to take me in. The next day, after a really terrible night spent in that place, Vicky came back and pulled me. I don't know why they call it that, cause I didn't require much pulling. I couldn't WAIT to get out of there. so then Vicky gave me to Jill, and Jill took me to another Vicki's house, and that Vicki gave me a blanket and a chewy (I LOVE the chewies) and I stayed there for awhile. Vicky put me in a crate during the day and then when she came home from work she let me out and I sat in her front window and felt the sun on my face. I thought I was home free, but then three weeks later my humans came from New York and put me in a big scary car and my manservent kept putting his hand in the back seat and trying to pet my head but I was so scared. So then when we got back to New York, the man showed me my new back yard with a brand new fence and he sat with me every day for a week and talked to me and touched me all over until I would lay down and roll over and show him my pretty pink tummy and he would rub that and all those spots where I can't reach myself and this huge and amazing wall of love just flowed out of him and washed over me. I kept waiting for them to get rid of me too, but it's been almost four years now so, I guess we'll stay together. He washes my eyes out every day cause they get bacteria in them cause they have a defect. Not sure what that means but the eyewash makes them feel better. He brushes my teeth every night, too. It tastes like salmon, so I tolerate it. I had gingivitis for a long time, but now it's all gone and my teeth are pretty and white, or so they tell me. So anyway...that's my story, or part of it anyway. It's nice to be loved, I can tell you that.

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