Rescue Journal

becoming a saint 101

Carol  ·  Feb. 23, 2009

every dog is different. every dog has a unique make up of experiences and coping mechanisms and beliefs. yes i said beliefs...dogs have them too. some dogs believe something good is about to happen, some believe something bad just occured, some believe there is a cookie behind your back, others are sure it is a big and heavy stick.

today was my first day off since the 4 new dogs arrived on friday...today was day three here for them...today is the day that they begin to learn about being a full functioning member of this very odd place. today they became saints.

sooooo....i took them all out to the barn with everyone else and basically just tossed them into the mix.

i am going to leave tony out of this, he came down from 100 mile so i will assume he has some rural experience and probably wasn't as overwhelmed....but the LA dogs must have thought they were on a different planet.

shrek and fiona (yes it is official) and sir hump-a-lot (no this is not his real name yet, i am still pondering this for him) encountered chickens and ducks and pigs and llamas and horses and cows and goats. they met a whole herd of saintly dogs today and no one was on a leash.

they discovered a barn and a manure pile and more different smells then they had ever smelled before. they learned to step aside from oncoming wheelbarrows and to duck when a forkful of manure flew over head.

they did SOOOOOO well!!!!!!!! i love dogs. they just kind of watch and see what the others are doing and if they are having fun. they look to me to see if i am happy and easy so they know it is ok to relax.

i think they quite enjoyed themselves. my favorite moment was when they were all running around like fools along the pond. peluchie was chasing sir hump-a-lot and they ran right out onto the ice and both promptly fell in.

bet that was a shock.

the ice is so thin that their flailing around just shattered it before them so they could easily swim to shore. and here was when that magic happened...the moment when fiona figured the whole thing out about living happily at saints.....

she and shrek stood at the side of the pond watching peluche and sir hump-a-lot swim to shore and suddenly it clicked for her and she realized..."OH! i think we are supposed to all swim now!" and she launched herself straight in.

103 pound bulldogs don't swim. bulldogs with 20 inch infected incisions should not swim. california dogs used to warm balmy weather normally would avoid canadian polar bear ice cube swims...unless they are trying really hard to fit in.

welcome to saints fiona...stay out of the freaking pond.

Comments

laura

Welcome Woody!! Woody Woodpecker is funny...i also like Woody the cowboy from Toy Story...saddle m' up and lets ride! He just wants to be somebody's special dog. Also the next new dog that comes in and becomes his friend can be Buzz.

Carol

perfectly in keeping with the whole LA, hollywood, tinsel town, cartoon character thing...sir hump-a-lot is now woody woodpecker (this was my very favorite cartoon as a kid...that bird was always optimistically happy and perky AND he got into a lot of trouble being himself too!)..i did really want to call him donkey tho.

laura

What a great story...I so wish I could have been there to witness them being Sainted!! Welcome Shrek & Fiona. How about Willie or Woodie for a name?