Animal Updates

The end of a long road home.

Carol  ·  Sep. 14, 2009

Sometimes an animal comes along in rescue that moves you deeply to the core. Each time you touch their face or gaze into their hopeful eyes, you can feel this soft, warmth of sadness and gratitude fill your heart.

Rosie does this to me, she somehow just fills me with the gentle and hopeful longing inside of her.

I first saw her at the pound. The staff asked me to look at her and tell them what i thought. They were pretty sure they were going to euthanize her but they said they weren't quite sure.
I knew they were hoping that I would take her into our rescue. I knew I was lost before I even saw her, I can't see them and leave them behind.

She had no name, she was an unclaimed stray. She was dirty, her coat was matted and her back end was so weak, she kept sinking down. She came to me, I could feel her fear. She was not afraid of where she was, she was afraid that she wanted me to touch her. This dog was longing for human touch and kindness and she was so afraid that it would cause her pain.

Rosie came to SAINTS with me. She met our mandate, she was old beyond old. Her vision was clouding, she leaked urine while she stood. She needed medical care, and she needed to be surrounded by gentle kindness for however long she had left.

Happy endings do not always end with the perfect home. Rosie will probably never find a wonderful home of her own. She is old and incontinent, she cringes while seeking a humans touch. She requires three different pain medications to manage her physical discomfort. With her old and battered body, she does not have enough time left to patiently wait for that home to come.

So we become her home. I moved Rosie into the kitchen with the quietest and frailest dogs. It is also closest to the fridge where the cheese lives and the washer and dryer, where I spend a lot of time. Each time I pass her, I stop and bend down to the floor. I am careful not to touch her belly or chest which causes her the greatest fear of all. I lay my face against her head, I whisper that she is a very good dog. I feed her cheese slices and warm apple toaster pastries with cream cheese icing on top.

And Rosie's cloudy eyes are becoming warm, and happy. The anxious hope she was feeling is fading away as she trusts this new reality. She is touched with such exquisite gentleness, like she is a precious gift. She is fed the very best of all wonderful treats. She is forever wrapped softly in the warmth of our hearts.

Rosie will probably soon end her life as a homeless, sanctuary dog. But she won't know this. What she will know is that she must be a truly wonderful dog to be loved so well. If that is all she ever gets for her happy ending, I hope she will feel that this is enough and that finally, she has made the long and difficult journey safely home.

.......................

what do you guys think?..i would like rosie to be our petfinder story but if it is not good enough, please be honest and i will keep trying with all of the other stories til we think we have the right one.

Comments

Deb

I disagree that Rosebud has not found her perfect home. She is safe, surrounded by love, and is receiving the best care available. I truly believe in quality over quantity of life for all living souls, and Rosie's quality of life is the best that can be provided.

Rosie has found her family, her home, her soft place to land. May she be another SAINTS miracle who refuses to leave the first place she has found love.

And I think she would be a great choice for the new Shelter Challenge.

Hillevi

Carol, I wish that you would take from your post "MJ jinxed me" some of things you wrote and add them to Rosie's story. Addressing questions to the prior owners/Rosie's condition I think wrenches the reader's heart. That combined with this awesome story should have everyone sobbing and cheering at the same time.

nicole

so yesterday i checked the stats for the first day of the shelter challenge and was a little crushed when it said we were 731 in North america and 12th in canada, but i guess that was a glitch because i just checked it and we are 12th in North america and 1st in Canada.
go team saints, now we all have to keep it up until december, so get used to me posting about it all the time.

Roff

You write such wonderful prose that it's hard to choose the best amongst many. This piece, I think, is really good.
Smiles and heart throbs for Rosie, too.

Pam

What do I think? Is it good enough? Carol it's beautiful. Sitting at my desk at work I have tears streaming. Bless you Carol. Bless SAINTS and bless Rosie.

Shelley

Really well done - beautifully written and expresses what SAINTS is perfectly. Good dog, Rosie...

Francesca Wilson

Hi Carole, Marie and I will be at SAINTS tomorrow.
Thank you
francesca

Rae

Oh Rosie sweetie you deserve all the love and cheese slices you can handle. Please feel safe. Wonderful words Carol

Jane

"And Rosie’s cloudy eyes are becoming warm, and happy. The anxious hope she was feeling is fading away as she trusts this new reality. She is touched with such exquisite gentleness, like she is a precious gift. She is fed the very best of all wonderful treats. She is forever wrapped softly in the warmth of our hearts."

This is so beautiful, and says so much about SAINTS. It brought me to tears. Carol, Rosie is your story.

lynne

i totally agree. rosie has touched all our hearts. just seeing her with fear but with hopefulness too just breaks your heart but she will and i guess already has started believing that she is special and very loved. good choice carol.

nicole

i love it, but it's too long, they say 300 words max.
i've butchered it and emailed it back to you at 322 words as they have one up on the website with 312 words. so i figured we could try stretching the limit too.
i'll be posting a bunch of photos tomorrow., but i'll put rosie in this post shortly.

Larraine

I read Rosies story out loud to my girlfriend and we are both in tears. I don't think you have to look any further for your Petfinder story. I am so glad Rosie found her safe haven with you Carol. I look forward to seeing pictures of Rosie.