Well, it has been a couple months since I lost Rodeo and I have really been missing our time together. Our dog Zeena is great but she doesn't have the same soul as Rodeo did.
I decided with "the belly" getting so big I can't really eat a proper lunch so why should I go to the lunch room? I decided my time and heart would be much better spent helping soulful, sad, scared dogs. So "the belly" and I have volunteered to spend a few lunches a week sitting with some of the Vick dogs. I hate to even use that mans name so I am going to call them the victory dogs. The first day I volunteered with the dogs CNN was filming. I stayed out of the way by spending time with two gals and a handsome man named Lucas. After spending time with the gals I ran into Lucas who they were taking back to his kennel after his big "interview" I said "hello" and he gave "the belly" and I a big hug. In fact, he put his big, scarred head on my shoulder and just relaxed into me. Can I just say "oh my gosh I just want to wrap him up and put him in my pocket!" The CNN guy took a photo for their blog and I just saw it on the site it is: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/07/vick.dogs.rehab/index.html
Yup, that is my shoulder, no autographs please :)
Anyhowb back to the gals, one of the caregivers thought that my email about me and "the belly" volunteering was so funny that he thought it only appropriate to have me hang out with Ellen "belly" as they call her. You can tell by her teats hanging down low and ragged that she was mother to God knows how many pups and her right cheek sabs due to nerve damage from fighting. I walked right up to her and said "Ellen my teats are going to look like that soon!" She thought I was so funny that she wagged her tail! I, of course, started to think of my teats (and stomach for that matter) turning out like hers and started to get a bit concerned. I reforcused my attention to Ellen. Focus, focus, focus. Anyhow, I figured she had multiples and that HAS to be harder on the body! Ellen got her "belly" name because when she meets you she rolls on her back and gives you her belly to rub. Of course, she didn't do it when I got in there, instead she wanted treats and wanted to play. Go figure. We did get her to pose ever so briefly for a Double Belly shot! I figured Addison will really appreciate this photo when she is older. Maybe.
The next gal I hung out with was a fighter and a mother. Her name is Georgia and her tongue hangs out because her jaw was once broken and healed at an awkward angle. She has a tail that zig zags, scars from puncture wounds on her face, legs and torso and was obviously forcibly bred. In fact, she has no teeth. All 42 had been pried out. I only hope this was done under vet supervision which is highly unlikely. The fact is if a dog gets one tooth removed and has pain meds it is pretty excruciating. Why would some idiot pull out the teeth you ask? So she can't harm the male when she is forced to breed.
Despite all of this Georgia is happy to see me wiggling and cuddling. She has a beautiful face with deep brown eyes. I sit on her dog bed and massage her ears. Within a few minutes she is snoring. I hope at this moment that she is happy and at peace. I hope that in time her emotional wounds will heal. We are concerned that the dogs will experience post traumatic stress disorder much like soldiers or abused children. She still barks incessantly at her doghouse and rolls her toys so obsessively that her nose is rubbed raw. It reminds me of children who are abused and will rock obsessively. I know I cannot change her past but I know that I can be an active participant in brightening up her future. Though "the belly" and I are sitting at a slightly awkward angle I don't move for fear that I will disturb her sleep.
Tomorrow I will spend time with an extremely timid dog named Cherry. She is a black and white pit mix (who actually reminds me more of a boston terrier) who cowers when you walk by. "The Belly" and I will spend time in a room with her. It may take 20 or more sessions to have her approach me but that is one thing "the belly" and I have is time!
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