MY TREASURE

 

 

"IMPROVE YOUR SPARE MOMENTS AND THEY WILL BECOME THE BRIGHTEST GEMS IN YOUR LIFE."

~RALPH WALDO EMERSON

 

 

 

The past week since July 3rd has been a blur.  One of my precious dogs ate, and thoroughly enjoyed doing so, a squeaker out of a stuffed dog toy.  He is a hound dog....a Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen...a funny, lively little breed from France, bred to hunt rabbits.  Remy hunts squeakers.  It is instinct.  It is hell.

 

This particular squeaker was the last remaining one in my house that was given to my therapy dog, Kelsie, from a wounded warrior.  It was made out of camo and he loved it when she came to visit and the toy was there with her.  I had it hidden.  Or so I thought. Remy, being a scent hound, knew exactly where it was hidden and waited for is golden opportunity, when no one was looking to put it out of its misery. And so he did.  Here is where the story begins.....a rush to the Emergency Pet hospital at 3:00 am to retrieve the squeaker.  It seems it had blocked his small intestine and surgery was the only option.  $3,203.00 later he is on the road to recovery. 

 

So deciding what to write this morning, the first I have had to sit down in forever it seems, was to write about remembering in the stressful times to take time to relax.  "A great time to relax is when you don't have time for it." ~ Sydney Harris

This is easier said than done when your crazy, lovable rescue pure bred PBGV is in crisis! I too was in crisis.  I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, and then a return emergency visit for complications to the ER.

Today I report he is on the road to recovery with his cone head and stapled belly!  But funny he doesn't seem to mind.  He is tolerating everything and doing so much better than am I.

I had amazing friends who dropped everything to help me with him.  They cared, they understood and they were there night or day when I needed them the most.  I was honest as I told them I can't do this alone. "When friends ask, there is no tomorrow...only now.." ~ Alexandra Drey And so it was with them.  One left work, another left everything to come and go with me to the second ER trip with Remy.  I was never alone and felt cared for and cherished and most of all understood for my love of this other goofy little creature that has been put in my care. 

Remy had been a rescue from Illinois.  He had basically spent the first 4 years of his life in a crate.  Well, this is an amazingly energetic breed that needs a job and attention.  Long story short, he has awakened something in me, something that only comes from rescuing a dog in need. For truth be known he awakened something in me as well.  Something that filled a place that oddly enough only he could fill.  He is now 100% totally and completely bonded to me.  He came into a household with one deaf rescue dog, one blind PBGV and my golden/lab therapy dog.  Needless to say the transition wasn't easy.  Dogs read body language of other dogs and when the physical disabilities prevented this...well it took a year!  But now all are 'playing nicely in the sandbox.' So long as there are no squeakers involved. He never takes his eyes off of me, for fear he will be abandoned again.  He is smart and can tell my moods and actions almost before I do.  He rises to the occasion.  Having chronic depression he will not allow me to dwell on it and stands and barks at me to bring me back to reality.  He is my little nemesis and my angel all at the same time.

Remy has improved my spare moments, and they have become some of  the brightest times of my life. His soft snoring and sighing, late at night when the world is asleep, provide me with a comfort like none other. His unrelenting eagerness to see me, whether I had just gone to the mailbox across the street, or was gone for several hours, is unequaled.  He came into my life to fill an empty space that has now been filled with chaos, noise, eagerness, tolerance, love, and a thirst that has been quenched for something that had been missing. No it has not been easy, but it proved to me that two creatures on this earth just might have been meant to cross paths.  He desperately needed love and a home, as it was his last chance. And I, well I needed life brought to me.  I needed to be reminded to rejoice in the little things and to enjoy and live a balanced life and to play a little every day. And ultimately and finally I figured out "that the main reason to be alive is to enjoy it."

Bless you little man!  You don't have to ever fear again...you are loved.