Happy Gotcha Day to my Maisie! 2 years ago today, on May 19, 2018, we picked up a 1YO (+/-) dog from a cat rescue. The rescue had found her about 6 weeks earlier on a short chain that was embedding in her neck, in the rainy sleet of winter in Michigan, soaked to the skin, trying to get to her 6 two-week-old puppies who were wandering off and also soaked and freezing. She hadn’t been fed for days and was severely underweight yet her body was still trying to feed puppies and maintain warmth for them. And so she was confiscated.
The rescue discovered that she knew nothing, she was like a feral animal chained to a post her whole life, with no training, manners, or proper socialization. So they lavished love and care on her as they let her finish raising her puppies.
All the babies easily found homes, but nobody wanted a skinny Momma dog who was wild but incredibly loving and needy. Until I saw her picture online. I’d been looking for a dog to train as my helper, as my disability worsened and I knew that my husband, though always willing and patient, had his own health issues, and wasn’t married to me just to see to my needs, most of which a dog could also do. I’d looked at literally hundreds of possibilities but knew the instant I saw her that she was The One.
The first 2 weeks I had her we just bonded. She chewed up the furniture in our motorhome, walked on the dashboard and counters, and was as wild as they come, but she craved my love and praise. Once I sensed the bond was strong we began training, and of the 14 dogs I’ve owned in my life I’ve never had one learn things so quickly, so eager to please was she.
It’s now 2 years later, she’s doubled her weight from 37# to 78#, and is 20-25% longer, taller, and filled out. The puppy face is gone and she looks like a mature girl now but the sweetness is still in her eyes. She would do anything for me, and does. She helps me get through my days from morning to night, doing tasks that sometimes I don’t even realize I needed, and often that she was never even taught to do. I cannot imagine my life without Maisie.
Happy Gotcha Day, girl!
I literally fell in love with Maisie! I wish I could have the same intuition with people as I do with dogs. I knew even when our girl was jumping around the RV, eating furniture and celebrating her gratitude for food and freedom from chains that she was a winner. The love in her eyes tell it all. Her will to accommodate mom and greet with a smile is simply amazing. I love you Maisie and I’m going to meet you one day God willing. I can’t promise I will be able to social distance myself from a good old lick🤣🤣but I’ll try. 🐾🐾🐾marnie
I am honored to call you sister. You were 100% right about Maisie, right from the beginning, even when I was thinking, “But she isn’t HERE, watching this wild dog destroy EVERYTHING!” HAHAHAHA!! But you knew…
Reading this makes me want to hop on a plane tomorrow and head south! There are several problems with that, of course – one being that I don’t fly – but if I did, the temptation would sure be great! (And I never social distance from dogs LOL)
Thank you for this delightful loving comment❣😍