I Am Nellie Part 2

Nellie

Looking back over my life I wonder if I was really worth saving. Why me? Why at the last minute did some family agree to take me in?

It was Monday morning and the shelter staff were checking the list of who was going to die that day. I was on that list identified simply as the Little Aussie.

I knew a little about death. I had seen my first owner murdered by her jealous boyfriend. There had been a lot of shouting and screaming. I tried to bite the boyfriend but he kicked me hard and I ran off.

I heard my owner scream “No! No! No!” I heard a horrible loud gunshot and the screaming stopped. The boyfriend ran out the door and my was life changed forever.

After my owner died her uncle took me to his dirty little house where I stayed in the backyard with another dog named Henry. There was a covered porch and a couple ratty dog beds.

Me and Henry got fed when the uncle remembered to fill the bowl with cheap dog food. We drank filthy water from old pans left out on the grass. We never went anywhere or saw a vet.

One time an animal control officer came to talk to the uncle. I guess a neighbor had complained that we weren’t being treated right. The officer made some suggestions about how to make our lives better, but nothing changed.

Years went by. Henry died. I quit caring about anything other than my next meal. Then one day I saw a hole in the fence.

The fence was old and tired. One of the boards quit trying to stand tall and fell over. For the first time in years I could see life on the other side of the fence.

There were people walking dogs on leashes. Kids playing ball. Some guy strolled by eating a hot dog. Suddenly I was so hungry. I wanted that hot dog. I wanted to go for a walk. I wanted someone to pay attention to me. I wanted to be loved.

I squeezed through the opening in the fence and headed down the street to what I hoped would be a happier life. But it didn’t turn out that way, at least not at first.

I Am Nellie

Nellie

I was going through the BarkingProse archives and I found this draft written by Nellie. She was a rescue dog that came to Asherpark through Old Dog Haven. It needs a little work but it’s such an amazing story. I wanted to polish it up but Mom said we should let Nellie tell her story in her own way. So here ya’ go. The first chapter in Nellie’s own words. (Finn)

I Am Nellie

Hard luck, bad luck, lucky little devil, no luck at all and finally a turn of fortune. That pretty much describes my life.

I was sitting on death row at the so-called animal shelter in Tacoma. The people who work there are nice enough.

Most of them really care about what happens to the unlucky creatures that find our way into the shelter. But they get overwhelmed. The cruelty, the senseless mistreatment of the animals that come through their doors wears on them.

They have to make choices every day – who lives, who dies. I don’t hold it against them that they put me on the who’s gonna die list. I would have picked me too.

I was past my prime, probably eleven or twelve years old. You could smell me before you could see me. I had a huge tumorous ball on my side. It was saturated with urine and they thought probably malignant.

Nobody was going to adopt me and so I had to die to make room for a younger more adoptable dog.

I had a couple things going for me, but in the chaos of the shelter not everyone could see that I really did have some value.

For one thing I was an Australian Shepherd. Now you may not think that’s a big deal, but Aussie lovers have been known to do crazy things to save an Aussie.

I was on the smaller side, which made lifting me easier. And my eyes were different colors. Yep! One blue eye that looked straight ahead and one brown eye that drifted off to the side.

Still, none of these features would be enough to save me from euthanasia. At best the technician would probably say something like, “Too bad we couldn’t save this one. She sure has pretty eyes.”

But then I got lucky. I didn’t die at the shelter. I began a new life at Asherpark. It was a wild and wonderful ride and truly a tale to be told.

Beautiful Journey


Journey

When I saw this picture of Journey it melted my heart. OMG isn’t she so beautiful? Doesn’t she look like the perfect dog? Calm, poised, wise, all-knowing.

Sometimes appearances are deceiving as I discovered going through the BarkingProse archives where I learned a bunch of funny things about Journey.

When she was about twelve weeks old Mom took Journey to a puppy class. It was the first of many classes to come for Mom and Journey.


Baby Journey

At this first class Journey pitched a fit when the instructors asked everyone to settle down and listen. Journey started wailing, which of course made the other puppies act up.

The man instructor walked over to Mom and told her they had to figure out how to get Journey to relax and be quiet. He asked if he could work with Journey during the class and Mom sit on the sidelines and watch.

Mom was more than happy to relinquish her little devil pup, and that’s how Mom learned about calming puppies.

Turns out the instructor was a horse guy who whispered things. Horses and dogs felt his calm energy and would relax. Not Journey. As the instructor sat on the floor holding little Journey in his big hands, Journey squirmed and shrieked. I guess she made quite the spectacle.

The instructor told the class he could not release Journey until she gave up and stopped struggling. He explained that he used only the least amount of force on Journey as she pitched a world class tantrum. The instant she relaxed even a little, he relaxed his grip.

Well Journey is a fighter and she didn’t give up easily. She cried through the entire class with the patient instructor sitting on the floor gently holding her on his lap.

Mom was kind of embarassed by Journey’s behavior but also fascinated to watch what was happening.

Finally just before the class was over Journey let out one last tired shriek, yawned, licked the instructor’s face and relaxed in his arms.

There’s a lot more to this story but I gotta stop here for now. Watch for my next Bark to learn about the homework assignment Mom and Journey got that changed their lives.