BarkingProse

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make the barks stop. But the pack has been so busy taking care of me nobody felt much like barking.

I told Ash he should get back to barking, but he said he wanted me to do the DailyBark. So here it is.

This past week has been wonderful. I can do things now that I haven’t done in years.

When I first got to Asherpark, I could hardly walk. I had to do my business standing up because my back hurt too much to stop and squat. There was no way I could sit down. If I tried to back up, I fell over.

First mom noticed that I could squat to pee. That was a good start. Next I kinda hunched up for poopers. It’s still a struggle and sometimes I lose my balance, but I’m getting back to my old ways.

A couple of days ago I sat down. I hardly realized what I had done until everyone made a fuss over me. Big deal, huh? Well, for me it is.

But here is the absolute best of the best. On Friday I played Aussie bump and run with Tess. It’s true. I invited her to play and then I ran with her about forty yards.

Okay, I couldn’t run very straight and I wobbled when I ran. But I was running! Me, the throw away dog. Me, Nellie, the sorry old mutt who was scheduled to die.

Now I’m just one of the Asherpark pack. I’m not really a special needs dog. I just need a place to hang out and get well. I need some dog pals and some people who care about me. I have all that at Asherpark.

You know what? When us mutts get put to bed and mom tells us silly dog stories, she whispers that she loves me. I do believe she does.

 

They took me in when nobody else wanted me. They were going to help me get back on my feet. Then I could be adopted or placed in a final refuge home through Old Dog Haven.

Everybody felt sorry for me because I’m such a used up little rag. But that’s just my furry self. My inner self is quite fine. In fact, my inner self is feeling like a very lucky dog.

I was so scared in the shelter. I may be old but I’m not stupid. I knew the shelter wasn’t going to spend any money to fix me up. I knew I was scheduled to die.

But then I had this crazy dream. An old blue Aussie dog like me joined my dream. She said her name was Codie and she could make things happen from her side of the rainbow bridge.

Codie told me not to worry. She said she had it all arranged. Old Dog Haven would spring me from the shelter and I’d end up at Asherpark.

I didn’t know what she was talking about. I never heard of Old Dog Haven or Asherpark. Before she left my dream she asked me to say hi to Asher for her. Then she was gone.

The next day a volunteer pulled me out of my kennel at the shelter. Because I was saturated with urine and smelled so bad I was put in a crate. The volunteer shook her head and wondered why anybody would want me. I held my thoughts but I knew why. Codie said so!

When I arrived at Asherpark the pack didn’t expect me to stay long. They thought I’d go to another family. But that’s not what happened.

After a couple of days the pack talked it over and decided that I should stay at Asherpark forever! They were kinda confused because it wasn’t what they planned. But they all felt strongly that I should stay.

I told Ash it was just like Codie said. He whipped around and looked at me real strange. “How do you know about Codie?” he asked. “She was in my dream at the shelter,” I said.

Ash stood real still and his blue eyes were huge with wonder. He looked sort of dreamy and started mumbling about Codie. As he walked away I barked after him, “Codie said there should always be two blue dogs at Asherpark.” And now there are.

 

 

Don’t count me out. I was pretty sick and miserable but already I am so much better. I even have my own pharmacy.

I take antibiotics for my bad teeth and pee trap infection. Then there’s a pill because I leak. Next I get supplements for my worn out joints, some yummy fish oil and some kind of pill that makes the pain get better.

The other dogs like my pill time because whenever I take a pill they get a small treat. What’s not to like about that?

I’ve only been at Asherpark since Monday but I’m bouncing back pretty fast. I limp when I walk, but that doesn’t stop me from hanging with the pack.

I’m good about my toilet and never soil in the house. Oh, I do still leak a little bit but not enough to cause a problem.

All the house dogs have been really nice to me. I don’t know all the rules and sometimes I do something that offends.

Last night I made the mistake of grabbing Asher’s night time binky. Oh boy, he told me “no” in a big loud voice. Then I tried to get in Jack’s bed. Jack didn’t like that either.

Mom says she’s going to call me Goldilocks. I try every bed in the house before I pick the one I want. All the beds are nice. They sure are better than the cold floor at the shelter. I have fun going from one bed to another until I get sleepy.

People say I have a sunny disposition. I say life is good. Maybe things didn’t go my way for a while. Maybe I was on the short list at the shelter to cross the rainbow bridge. But that’s all behind me. I’m looking forward and it looks like good times ahead.