EDIT: Lesbia update here 🙂
Five.
Dogs.
Three of them are under six months old.
The chaos is everywhere, and it is beautiful.
Three of these dogs are ours. Two of them are not. A couple of weeks ago these puppies were dumped on the side of the road. They came to me with massive worm swollen bellies, little stick limbs and ear-piercing shrieks which would erupt from their throats every time they were left for even a minute because they were scared and they thought they were alone.
They’re not alone anymore. They have three older dogs to play with, they have a warm, clean bed to sleep in and these days the only times their tummies are swollen is when they’ve eaten too much.
I’ve fallen in love with these two little fosters. They live for affection. If you sit down with them for even a minute they will climb into your lap and fall asleep from sheer contentment. (As pictured above.) And they’re smart. Raptors from Jurassic Park smart. They don’t look like much and nobody is rushing to adopt them, which is a bad thing because not only do they not have ‘forever homes’ as yet, but every day they’re here they become more a part of the family. It’s going to be hard to see them go.
Puppies, like most juvenile animals, are pure expressions of joy. They’re so helpless and so trusting and so curious and such little embodiments of everything that is good in the world – which I think is what makes the notion of dumping them so viscerally abhorrent. Mistreating an animal isn’t just a case of cruelty, its an act which rejects everything that makes us good.
These are two of the reasons I’ve been busy of late, but I think it’s worth it. I thank you for your patience 🙂 And I promise there will be more updates in the not too distant future.
This is a very sweet post and the pic is really cute.
This especially is really touching:
Puppies, like most juvenile animals, are pure expressions of joy. They’re so helpless and so trusting and so curious and such little embodiments of everything that is good in the world – which I think is what makes the notion of dumping them so viscerally abhorrent
You are, as almost- ;)- always, completely right. Quite a generous thing to foster those little creatures. You rock Ms Renard!
Thanks DD 🙂 To me it doesn’t feel generous. To me it feels like: there are puppies in my house 😀 I would prefer that they had not been dumped of course, but who doesn’t love puppies? They’re puppies. Literally puppies. That’s basically code for ‘best things in the world ever’.
True. Still stoked though. 😉
Awww, puppies! Looking at that pic I can just feel the hot heavy furry weight of them. Almost smell that delightful puppy breath. Dogs are the best, and puppies are even better. *g* I don’t have a dog right now because I spend 10 hours of my day away from home at work, but I do miss that. If I lived near you I would be tempted, though. I LUUUUUUUUUV puppies. 😀
(I have a little one who comes to visit, and it’s put me in touch again with how innocent young things are. How open and vulnerable and trusting. It’s gut-wrenching and humbling, sometimes. And an utter gift. I’m happy you and the puppies are benefiting from each other. 🙂 )
Yes, part of being a writer is being able to be at home a fair bit and not have the dogs kenneled or howling at a fence for hours a day. I think it is very responsible not to get a dog if one is not home a lot, dogs need company , exercise and human interaction or they get annoying and destructive.
It is awesome having them though, especially watching how the ‘pack’ behaves and forms. It’s actually a lot easier dealing with puppies when you have older dogs who are already pretty well trained and model proper behaviors.
Plus, snuggles 🙂
PUPPY LOVE
I bounced a stray pup on my knee
I looked at her, she looked at me
A moment when I recognized
A soul looked back within her eyes
She touched my face with cold wet nose
T’was then I knew it’s me she chose
That single moment begged the question
Who could refuse such pure affection,
How hard the heart, oh stars above,
How cold to have abandoned love?
*claps* awesome poem, sparrow and very true too