What A Wonderful Weekend

It's been like a Swedish summer today, we loved being outside today after what has felt like a long period of rain and dreary weather.

We brought home our two kids from the kennel over the weekend, and it was wonderful. Twelve dogs in the house and everyone got along so great. Ariel and Nebbia are two of the dogs we rescued from the "terrible shelter" back in February. (more on earlier blog)

Nebbia was labeled as "aggressive" and sat alone in a small cage. When I met her the first time I knew it wasn't true. And it isn't. She's been tested several different times, in different ways, she lives together with Ariel. She's been with us at Carney Park playing with many different dogs. And, now this weekend, together with the whole pack. She is brilliant.

That's the danger when you label someone, the label sticks and it takes some great heart to see past the label and give them a chance (same goes with humans). If Nebbia wouldn't have told me that she was a kind-hearted dog, God knows what would have happened to her.
Nebbia the "aggressive dog" is resting on our patio and Roberto, who also comes from the same place (remember him with the ligament injury, also earlier blog). Roberto is doing great, happy, yappy and charming and his leg is completely healed.

Ariel has been in four shelters, her whole life; Nebbia in only one but they think for three to four years. Neither of them had ever been inside a house and it was so sweet to see them standing in the doorway, kind of thinking "what do we do now?"

We had to lift them in and they walked around just smelling and looking and then they laid down on their blankets and cuddled up with us. I am so proud over our pack, they are great Amore dogs.

Roberto on His own Mission

Yesterday...was it yesterday?...gosh my days are going in warp-speed here. I don't want it to speed up, I want to enjoy everything I do slowly, go through it in my mind and feel it again.

But anyway, our "rehab dog with the bad leg Roberto" ran away early in the morning. The Vet told us that what we thought was a broken leg, was "just" torn ligaments. He needed to take it easy for a long time, and it should heal. They wouldn't operate because he was a smaller dog. (?).

We couldn't take him back to the madhouse "terrible shelter", what chance to rest would he have there. So we took him out of the vet clinic, to bring him home for awhile.

We drove him to Alberto and Vivian's pet store and had him washed. Afterwards we introduced him to our pack. It went fantastic, everybody was nice and polite no growling, nothing. So, yesterday morning all the dogs went out on a pee pee round, suddenly my phone rings.

Roberto is on his way out between the bars in the gate!

How the heck?? Now mind you, Roberto is smaller than most of our pack, but still twice the size of Dexter. Yet Dexter has never tried to go out through the gaps in the bars on the gates like this. Especially with a bad leg, his getting away was about the furthest thing on our minds.

Holly Molly we got a break out dog! At the same time our landlord is driving out through the main gate. Roberto was flat gone.

I ran around screaming "ROBERTO, ROBERTO"

The windows opened everywhere and voices shouted; "Cosa e successo?" (What is happening?)

I yelled back; "un cane, un cane" (en hund, en hund!)

I heard how all the windows closed. It was a dog, ROBERTO IS A DOG!?? Crazy woman yelling for a dog!!

With a big smile on my lips that quickly changed into a worried smile me and my husband (who called into work saying he wouldn't come in until Roberto was found) went looking for Roberto. My husband drove around for hours. Then later, we both took other dogs for long walks, hoping the dogs would attract each other. We made fliers. We talked to people. Later, very late at night in pouring rain, my husband drove again all around. Increasingly, we were looking for a dog hit on the road more than our little Roberto generally healthy. Nothing. He was totally gone.

Late in the evening, our veterinarian calls and tells me that the blood test came back and Roberto was positive for the leischamenaias. My heart stood still.

No, this couldn't be true, and now he was gone, my imagination took me to higher scary places. We had to find him quickly, because death by leischamanaias was not pleasant. We had to find him to take care of him appropriately.

This morning I told my husband to go out early since I knew the strays starts their day early after a cold night. Many will roam around before the humans wake up to find their food for the day.

He retraced much of the driving routes he took the day before. Up and down the main street. Around the lake. Through several nearby towns. Up the highway, past the construction. He was gone about 1 1/2 hours.

He was on his way home, empty handed and broken hearted, when he saw our little guy nearly in front of our parco, crossing the 4-lane road. He quickly pulled over, and took Roberto in his arms, and walked him back to our home.

Looking out through the window, I saw my husband struggling to open the gate with his keys, with an armful of brown wiggling dog. My heart jumped with joy, it was a wonderful feeling. Now we have to escape-proof the whole yard....Roberto's instinct to survive was bigger than staying and take a chance that our home could be a bad place. But maybe the recent memory of a full belly of food was bringing him back when Todd saw him?

The horrible shelter where Roberto is from is closing down February 13th. You can adopt a dog, foster a dog or distance adopt one if you can't keep them yourself --- you can pay to keep one in a good environment and healthy. There are so many ways to help --- it just takes a little amore.