Day before yesterday, we took Fly in for his
yearly shampoo and haircut. He happily bound into the van with
Mark, sure that something fun and exciting was in the works.
He bound out of the groomers feeling spiffy and bouncy, but the
second he got into the dog yard, all that changed. See, despite
dogs supposedly having such a great sense of smell and
recognizing each other primarily via that, our dog lot is
definitely fooled by a simple haircut!
Fly is still, 2 days later, being defined as 'fresh meat' around
here! He's spending most of his time hiding behind our deck,
feeling sorry for himself. Every time he steps out from behind
there, the dog yard goes nuts screaming and yelling at him.
I've tried taking him out for a few of the dogs to sniff, but
they refuse to believe it is really Fly. Fly is beginning to get
quite pissed off at them all trying to take shots at him. I'm
sure they will all figure it out and settle down in time - or
maybe they are all just laughing at him, in which case, it could
go on for awhile!
So, still sort of on the Fly subject, I've think I've mentioned
in the past that Fly was beginning to slow down with his
advancing age. Many years ago he got run over by a 4 wheeler, it
has bothered him on and off over the years - and now it seems he
has some arthritis settling in his one front leg. We've tried a
few different meds on him, but nothing is completely solving the
problem.
The winter was rather hard on him and while he is still the same
active, happy go lucky guy he has always been, he is more
reluctant to bounce out of bed in the middle of the night to
ward off the coyotes or other woodland critters.
Both Mark and I adore Fly and he has more then earned his
retirement here - but we need one more favor from him first -
and that is to 'Fly-ise' a replacement. So, I've been searching
for a new yard dog.
I've looked at numerous breeds and talked to many breeders, but
in the end, I decided we needed to put our 'money where our
mouths were' and support a rescue group!
So, after filling out an application (accompanied by a letter
explaining our special circumstances) and speaking with a few
folks from the local 'Second Chance Animal Rescue' (SCARS, for
short), Mark and I headed out last night to check out their dogs
looking for a new home.
http://www.scarscare.org/adoptions.asp
The place we visited was without a doubt the nicest set up for a
Rescue place I've ever seen. Big, clean, covered runs in a neat
and orderly yard - these are very lucky rescue dogs indeed and a
group I felt completely comfortable dealing with.
The dog we were most interested in, Pearl, a great Pyrenees
cross, trotted out to greet our van as we pulled in. Sylvia took
time to introduce us to all 20+ dogs on the property and a few
caught our eye, but in the end, it was indeed Pearl that came
home with us.
Someone loved Pearl at sometime, as she was spayed and is very
friendly, but when SCARS got a hold of her, she was so matted
and neglected that they had no choice but to shave her coat. She
has a few scars on her face, but is sweet and lovable despite it
all. They guess her age to be between 1 and 2. She is a big
girl, at least in our yard, weighing about 80 lbs or so. She
towers over Fly and everyone else around here.
Fly isn't sure what to think of his new trainee, but he has
figured out that, with her size, she is a good one to call
'friend'.
Oh, and we are changing her name - it will be either Cricket or
Bug - still debating that one!
You can see pictures of her - and some of coiffed Fly at
http://picasaweb.google.com/northwapiti/FlyAndCricket1
Karen
