Every once in a while, as I look thru the myriad of furry faces waiting for someone to love them, I see one image that moves my heart and settles in my mind.
Such was the case with a little one year old, black lab mix named Tippy.
Tippy’s little face was included in an album of Adoptable animals posted by the Waverly Animal Shelter.
Tippy’s story was semi-tragic. He had been found by an officer at the Wild Life Refuge in New Johnsonville, TN with a gunshot wound in his backside. The bullet had severed a nerve, leaving him unable to use his paw on his hind right leg. To further explain it, the nerve that allowed Tippy to walk on his paw and keep it flat had been severed. So when Tippy walked, he walked on his knuckles. When he became tired, he would drag the paw behind him. The paw on his right hind leg was raw from being drug across the ground. He would need time to heal, time to grow, and time to learn to accommodate his lifeless foot.
This wonderful human being brought Tippy to the shelter, and sponsored him so that he could be treated.
I looked at Tippy’s picture everyday for about a week. He would need some tender loving care to heal his little foot, and someone with time and patience to help him learn to walk without destroying the paw.
Once again, I heard the voice of the foster angels whispering in my ear. Dogwood was where Tippy needed to be.
Now everyone knows that Dogwood has always been a haven for foster dogs. But since our move from Clarksville, my Better Half had pretty much put the kibosh on my personal foster program. Yes, in the past I had been able to twiddle the opposition down and get my way. But as we were now in an entirely new setting and situation, I wasn’t sure if I could do it this time.
But being my fathers’ son, I was bull headed about it and presented little Tippy’s picture one evening at dinner.
It didn’t exactly go as planned.
“No. No. NO.” was Better Half’s response.
Better Half did not think we could give the amount of love and attention to little Tippy that he deserved, and still keep everybody else in the house happy.
Anyone who has followed the adventures of the Dogwood pack knows that my little Brady Bunch of six is all special in their own way. We have Lucy, matriarch and alpha female. Then there’s Charlie, the second oldest and submissive prince of our pack. Then there’s Hines, the little rat terror (I mean terrier) who is a self proclaimed conquistador. And finally, there’s two year old Crazy Daisy, our second foster child who became my first foster failure when we adopted her as our own.
Then there are the two feline felons of the house, Bart and Sebastian, who each contribute their own brand of kitty mayhem to the brood.
Yes-we have a regular circus. Ok it's a zoo. But I knew in my heart that we could make it all work.
In order to prove my point, and to make this story a tad shorter, I reminded Better Half of something that we tell our needy, jealous, spoiled rotten fur kids every day: At Dogwood, there’s always enough love to go around.
That weekend, Tippy joined our little family.
That was two weeks ago. So much has happened, and if I write it all down it’ll make a book. So let me give you the 45 version vs. the 12 inch album.
First off, Better Half refused to keep the name Tippy. The little boy now is named LINUS (another Peanuts reference-GOOD GRIEF!!!) Linus has flourished. His foot is healing, and with the aid of a boot (THANK YOU DR. BATEY), he has slowly learned to keep the pad of his paw on the ground. When he over exerts, he will drag a bit. But if I say, “Pick it up!” he does.
All the slightly irregular personalities have clashed, cooled off, and settled in. Daisy and Linus are two peas in a pod. Lucy and Charlie are passive. They have been here many times before. Hines, well, let’s just say Hines is a work in progress. Bart and Sebastian couldn’t care less. I love cats!
Linus will be a Dogwood pack member until someone VERY SPECIAL decides that they just can't live without him. For adoption info on LINUS--you can contact the WAVERLY ANIMAL SHELTER at 931-296-7319. Remember that LINUS IS A SPECIAL NEEDS ANIMAL and will require much love and attention.
So now there are SEVEN sets of paws running loose on my floors, sleeping in my bed, and driving my sanity just a tad bit closer to the edge of oblivion.
But you know what? If this little dog can heal, learn to walk right, and know that he’s loved; I’ll start sewing my own straight jacket.
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