Yesterday, Joyce Johnson, the very dedicated animal rescuer who saved Bud, went to a house in the woods in rural Arkansas and brought home a starving, emaciated, female Boston Terrier who had been abandoned and left in the woods for weeks, perhaps months.
Some people had found her, and called FOHA, the Friends Of Homeless Animals, which has volunteers throughout the Northeast and South.
This is what Carol does. When I heard about this dog, it touched my heart, and I thought immediately of adopting her. My own cooler head (and Maria’s) prevailed – she surely must have heartworm, and God knows what else.
It will be months before she is available, and she will cost a lot of money.
She weighs less than 10 pounds.
Carol took her to the Southern Arkansas Veterinary Clinic this morning, they are the good and competent people who brought Bud back to life. The dog is a wreck, but Carol says she is sweet and forgiving. She promised to send me a photo of the dog this morning if she can.
Carol – we have become good friends, we talk all the time – texted me last night. We’ve been talking about this dog all weekend.
“I’ve decided to call her Perdita,” she said, after a character in Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, written in 1623.
It was a fascinating choice of name for Carol. Perdita is a lost princess, saved by a shepherd, she grows up unaware of her royal heritage. It is later revealed that Perdita is the princess of Sicilia.
She is re-united with her father and mother, and marries Florizel, the love of her life, and lives happily ever after.
Carol said she likes the idea of a happy ending for her Perdita, who seemed quite close to death when she was found.
I am looking forward to seeing a picture of Perdita, I think Carol knows how to reach my heart. Maria thinks it is a very poor idea to even think of another dog, just days away from our third arriving by truck from Arkansas.
My head agrees, my heart isn’t so sure. At the very least, I think I may be able to help find a home for this poor creature, with that name, I think she is blessed.
Stay tuned.
Audio: My Head, My Heart. Perdita
I have two 70+ pound pit bulls and a 15# Papillon pack leader…and the four of us specialize in fostering pit bull puppies for a local rescue. Sometimes the heart and the head clash when a special puppy comes along, but three of my own dogs is the right number for me. People ask if it’s difficult to give them up after living with them for a while, and sometime it is…but the payoff is that the new adopters are always thrilled with the new member of their family, and the soon-to-be full grown dog will have a better life than he or she would if I kept them all. Foster #32 is on his way to me in a week or so, and I get to experience the thrill of getting a new puppy yet again, if only for a short while. Over time, Jon, putting the stories of these pups out on your blog will produce similar results: Your pack will remain stable and manageable, and as yet untold numbers of pups will find loving homes because you provided an important link in the chain of volunteers who do the work that it takes to help these dogs find homes. 🙂