Rescue Journal

and let the healing begin

Carol  ·  Jul. 23, 2008

laura said something last week that meant alot to me. she came the night that sarah and tawnie arrived. and the next day she told me that she could not sleep that night, she just could not get their faces out of her head. but as she was leaving the next afternoon, she said she would have no trouble sleeping again...the dogs would be fine.
tawnie and sarah are so firmly bonded...not in a needy kind of way but somehow they are extensions of each other. sarah is so malibu barbie like...bright, cheerful, secure that everyone around her loves her...dirty, matted, and crawling with fleas and that bright light keeps shining on.

tawnie is deeper, wiser, more hesitant...almost other-worldly. and every so often you look up to see, sarah wrapped around tawnie...sarah giving her friend comfort and tawnie sharing her quiet strength..a perfect partnership of two who were alone in the world but always together.

sarah has been going where ever i go, and she is still barging in on lady's couch. tawnie, still not feeling well has stayed on the beds in the kitchen waiting for me to stop by and say hello. tonight i am watching this incredible dance routine on TV and suddenly next to me on the couch i feel a head butt my arm. without looking i reach over to stroke sarah's silkiness and instead i encounter tawnie's bristle-like oiliness....i never even felt her arrive.
and so it began...i told her i was so surprised and happy to have her join us on lady's couch, i rubbed her head and kissed her sparse face and told her she was the most beautiful dog in the world. and tawnie began to softly moan...it started so low and deep and rose in volume. the depth ran straight to her soul. it rose in pitch til it became a high wail...the emptiness in tawnie began to fill up.

it filled up so high that she had to do more, she had to get closer, right inside of me. she inched herself over and crawled onto my chest and curled herself into a tight little ball. she wanted to sink in and have me completely surround her.

it is not very often that i get these empty dogs and see them fill up to the brim so dramatically....as she made herself smaller and smaller to fit me tighter, she grew bigger and bigger until she was herself again. no longer empty. yet so very deep and overflowing with something wonderous inside.

hello tawnie, you are so very beautiful and thank you for coming to saints.

and lady, i promise, i will go shopping for another small couch.

Comments

Diane

So glad to hear about Andy. His story is so sad and it has forever changed him. Again due to human's stupidness! He is SUCH a cute dog.
Thanks for reporting on him.

Meghann

I think my husband thinks I'm crazy. He walked in just after I finished reading this post, only to see me staring at my laptop, my face all covered in tears. What a beautiful description, Carol.

Carol

there are alot of really special moments around here, andy is one of them...ah, little tom...i so wanted to get him a red little super dog cape....what am amazing dog.

Deb

Andy made me teary this past weekend. We were at the Barbeque and I felt a cold little nose on my fingers. I offered the treat in my hand without looking at who the recipient was, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it was Andy. Apparently this is not uncommon, and Andy takes treats (not too gentle, I hear) from lots of people, but never me. It was as if I didn't exist in his tiny safe world. He took my little gift quietly and without fanfare, but that little boy lifted my heart when he let me in.

Emma

I remember when Tom did something similar to you too. Made me cry!! but in a good way!

Tracey

What a heart-warming description of what was obviously a wonderous event.

Chris T

That is amazing to see a dog make a connection and to know that it is the real deal. Welcome home Tawnie.

laura

Thanks Carol for bringing tears to my eyes....You are so right, Tawnie is so very beautiful and she had my heart the first night she came to SAINTS. Sarah, while she dropped a notch after making me do the 100 yard dash down Dlugosh Ave..lol Anyways what an extrodinary moment for Tawnie and a blessing for you to be witness to. Those moments are what Saints is all about!!

Carol

for everyone who wants to know which dog eva put in the garden...it is our statue dog who has followed us from the original saints memorial garden.
thx eva for cleaning him up, he sure needed a bath!

Eva Stock

I am so glad for Tawnie as she is so special and I will sure enjoy watching her settle in too. Hurah for Saint's again to welcome such a lost soul and now she is at home too, just like Jessie. Carol I put the dog in the memorial garden, Didn't know where you weanted him. Eva