loonie-toon

almost 3 years ago i acted upon a whim. i saw a one year old husky cross posted on one of the BC rescue forums. her current family had obtained her a few months before from a craigs list ad but she turned out to be more than they could handle. they took her to a northern animal shelter to surrender but were told that due to her issues, she would be euthanized.
her issues were she was peeing and pooping in the house, she was extremely fearful, anxious and destructive.
i felt sorry for her, barely past being a pup, 2 previous homes behind her and already at risk for destruction.
a life barely begun and already a life broken and about to end.

soooo...on to a plane and into our lives flew a lunatic.

at first we couldn't get anywhere near luna..she just cowered and ran. then she decided she liked me and started throwing herself at me and ripping off the skin on my arms and hands. every time i went near her, i came away dripping with blood. i started pushing her away from me so that she couldn't hurt me but that just frustrated her even more so she would get mad, snarl, bark, snap and lunge.

i was beside myself...we all knew i had made a terrible mistake. she was biting the dogs butts, grabbing their tails, sneaking up behind people to bite them in the ass.
one night when we were alone, and i was trying to get into my room without getting slashed by her nails, i sat down on the bed, pulled her into a hug and started to cry.
suddenly, this lunatic dog stopped misfiring and melted into my arms.
that was the moment that we both knew what she wanted and what she was trying to say...
"just love me and tell me that i am ok."

i fell in love, and she fell in love.
slowly and surely, she no longer made me bleed. she stopped biting the butts of dogs and humans and started to find her place in this world.
she became happy, and she started to fly...thru the fields, over the fences, a free spirited butterfly.
and every day she seeks my arms to hug her, to hold her, to tell her she is adored.

today she had a vet visit, she has torn her cruciate.
she is still fearful of many things and we knew the vet visit would not be easy so we made the appointment for my day off so i could be the one to take her in.
she was afraid when renee tried to get the collar on her and kept ducking out of the way but i was able to slip it over her head when she was pressed against my legs.
she was afraid in the vet clinic, but i asked her to lay down so the vet could check out her leg. she laid there quietly while the leg was manipulated and examined and confirmed that she needed a cruciate repair.

she is booked her surgery for when i can be with her for the initial sedation, the vet is coming in on her day off to do the surgery for her.
we are all a bit worried about keeping this highly sensitive, emotional and active free spirited butterfly confined and down for the 6 weeks of post op healing..it will not be fun for any of us.

but here is the thing...luna loves and is loved. luna has me, the staff and the volunteers as her very large and supportive family.
she is so lucky that a moment of whimsical pity opened the door of a good life for her.

so many others are not so lucky.

love you loonie-toon.

and if you would please quit flying over the fences, you might not screw up your other knee.