Saturday, April 4, 2009

Rigby Comes Home



So my daughter and her roommates had adopted a little female puppy. She was part Schnauzer and part Australian cattle dog. She had been given her first round of shots and worming, and came with a reduced cost coupon for spaying at a western Massachusetts Vet's office. Almost immediately, my daughter and her friends started to learn how much responsibility a dog is. The girls were in classes most of the day and out at their jobs, the library, the bars, or parties most nights. The little dog was crated for most of this time, and her barking quickly annoyed the other tenants in the building. After a few weeks, the landlord called to inform them that they were in violation of their lease, and the dog would have to go immediately.
A few miles away, their friends lived in a big house with no restrictions on pets. This was a house full of young men. The boys were initially enthused about taking in the little canine orphan, but soon, the realities of house training, feeding and exercising a growing puppy became apparent. This was not as easy as it had seemed, especially when there were mid-terms to study for and keggers to attend. She was crated too much of the time and she barked a lot. She was still not house-trained. She was not happy, and neither were the boys. Tentative plans had been made for one of the girls' parents to eventually take her when school got out.
One day, about a week before Thanksgiving, my daughter called me to talk about the dog. Things really weren't working out. They were thinking of posting her for sale on Craig's list; that was it for me. "Bring her home", I said. It would be a long, holiday weekend, and Mac and I said we would think about what to do with her for those three or four days.
So, just before Thanksgiving weekend, my daughter arrived home in her tiny, little car, with a huge crate in the back seat. Out of the crate popped the funniest looking little dog I had ever seen (I submit the photo up at the top left as evidence). She was skinny and had long tassles sticking up off her ears. My first impression was that she looked like a little alien dog. She was wild, and ran in crazy circles around us, and could jump up as high as my head. She peed on my brand new living room carpet. But that first night, she crept up onto our bed as we slept and nuzzled between us.
She clearly needed a stable home and some real training. The other parents were no longer willing to take her, due to unforseen circumstances. I could not possibly let her be put up for auction on the internet or sent back to the shelter. This little puppy was between a rock and a hard place, now, through no fault of her own. She was a victim of circumstance, and there didn't seem to be any alternative but for us to keep her and try to give her the best life we could. She deserved that, at the very least. She would be our dog now.

15 comments:

  1. YAY RIGBY and YAY kiddo and Deedee!!!!!!!!
    How awesome you are to make a life of love for one of God's four legged creature's.
    Oh YAY, YAY, YAY!!!!!!!!!!
    I'm so touched that it made me cry Deedee.
    (Okay, please give me your address again. I'm soo sorry Deedee, I've lost it. I've been so sick and I didn't mean to. Mea Culpa. I promise not to publish it and oh God bless you girl. I hope that you know that I have been thinking about you and am sorry.....I'm so behind on commenting :(..)
    Take good care and YAY FOR YOU!!!!!!!

    Steady On
    Reggie Girl

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  2. My wife, a fellow animal lover, enjoyed your story too and got choked up. (I just enjoyed the story.)

    Almost as amusing as the story is Reggie Girl's raucous response. (This was totally expected.)

    I call my wife, Dr. Doolittle, because she too has a way with animals (and me).

    Don

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  3. Congratulations on your new sweet patoot! Your dear, little Rigby (love her name!) reminds me of someone else who's about to decend on the neighborhood: "Click" HERE for a looksee. Rigby's not as full-bodied (yet), but there definitely is a resemblance! Here's a little WELCOME GIFT for the pupkins. Put it at your bedside, then when Rigby gets completely comfy in your bed, you'll have a place to curl up in! LOL! Best to you both-- you're a wonderful mom!

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  4. Oh she is absolutely GORGEOUS Deedee - no wonder you and Mac could not say No to her!! Thank God you were able and willing to do so - bless you both. More photos please Deedee!!!!! Love to you, Vxx

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  5. Hi Deedee, I am so far behind in getting over to all my blogger friends and leavning responses. I feel as if I have ignored you for way too long!!

    I thoroughly enjoyed both stories about your dogs. I have to admit, they choked me up too and made me sit here and cry. I am such an animal lover, and any news of dogs, cats, horses, any animal suffering, just makes me sad for the longest time. Rigby is just precious, and i am so glad that she was able to finally have a settled and permanent home. Being shuffled between all those young students and left crated all day made me sad over here. I know they all meant well, but if only people would think of the animal and not just themselves! I found this out the hard way many years ago when I adopted a puppy, and was only thinking of my own need of having a dog, and not thinking that I was taking that dog into a noisy hectic house filled with little kids, and soon the dog became nervous and wild and eventually mean. I never ever forgave myself for that.

    Anyway, how lucky Rigby is to have a loving home finally, she sounds like she is deserving of it, and is paying back her gratitude by loving you to pieces in return!! From such a skinny funny looking dog, she sure did turn out to be one of the most precious adorable ones!!! Give her a hug from me!! :-) Take care, and continue to share your touching stories with us. I hope that life is treating you good right now and you no longer feel so cut adrift. Perhaps blogger has helped. I know that it did wonders for me at a time when I needed a rope to hang on to!!! Debby

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  6. Great blog...would you consider using black type on a white background with shorter paragraphs and more white space between paragraphs? It's very hard to read

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  7. Well, she looks pretty cute to me..thank goodness there's someone who can do the right thing..have the best time with Rigby (Eleanor???).

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  8. Hi Reggie- I've been thinking about you and hoping you're feeling better. I'll email you my address again.

    Hi Don - Glad you enjoyed it - say hello to Dr. Doolittle for me :)

    Hi Sparkle - Thanks for the puppy gift :)

    Hi Veronica - She is the light of our lives. As soon as I get a camera, I will post more photos of her.

    Hi Debby - Yes, she really filled out. We feel so fortunate to have her!

    Hi Cathy - This blog is a work in progress and I am going to be changing a few things up very soon. Thanks for your suggestions. Your help is much appreciated!

    Hi Lyn - Yes, the girls named her after the Beatles' song.

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  9. I've said it before and I will say it again "that is the cutest dog I've ever seen" Good for you for taking her in. But how could you say no to that sweet face? Thanks DeeDee for all the visits you make to me.
    Hugs,June

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  10. She is so adorable!!!!!! I love your story of how you ended up with her (glad you did and not sold on internet), she looks as happy as a lamb. Take care Fiona

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  11. Thanks, June! Your blog is always a ray of sunshine for me.

    Hi Fiona - She is one happy little doggy.

    Thanks, Prospero- you are a pretty cute little pup yourself!

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  12. What a cutie! I love those ears!

    I'm glad he ended up with you.

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  13. nice new look my dear....rigs has become a star. hope you and the family are doing well in your neck of the woods, take good care, jc

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  14. Hey, Deedee. Thanks. Rigby led me to your blog, so please don't change the lifeboat cartoon (and I love the adrift concept). As for me, I'm a four pound, full grown butterfly dog and my master thinks I'm pretty cute too. Woof. Woof.

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