The Only Dog that Would Choose Me Over Ham
by admin
It is no wonder that Tally will do anything for love. For a long time, she had none.
I had been working at the Humane Society for about two weeks when I first met Tally. And when I left, she was the only thing I insisted on taking with me.
A lady called and said that her neighbor needed help with her dog. Years earlier, her father bought a dog from the newspaper (reason one of a thousand not to give away puppies in the paper). He tied the dog up outside and left her there. The dog ate only when the daughter remembered to feed her whatever table scraps she could find. When the dog barked too much, the woman’s brother and father would shoot at her. She was never spayed and had litter after litter. No one knows what happened to the puppies, but they never were around more than a few days (this causes tremendous emotional stress to a new mama dog). The daughter was about to move out of the house, and she feared for the fate of the dog.
The minute I heard her story, I begged her to bring me the dog. I didn’t care what arrived… I just wanted her safe. In my head, I pictured a huge, fuzzy, tough dog. Instead, they brought a tiny little Min-Pin mix. At the time she was only ten pounds and she shook with fear in her kennel. (She now weighs a healthy 15).
We are not sure how long Tally lived outside, but it was at least seven years. She never learned “proper” doggy behavior and has some tendencies that have caused her to be adopted and returned four times. With a lot of work and dedication, her behavior has improved significantly since her last return, but she continues to show signs of the neglect she suffered, as she is not perfectly housebroken and she hates being left alone. She is also extremely agile and can climb a fence, using her paws like hands. Tally also jumps really high… which she does with excitement every time I walk in the door.
The pellets under her skin are still palpable, yet she holds nothing against humans. She loves to sleep in bed with me, her favorite place being the crook of my arm. She sleeps like a baby there.
Tally is still available for adoption and I will let her go to the right home when it comes along, in the interest of being able to foster more dogs. But I will be very sorry to see her go.
[…] came into my life in October of 2009. The horrible situation that she came from melted my heart and I found myself sneaking her special food and occassionally cuddling with her in the kennel when […]