I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love.

For me they are the role model for being alive.

~ Gilda Radner

Friday, April 10, 2009




It’s been a little over 2 years since Stumpy became a member of our family. Everyday, there are tons of things for which I should give thanks. My Stumpy-girl is one of them. I had been looking for a dog for quite some time. My search entailed hours of perusing petfinder, craigslist, visiting shelters and researching different breeds. I knew I could not support the needs of the large working dog breeds I preferred.

I found Stumpy on petfinder. The listing described her as a small, quiet, well behaved blue heeler/minpin cross. That should have raised a red flag. Quiet minpin?

I called the rescue and found out at 6 months “Pocahontas” had known 6 homes. At that point, that was all that mattered. No dog deserved that. Clearly, there was a problem and I was not going to allow her to go to another home without some rehab. Maybe she was just what I needed... a new focus, something I was good at, something I could feel I was actually DOING something positive, that served a purpose in the bigger picture.

I drove a couple hundred miles, a couple of days later to meet the transporter and got a little more history. Stumpy had been found with her mother, a minpin, and her 3 siblings (all stumpy-tailed dogs) in a parking lot in Arkansas. The mother and pups were wet, freezing and starved. Stumpy had lived in 4 different states since at that point, the last being Maryland. Seems to me, she had been on her way north, to me, all of her short little life.

4 comments:

T said...

It is wonderful that Stumpy found her way to you. I believe our furry friends are brought to us for a reason, each one has that special need that we can fill, just as they fill that special need for us.

She is a beautiful girl!

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

Oh Stumpy it is glad to meet another Heeler in blogland. We saw your comment on Norwood's blog.. Welcome aboard.. We are 3 happy heeler's. 2 deaf reds and one blue man.. I am in charge of keeping those 2 in check..

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie

Unknown said...

Oh...look at those sweet bat ears. As you know I am a rescue too. Mom adopted me at 7 mos old from just an internet pic. She was nervous about not meeting or knowing much about me. My Aunt dee had adopted a few rescues, met them but had horrible luck. One was an older dog announced as no health problems but found had she had a brain tumor and significant neurologic deficits and the other one had extreme extreme separation anxiety to the point she broke out of the crate, locked bedroom door, front door and out of the apt building running down the street. Even if you know the history, you don't know the dog. It looks to me that stumpy has connected with a great owner and that's what was needed. Maybe destiny it didn't work out with other owners or not... but you obviously gave each other what you needed.

Norwood

Dog_geek said...

Awww, Stumpy is a beautiful girl. I'm so glad that she finally found her forever home with you. (I can't believe that her mother was a minpin, though!)