Every so often, a mother dog comes in with her pups. It's always extra heartbreaking for me when that happens. Usually, the pups are taken away one by one, leaving mama alone and less-likely to be adopted. (For some reason, a lot of people are turned off by the saggy teats of nursing or recently-nursing bitches.) Then, if she's not rescued or adopted, she's put to sleep when the shelter gets too full of newer, more adoptable dogs.
Mia came in with two of four puppies. (The other two were probably sold/given away by the owner. I don't know for sure.) She was so very skinny and so very shy. When food was brought to her, she let her babies eat first, although they were also still nursing. She never growled or barked at anyone, even when they would pick up her puppies. She kept a watchful, worried eye on them but deferred to human interaction. In a few days, her puppies were adopted out. No one seemed to notice her after that. The soft blankets were taken away and she was moved from a large kennel into a small, dark corner. On top of all of this: she's a small black dog. Black dogs are very hard to place. Her chances were slim, even though she was calm, sweet, submissive and non-aggressive towards anyone or anything.
These sort of decisions are becoming much easier for us to agree on. I emailed Russell Posch and asked if he could find a rescue group willing to pull her if Tim and I would foster. Within minutes, August Dog Rescue stepped up and claimed her. I called Tim at work and told him and when he left that evening, he stopped by the shelter and picked her up.
She's still shy, but isn't letting the other dogs, who are twice her size but only half her age boss her around. She never makes a sound unless she's getting pounced on too roughly, and she's absolutely gentle and polite to the cats. Curious, but in no way aggressive or threatening. Last night she kept pacing around the house and yard until we all finally went to bed. Without a pause, she hopped right on up with the rest of us, settling between us. Although she panted nervously quite a lot, she stayed in our bed and even laid her head across my side.
She's not food-possessive and doesn't seem overly interested in toys. Right now she's snoozing on the futon with Amelia and two of the cats. If she catches me looking directly at her, though, she'll hop off and wander around until I ignore her again and then she'll hop back up. Seems she's a bit nervous about attention. Hopefully, a lot of love and praise will solve that problem. (For now, I just try to use my peripheral vision or look at her sideways so she doesn't shy away.)
There are photos on the new camera but I will wait for Mr. Collier to download them on his computer tonight (or tomorrow.) But for now, just picture a small greyhound with shorter legs and a slightly wider nose and you've got a good idea what Miss Mia looks like. What I find most beautiful about her, though, is her spirit.
UPDATE: Mia's official page is HERE. She's looking for a household of dogs, cats, people, etc. The more the merrier.
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