This is what greeted me - and Ilya crying out, "Look what I found!" This poor little "teenaged" dog was emaciated, and had dreadful imprints around her neck and legs from either rope or a haltar of some sort. Her hair had been worn away and discolored and under one leg there was a sore where the rope had been too tight. On the top of her head was a round open sore. The parish secretary took one look at it later and said, "Fr. Joe's dog had that same thing when he adopted her." "What is it?" I asked. "Cigarette burns."
Ilya, who wanders the neighborhood, always aware of his surroundings, knew where she was from. A "bad" house. Of course I suggested that we needed to return her, thinking that I didn't want some guy (from a "bad" house) showing up in a drug-enhanced rage, accusing us of stealing his dog. But, Ilya assured me that the house was empty and had been for some time. That fact, and the obvious signs of being tied up made me wonder later if Ilya hadn't perhaps gone on a middle-of-the-night rescue operation. If he did, I'm proud of him.
Everyone (including Craig) took one look at her and it was understood that the Lord had provided us with a dog. Of course, I fell in love with this needy little face. And - I've never imagined a dog could be so appreciative! She so obviously tries to show us how glad she is that we are good to her. It is amazingly touching. Her eyes express such gratitude.
Now, taking her on is no small thing. Being tied outside for her life, she is not potty trained. She chews. She is another pit bull, further besmirching our reputation with passers-by. She eats like a horse. I've always contended, and it is no joke, that taking on a puppy is far, far harder than taking on a child. I'd more gladly take on another child, to be absolutely honest. But, "Posey"* as I think of her, seems to be very fond of me. Maybe everyone else thinks she is especially fond of them, too.....but that does make it easier for me to get up to a mess many mornings.
Her "puppiness" is endearing, too. The desire she has for cuddling - especially at night (though I wish very much she was about a quarter of her size, and wonder why God doesn't bless us with someone's neglected pocket poodle for a change.... This is our second pit bull "rescue" - Rosie came to us under similar circumstances.)
Both of these dogs are sweethearts. They are ernest and try so hard to please, and to figure out what we're telling them, But (shhh, don't say this out loud) Posey is a lot smarter than Rosie. One big reason I was glad to keep Posey is because she will walk on a leash! One would expect this to be a basic dog skill, but , perhaps because of earlier abuse, Rosie absolutely will not walk on a leash. I totally gave up trying.....even with the help of a dog trainer, we couldn't manage it. Even the trainer was flumoxed. I am sure the trainer would have eventually mastered, it, but I didn't have the determination. Taking Rosie out for a walk is like setting out to have a wrestling match with the leash; ridiculous and embarrassing! Posey just trots along happily beside you, not even pulling or being in any way annoying. It is lovely. Posey has other basic dog skills down, too. She can play fetch. Rosie can "go get:" but once gotten she won't give whatever it is up again - end of game. Posey can catch balls. I think Rosie does not have the eyesight for this basicdog/human interaction. So, Posey plays with us - and she also plays with Rosie, which is a delight to see. Rosie loves it and - well, she just has a big smile on her face when Posey is around. Dogs do smile - especially these two. A lot.
And that is worth cleaning up a lot of stuff. I suppose adopting another pit bull is a good deed in rotten world, and worth it. Most of the time.
* The kids think her name is "Lucy", but I am not buying it.
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