Here We Go Again...

Eleven years ago on Ward's birthday I brought home a scraggly little waif of a poodle named Tiny Ramon the Magnificent. He recently passed away and if you look around the blog you'll come across his eulogy.

Sunday, Joe moved his camper over to the new house, because HIS new house is done now too, and he told me he saw a scraggly little waif of a poodle running in the highway. Being an idiot, instead of running away, I went in search of said waif. But I didn't see it, and came home.

Monday, on my way to run eleven billion errands, all time-specific, I saw the dog. It was cowered in front of the front gate of an empty house, wet from the rain and shivering. Someone had put a dish of water next to it, telling me it was not letting itself get caught. I called Joe and he and his friend Karen went to see if they could snag it. Karen's gentle wiles won the dog over, and it came home to us.

On Ward's birthday.

Wet, hungry and shivering when caught, yesterday the temperature plummeted and last night was deadly- 14 degrees and very windy- I have no doubt she never would've survived that.

She's not full poodle, like Ramon was, most likely she's a poodle/schnauzer- a Schnoodle- and she's chocolate instead of grey, but like Ramon was, she's painfully thin and obviously abandoned- she walks on a leash like a princess. Ramon was old when I found him- at least 10 years old. This one is young- no more than 2.

But like Ramon, you can read the confused question in her button eyes- "I tried to be a good dog- why did they leave me?"

It's been only a few days, and we're keeping Fizzgig and her separated till she's come out of her shell some- Fizzgig can be a little...overwhelming and boisterous.

But already the hurt reflected in her eyes is fading and being replaced with the soft gaze of adoration only a rescued dog can manage.

Tiny Ramon the Magnificent named himself- I'd never named a tiny dog and had no clue as to what to call him. If you sit and quiet your mind near an animal, and you're open to the possibilities, there can be non-verbal communication as clear as speech.

So Tiny Ramon the Magnificent named himself.

Alec and I both questioned the new dog as to her name, and tell us she did.

Happy birthday Ward- meet Reya Ramona.

(and the song "Don't Give Up on Love" by The Poodles? Seriously.)