I've been farm shopping for a while. I have a big operation, so this isn't a quick or easy task. A couple of weeks ago, I drove 2 hours to look at yet another place that, sadly, wouldn't work - pasture too wet, outbuildings need to much work, price too high, same old story. But we stayed and visited with the seller a while. An older gent, living alone except for his dogs. We listened while he spoke about how the place had looked in earlier days - before he beat cancer twice, when his sister and her husband were alive and would help on the farm. It was a little hard to understand him sometimes, as his accent was thick, but we were patient with each other.
As we left, I complimented his dogs, a pair of German Shepherds. "Do you want the little one?" he asked - besides the 2 adults, he pointed at a scrawny pup, "Take, take." Stunned, I asked why? "She's too sick, I take to vet 3 times, they no help, maybe you can fix, maybe I have to put down."
Slowly, we got the story. He had bred his 2 dogs, and one of the puppies got sick at about 8 weeks old, and he wouldn't sell a sick pup, so she stayed. After she got over the initial illness, she stayed thin and unhealthy looking, and she wouldn't eat. Now, she was 16 weeks old, 16.5 pounds, skeletal, and he didn't know what to do. Of course, we said he'd take her. He went to the table and grabbed the papers from her vet visits to give to me.
"Sir," I said, "This says that's all that's wrong with her now is worms. Just worms. Are you sure you don't want to keep her?"
No, he said, explaining that he couldn't even give her the pills, with his hands the way they were and her not wanting to eat. Best we take her.
So, we did. And gave her her medicine. She was badly dehydrated as well. When she first got sick, she threw up a lot. An old school of thought preached that too much water will make pups throw up, so he limited it, trying to do what he thought was best for her. He always tried to do what was best for her, and when his best wasn't enough, he gave her to kind strangers, who he thought would do their best.
I wanted to tell the whole story because, especially in this day and age where we don't talk to each other as much as type, and it is so, so easy to judge. Without a doubt, we rescued this pup, and she would be dead if we didn't take her. But it can't be emphasized enough, that doesn't mean her former owner was a villain. Most people aren't. Sometimes people just have it rough.
So next time you see a rescue, or rescue one yourself, be quick to help - and slow to judge. And meet Suki;
As we left, I complimented his dogs, a pair of German Shepherds. "Do you want the little one?" he asked - besides the 2 adults, he pointed at a scrawny pup, "Take, take." Stunned, I asked why? "She's too sick, I take to vet 3 times, they no help, maybe you can fix, maybe I have to put down."
Slowly, we got the story. He had bred his 2 dogs, and one of the puppies got sick at about 8 weeks old, and he wouldn't sell a sick pup, so she stayed. After she got over the initial illness, she stayed thin and unhealthy looking, and she wouldn't eat. Now, she was 16 weeks old, 16.5 pounds, skeletal, and he didn't know what to do. Of course, we said he'd take her. He went to the table and grabbed the papers from her vet visits to give to me.
"Sir," I said, "This says that's all that's wrong with her now is worms. Just worms. Are you sure you don't want to keep her?"
No, he said, explaining that he couldn't even give her the pills, with his hands the way they were and her not wanting to eat. Best we take her.
So, we did. And gave her her medicine. She was badly dehydrated as well. When she first got sick, she threw up a lot. An old school of thought preached that too much water will make pups throw up, so he limited it, trying to do what he thought was best for her. He always tried to do what was best for her, and when his best wasn't enough, he gave her to kind strangers, who he thought would do their best.
I wanted to tell the whole story because, especially in this day and age where we don't talk to each other as much as type, and it is so, so easy to judge. Without a doubt, we rescued this pup, and she would be dead if we didn't take her. But it can't be emphasized enough, that doesn't mean her former owner was a villain. Most people aren't. Sometimes people just have it rough.
So next time you see a rescue, or rescue one yourself, be quick to help - and slow to judge. And meet Suki;
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