Here? Oh, not much. I rescued a dog. A nasty dirty, horribly matted Shih Tzu*, who was moseying down Johnson Road (my street) in Southlake. I was driving home Tuesday afternoon when he wandered into my lane and started walking towards me as I approached. My choices were to either stop or run over him, so I stopped, thinking I would look at his tag and take him home. It turned out that the thing under his chin wasn't a tag. It was gum. He was horribly neglected, covered with giant mats. He looked like this:
So much for just taking him home.
And, BTW, he smelled exactly as good as he looked.
Anyway, after offering him some food & water, I took him to the closest vet to see if he had a microchip. (Well, he could have been someone's pet who'd gotten lost a few months earlier.) The closest vet is right next door to Southlake Crossing Pet Spa, the place J & Andy go to a few times a year so that Andy can get a hair cut (J just get luxurious baths). When I drove up, Courtney, the owner, happened to be outside. She greeted me as I walked up carrying this nasty dog, then walked us over to the vet's office to check for a microchip. When there wasn't one, I asked, gulping, how much they would charge to groom him (really, I couldn't stand to be around him the way he was). She said they'd do it for free, since I was being nice enough to rescue him. Free. That mess in the picture up there. These women are saints. No kidding, they're so nice, and so sweet to the animals. I can't say enough good things about them!**
The groomers were gone for the day, and Courtney was there by herself, but she did what she could on him. He had to go back the next morning for the full treatment and, in the meantime, I had called every veterinarian on the first three pages of Google maps, the local animal control officer, both Shih Tzu rescue groups in the Metroplex and…nothing. Or almost nothing. The Humane Society in Keller gave me the name of a vet in Keller who does low-cost vaccinations. Since it was clear this little guy was going to spend the night in our house, with our dogs around, he needed to be vaccinated.
Cut to the next day. He's vaccinated, groomed, and now looking & smelling much better:
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| His ears are almost always like this, one up & one down. Adorable! |
I commented on Facebook that the groomers at Southlake Crossing Pet Spa had gone way above and beyond. That doesn't really state it clearly enough, so let me illustrate: his poor little face and eyes were so horribly matted and painful that he didn't want anyone near them at all, much less with clippers. To get him cleaned up, one of the groomers held him up to her shoulder like a baby and loved on him, while the other stood behind her, carefully clipping away the mats on his face. That's the kind of care they take, and how kind they are to the animals they groom. Way above and beyond.
The Shih Tzu rescue groups started returning my calls, and after some texts & emails back and forth, one of them has agreed to take him! They asked, though, if we could keep him here until Tuesday (dadblame Spring Break!). Right now the little dog is living in a well-used wire kennel in our living room, and it was no big deal the first few days. He was so stressed (and had just been vaccinated, adding physical stress to the mix) that staying in his own little den was the best thing for him. But now he's feeling better, feeling more confident, feeling like he wants out, damnit, and who do we think we are, keeping him in this cage?!? Him being out and about, free to roam about the house, wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for those giants (i.e., the other dogs, Andy and J, who are about 25 lbs as opposed to JR's 11 lbs.). He's still afraid of them.
His name is JR (short for Johnson Road, after the street I found him on). (FYI, when you have an animal vaccinated for rabies, they need a name to go on the certificate.) JR loves Rich, will sit quietly in his lap, snuggle up beside him and snooze, but every time he sees me—literally, sees me—he turns into a vortex of activity, a virtual doggy tornado. And if I don't take him out for a walk or give him treats or let him wiggle in my lap (he doesn't sit still) while I try to pet him, he barks the shrill, piercing bark of the tiny dog. If I try to just give up and put him back in his kennel and he can still see me, he screams. (Seriously, you would think we were cutting this dog's head off the way he carries on.)
The only saving grace is that he's kind of a ho for people food. And he loooooves his Charlee Bear treats (liver flavor). Those go a long way to making life easier. Dropping a handful of Charlee Bears in his food dish would be a terrible habit to get into (and we wouldn't be doing it if he were staying here), but it does give me ten minutes of peace.
So that's the dog part. The corned beef part is that we're having baked corned beef, cabbage & mashed potatoes for dinner, for St. Patrick's Day. If you've only tasted boiled corned beef, you don't know what you're missing. The flavor in a baked corned beef is so much more intense, and can stand up to cabbage so much better. (The cabbage and the mashed potatoes are separate so we can mix our own colcannon on our plates if we want.)
Happy St. Paddy's Day, everyone! Wish me luck with my corned beef. And dog!
*Turns out the people who are involved with this breed prefer that you pronounce it "Shih Zoo," not "Shit Zoo." Huh, right?
**Really, right now, schedule an appointment for your pets. Even if they don't actually need it. This kind of kindness and goodness should be supported!***
***And pay for it. They have to make a living!
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