I poked antibiotics, cough suppressants and a sedative tablet down her throat and we loaded her in the car. She was so lifeless, and by the time we arrived home so drunk from the sedative, that assessing her personality was difficult. But even by last night, as sedated as she still was, it was clear she is one sweetheart of a dog. She won’t eat this morning and I will be drawing blood and working her up shortly, but if she is at all able to be treated, we will. Right now she’s hanging out in the barn with the horses, to avoid infecting the healthy dogs and most especially, the pup. She has been given the name Zoë, meaning life. She needs a lot of life.


I have watched Ben blossom this past two months, more than I could ever have imagined. He was not an unhappy dog when he arrived, but he didn’t have much enthusiasm for anything either. He just kind of went along with whatever. After two months, he has claimed this family. He has a sparkle in his eyes that was noticeably absent upon his arrival.


Zoë is “shelter-shocked” and life shocked as well. She has scars on her nose and an air of just needing to survive. We can sure all relate to that with our kids, can’t we? I am most hopeful that we can restore physical health to this dog, and perhaps even more critically, emotional health. I hope she is treatable and if she is, I will keep you posted on her progress. She has the potential to be a beautiful dog physically and she has shown herself to be a real sweetheart already.


I do think I am nuts to have five dogs, but I never claimed to be sane. As I wrote these blogs this morning, the as-yet-unnamed-pup has been snoozing on my lap. I can’t imagine that will last long, as she is expected to weigh about 90 pounds… She is VERY young right now, though. I doubt she is six weeks old, and she sleeps as much as newborns sleep. She walks like a drunken sailor. Pups are such fun!