I found lady on the web, it was a post about adopting her from an organization called Tears. When I saw her picture I wasn't looking for another dog, but that face was so pretty I had to rescue her.
She was about 2 when I got her, since no one knew for sure when she was born it was best guess. She was in a pen with 40 other dogs, in the corner so you wouldn't see her unless you were looking for her. I brought a collar and leash with me, I knew I wanted her no matter how scared she was. We did all the adoption paperwork in about 10 mins. Then loaded her in the truck for her adventure.
She didn't like the truck. She tried to dig thru the window to get away. I tried talking to her, giving her cookies, nothing worked. Good thing I had put a seatbelt on her. Down the road we went. She watched as the trees whizzed by the window. Trees got further away when we got on the interstate, and that seemed to be the point where she just settled down. About halfway to the house she threw up. I think she was that nervous about where she was going. Even if I tried talking and singing to her it didn't help much. No didn't get upset that she got sick, just one of those things you live with.
Got home to the boys, Buster and Thomas and Dixie. Buster was ok so another kid to watch out for. Thomas made friends with her. Dixie was all about great escapes. She ended up with a piece of landscape timer tied to her collar so she would stay IN the yard. They spent lots of time playing and yelling at anything in the yard including leaves. I wanted her to be in the house with me at night, so her nights were in the livingroom in her house. Made sure she was safe from anything inside.
Her next trip was to the vet to be spayed, she had to stay overnight for that. Yes she got carsick on the way. I opened the door to let her get out and she didn't wanna go. Took a bit of coaxing to get her to come out but she did finally. I trust my vet. They got her in a cage she would be in till surgery. Never heard a peep outta her. We had already talked about the inside voice, no yelling in the house is the rule and she knew it. When I went back to pick her up the vet gave me the I did this, that and the other, she is all set for a year. She is in perfect health, but she will need to come back to get the stitches out. Oh boy another car trip, but this time the vet gave me a pill to give her half hour before we got in the truck so she wouldn't get sick. Great! It worked! She snoozed till we got there and just got outta the truck with no fuss. Stitches removed, check. Truck ride both ways without getting sick, CHECK! She did great. Took a couple hours for the pill to wear off but all in all it wasn't that bad. Only time she went anywhere from that point on she would get a pill and it would be no fuss. I liked that for her.
First Dixie got sick, she got breast cancer. I left her at the vet overnight so he could figure out how how to fix her. But there was no fixing her. She passed away at the vets. I had no idea she was even sick till the last week. There were no signs you could tell. Lady felt that loss but tried to be normal.
Next edition was a Scotty named Sassy. She was just a puppy but mean... she would pick on everyone! Hang from Thomas's ear, grab Buster's tail and down right bully Lady. I had to let them figure out the pecking order. It's not a human thing it's a dog thing. You'd think oldest to youngest, WRONG. The order was Buster, Sassy, Lady and then Thomas.
Lady never made top dog, Sassy wouldn't have that.
Buster and Thomas went on a walk-about. They were missing 2 weeks. Lady and I walked the neighborhood every day hoping and praying we could find them. I believe they picked up on Lady's scent and followed it right to the house. Thomas rang the bell at 8:30pm, Buster wasn't tall enough to reach so I knew it had to be Thomas. Lady was so happy to have her friends back, and I think she was tired of all that walking too!
A couple of months later I did my usual head count as they came in the door...1, 2, 3....hey I'm short one. So I let the 3 in and went out to find Buster. I did find him, laying under my window in the livingroom. He was cold and stiff. When I let everyone back out after breakfast Lady had to come see, it's like she was saying goodbye to her friend. She looked so sad. I told her not to worry, he was going to wait for us at the Rainbow bridge.
I had to bring her back inside to I could move him to where the city guys could pick up his remains. The other dogs didn't see what I was doing. 100 pounds of dead weight is pretty dang heavy! But I got it done.
I came back in the house and cried, with my arms around Lady. She knew I was upset and normally she didn't like to be touched much. But that day she just stayed with me as I cried. I talked to her and hugged her for over an hour. I wanted to make sure she knew I love her as much as I did Buster. I would always be here for her.
Lady liked Thomas, he never picked on her or did anything to make anyone think they didn't get along. Thomas was lonesome without his friend, so I talked to Lady and asked her to please stay with Thomas till I could find him a good friend. That would mean she had to sleep in a dog house or near him so he wouldn't be scared. It was about 6 weeks later I got Bullet.
Bullet took his rightful place in the yard with Thomas. They were side by side all the time. If Thomas was yelling, Bullet was right beside him yelling too. Lady, Bullet and Thomas were like the 3 Musketeers! They did everything together, Including getting in trouble for breaking into the barn and making one huge mess!
When I mowed the yard, Lady would be right there with Thomas to protect him from that noise and flying stuff.... ok so I didn't miss everything in the yard that impossible with 4 dogs dropping stuff all over!
When Thomas got really sick and had to go to the vet Lady waited at the door for him to come back. He did come back and that made her happy again.
Thomas was on meds for almost a year. His heart was failing. Lady would always go look for him in the morning when I let her out. They all had breakfast together. Everyone knew their spot to eat. Then they all took a nap after breakfast.
