Today we have a great guest post from author Susan Wilson. She has a new book out (which I am reading right now) called One Good Dog
Enjoy the guest post (thanks Susan):
As I write this, my black cat, Sasha, is going through her pantomime, telling me that she either wants to go out, or she wants to eat. Or, she would like to have something else in her bowl. She goes to the door, rejects the notion of going out, turns toward her dinner; goes back to the door, because clearly this human is not listening. Sasha, adopted at approximately nine months old, has taken roughly thirteen years to trust humans enough to be stroked while she’s standing on the floor. A feral kitten captured and neutered by a small non-profit, somewhat militant organization, was on display at our local Massachusetts Society Prevention of Cruelty Association branch, which often took these feral cats in the hope of finding homes for them. My youngest daughter spotted the exceedingly shy black cat and wanted her. Sasha spent about five months under Alison’s bed. Because she had never been socialized, this cat did not even know how to purr. Fast forward seven years. A second rescue kitty, Hartley Mims, Jr. (I’m an author, good character names are fair game) joined the family and something rather miraculous happened. Sasha learned to purr. Following Hartley’s example, she learned that people were okay, and that touching was nice. She still won’t tolerate being picked up, but constant dependable gentle respectful consistent love has brought her around to being one of the sweetest creatures on earth. This is but one rescue story. There are hundreds upon thousands of such stories. In literature as well as life, the ideal is the safely rescued animal finds the perfect home and becomes the perfect pet. But when an animal is so damaged or developmentally challenged by its beginnings that it doesn’t accept its new situation; that can make for a difficult transition.
My second favorite rescue story is that of Hunter, a beagle-ish dog that my daughter and son-in-law adopted from a shelter in Massachusetts. He’d come from Indiana, seemed nice and quiet, very well behaved. So well behaved that the neophyte dog owners left him alone the day after bringing him home—uncrated. The destruction was profound. An entire couch cushion and most of one arm gone. Ingested. Turns out even though they knew that Hunter had found his forever home, he didn’t know it. Separation and stranger anxiety all rolled into one. A very long period of trial and error, a few drugs, and constant, dependable gentle respectful consistent love brought him around. He’s still not too keen on strangers, and they never leave him loose in the house, but he is a champion among dogs.
In One Good Dog
The work of shelters and breed rescue organizations is vital. In this time of economic uncertainty, when hard choices are being made every day between food and healthcare; mortgage and vet bills, our shelters are sometimes the only resort for people in need. People who love their animals and know that they cannot care for them have someplace to turn.
Thank you for inviting me to guest blog on 4theloveofanimals.
