Our Miss Daisy

Miss Daisy, our newest family member... doesn't she look happy?
(Click pictures for larger view)

"I am joy in a wooly coat, come to dance into your life, to make you laugh!" ~ Julie Church

Well, I did it! I resisted for almost a year; waiting patiently for another lost dog to find me. That is how it always works with me... the lost dog shows up on my street or at the playground or on a college campus. But this time, it didn't exactly work that way. This time, my mom decided she wanted a dog... a "little lap" dog... a dog that most certainly would have scooted right through the back fence or have been accidentally tripped over or stepped on by low flying feet. (We all have those at times here in this home.) She talked about a Yorkie or a Miniature Schnauzer, but I think the mixed "pound puppy" is the best! So, I started looking at rescue groups and came across many shocking examples of the dark side of humanity; so-called animal shelters where poor dogs are put in large chambers and gassed with carbon monoxide and owners that turned in their companion pets, knowing full well they would be killed within hours. I will NEVER understand people who think like this.

What a pretty smile you have?

Then I ran across B.A.R.K. (Bandit's Adoption & Rescue of K-9s) and they had two possible candidates. I wanted a dog big enough to make their presence known but not too big, a calm and sweet personality, fine with other animals (cats) and already house trained, not a puppy. So I took the plunge after several days of arguing with myself and... I filled out the application for adoption and asked to see the two dogs... Simon and Daisy. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me since I had to tell them about the animals we have had and almost all had sad stories, but they approved my application in just a few hours and before I knew it, I was set to drive up to Richmond for a visit.

Simon and Daisy were both sweet, friendly, quiet, calm and really perfect. How to chose? It helped that their foster mom already had someone who wanted the one I could not chose. But yet again, my idea of "choosing" a dog didn't work out. Simon and I played a while then he played with the other dogs and children in the area. When I sat down to get to know Daisy, she climbed into my lap, put her head back on my arm and wouldn't leave. Even when I was filling out the paperwork, she just stared up at me and refused to walk away. Her foster said, "I think Daisy has chosen you." And so it was.

Daisy loves belly rubs!

She is the same coloring as my beloved Max but with a docked tail. Daisy was pulled from a South Carolina high-kill gassing "shelter" just 30 minutes before her time was up. The Carolina Cocker Rescue was full so they called the Richmond group and found her foster mom. She said she was matted and had barbed wire embedded in the fur on her chest and that she didn't know how she could have laid down at all. She was thought to be a stray, already spayed, lost perhaps... and yet no one was looking for her. Daisy is about five years old and in spite of all her troubles, she is trusting and lovable and just perfectly sweet. She made the two hour trip back here without a whimper or whine. In fact, she made NO SOUND for a full three days. We were worried that she had had her cords cut as some puppy mill dogs do and were actually relieved to hear her bark at a squirrel who had pilfered some bird feed in the back yard. The squirrels are the only thing she does bark at.

She loves the company of cats, although I think the 16+ pound hairy ragdoll Willow scares her a bit. Mr. Rhett is not bothered at all and they touch noses and share my mom's chair at times (Rhett on the arm and Daisy getting tummy rubs in her lap) She sleeps in her crate at night and on the sofa with me on Sunday afternoons. She loves baths, the puppies next door, my brother and treats, of course. So far, however, no interest in chew bones or toys, but we have time for that.

Sleepy time for a tired little girl.

So, this is Miss Daisy, our newest family member.... and already firmly entrenched in our hearts. The dogs in my life usually find me. This time I found her... but in the end it was her "choice". I'm glad Daisy chose us!

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