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From commentor SB:
A few days before Thanksgiving, Los Angeles was pounded with nearly two inches of rain in one night (settle down, east coast people–for us, that’s a pounding). My stepbrother and his fiance were going out for the evening when they looked up the street and saw a very small animal they thought to be a cat but turned out to be this little girl. She was drenched, her hair matted and my stepbrother picked her up, told her fiance that going to a club was “off the schedule” for the evening and brought her home. He got her cleaned up, took her to the vet (who emphatically said she would likely not have survived the night) and he let my mom know there would be one more guest for Thanksgiving. We live in the South Bay so we took her in with the purpose of finding a home for her (the place is filled with dog lovers) but we first visited a local vet who shared the following:
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a) the dog was nearly blind from scratching her own eyes and will doubtless be completely blind within a year and
b) she had leg trouble which could be improved through anti-inflammatory meds but no guarantees and
c) she had “been through it” and is “one tough broad” (we really like this vet) and finally
d) she’s got a purple tattoo with a number on her belly, meaning she was running with a “rough crowd” (puppy mill?)
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As the vet was describing all of this, my wife went from gently petting the dog to holding the dog protectively. I knew what she was going to say to me when we left the office: “We are not giving up this dog. We’re taking care of her.” And that was that.
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We named her after where she was found: Puddle. Since the picture, she’s gained more weight (up to five whole pounds), seems to have added a lot more fur and loves nothing more than to curl up in our laps for a nap. What can I say? Our family is in love.
(I’m puddling up a little myself here…)
Ahem. What’s on the agenda for the start of another week?
JGabriel
Anne Laurie @ Top:
Went to bed at 12:30a, woke up at 3:30a and couldn’t get back to sleep. Therefore, today’s agenda will likely be: cranky and tired, with sides of fatigue-induced typos and despair.
.
Linda Featheringill
Oh, Puddles is so cute! Isn’t it nice there’s a happy ending.
Rain:
Yes, 2 inches is a major storm in LA. I lived there once and was almost ostracized because of my hysterical laughter over a BIG RAIN, quarter of an inch within about an hour! Actually, there were cars marooned in spots and police had to dive down to make sure they weren’t occupied. For a quarter of an inch!
Linda Featheringill
@JGabriel:
I can sympathize. Grumble, grumble, [insert complaints here].
On the good news side, a couple of elderly cats think I’m a good person and Rush Limbaugh is in trouble. Could be worse, and has been, several times.
Schlemizel
@JGabriel:
I’m right there with you – slept for 20 minutes & woke up completely, couldn’t get back to sleep for 3 hours & then got about 3 hours sleep – gonna be a miserable day after one great weekend.
And no fair making me care about a tiny dog! I am not a fan but between that face & the story that goes with it you are just trying to stretch my grinchy heart 3 sizes.
Raven
Sweet pupster. I used to love walking my mom’s scottie from the pier to El Porto when I’d visit the south bay.
JPL
Puddles may you live a long life and thrive. Like Anne, I’m wiping a few rain drops from my eyes.
Schlemizel
@Raven:
FYI – I think someone is over in the “getting what you want thread” that has tried to steal your handle. Not much you can do about that I suppose but you should at least be aware of it.
jeff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GIyTFl4Cb4
Kobekid
Thanks for this story of compassion. The one year anniversary of the earthquake/tsunami is this Sunday (3/11) and TV has been dominated by stories of those lost and those still trying to pick up the pieces. Reading about little Puddles has brought some warmth and encouragement here.
Raven
@Schlemizel: On FDL a “The Raven” would show up now-and-then.
eta, Yea, that’s it. For the Mornin Joe update, Joe is just appalled that Obama called Fluke but didn’t do the same when liberals said the same kinds of things about Mrs Moose.
JGabriel
Linda Featheringill, Schlemizel: Thank you both for sharing my misery.
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Schlemizel
@JGabriel:
Hey, its the least I can do – and never let it be said I didn’t do the least I could do 8-{D
Citizen_X
Oh, absolutely, and he should call Sen. Santorum while he’s at it (“Hello, Rick? This is President Snob.”) and apologize to him about that whole Google thing.
THE
What a cute little doggie.
amk
what a cutie pie. one eye and all.
cmm
Squee! We had a sweet shih tzu who had also “been through it”–backyard breeder rescue who was afraid of people and had no idea how to play with toys when we got him, already blind in one eye due to untreated scratches that ulcerated, but the sweetest cuddliest guy ever. A few years later he went blind in the other eye as well but he did just fine as long as we didn’t leave things in his usual paths or startle him so that he would panic and run, usually straight into something. It was a joy to see how his pace and confidence would pick up in our backyard because he knew his way around so well and things he could trip over/run into were few and far between. We said a sad goodbye to him last year at age 17, and I still miss him. Blindness doesn’t really slow dogs down when they are lucky enough to be in a stable and loving environment, and I know that little girl will do just fine.
My agenda? Finish my last hour of my shift peacefully (I work nights) and get the hell out of dodge before the brass all gain full consciousness, some quality time with the 3 current (all rescues, all mutts, of course) , pups, feed the chickens, watch another episode of Lilyhammer, and off to bed with the blackout curtains pulled tight.
gene108
Homework/School type stuff on Monday and Tuesday. Work from Monday to Friday.
Despair at having so much stuff due for school and work.
Been so down, I’ve eaten myself up a few extra pounds.
HeartlandLiberal
Your karma quota has been permanently suspended for this act of caring for another creature. (Don’t tell John I said this, it will just give him ideas.)
Soonergrunt
What a great little Bichon! She’s going to give her new people years of love and snuggles and blitzing.
sb
Thanks, Anne and thanks to everyone. Man, we’ve fallen head over heels for this one. There’s just nothing like a rescue.
@JGabriel: @Schlemizel: Perhaps the three of us should have jackets made? I swear, sleep apnia… it just sucks, all I can say.
EDIT: Cripes, I almost missed Linda. You, too–let’s start a club.
MazeDancer
@sb:
Many blessings to you for your saving this sweet pup. Typing through happy tears, it is good to be reminded that a little love changes everything.
Hillary Rettig
what a lovely story and best wishes to you all.
DanielX
1…2…3…Awwwwwwwwww. Cuteness overload, coming right up. Seriously, wonderful little girl.
What’s on the agenda? Work and staying warm. Three days ago it was 63 degrees and all the bulbs were starting to come out, roughly three to four weeks early. This morning, back to the midwestern weather I know and loathe, at 24 degrees with snow coming down. No wisteria blossoms this year, I’m afraid. On the other hand my home and neighborhood didn’t get blown away by tornadoes on Friday, so complaining about what should be normal weather for this time of year would be ungracious at best.
Scuffletuffle
OMG, what an adorable pup! Blessings on you SB for taking her in.
Patricia Kayden
What a sweet story! And a gorgeous pooch to boot.
harlana
i want to give her a big hug and entire rotiseree chicken!
LAC
Well, my agenda this morning is trying to type this post with blurry vision. What a sweet little baby. Bless you, SB!
This week – destroy a fat drone… :)
Svensker
Maybe cutest goggie pic ever? My heart is a big ol’ puddle right now.
But, hey, about that rain in L.A. thing. I remember people completely freaking out when it rained and drivers went nuts, making left turns from the right lane, etc.
But I also remember that it could rain like HELL. I had a VW convertible with a leak that would fill up so much that the water would actually wash over my knees at times (a friend solved that problem by, um, drilling a hole in the bottom).
I lived in Hollywood right at the bottom of the hills and the VW finally died when my building underground garage filled up with water (chest high) during a bad rainstorm and all the cars drowned.
Kristine
Live long and prosper, Puddles.
Good on you, SB and Mrs SB.
::blurry screen virus::
Taking today and tomorrow off the day job to throw myself at the writing job. Go me!
maya
Puddle, I believe, is actually a Jack Sparrow Terrier. The most unusual thing about that breed is that it includes felines as well.
Birthmarker
It rained 59.4 inches in North Alabama last year, and has already rained 11.4 inches this year.
On the other hand, the threat of snow when the ground is still too warm for any accumulation or the day’s high is going to be 42 degrees sends us into complete freakout. If much at all actually accumulates, the schools close down.
It’s all what you are used to.
Bulworth
What a great story to share. Thank you so much. Here’s to a long and happy life for Puddles.
Mnemosyne
@Linda Featheringill:
Yep — because LA is so built up, when it rains, there’s really nowhere for it to go (rain can’t soak into concrete) so we get some pretty major flooding from what would be fairly ordinary amounts of water somewhere else.
Plus, as Svensker said, when it does decide to rain, it rains hard. Like, can’t see a foot in front of your face, getting soaked to the waist just walking through it with an umbrella hard. But we haven’t had a really good one of those in a few years.
Nicole
Wow. Puddle is the spitting image (though much younger) of Bonnie, a dog we took in after her owner died. Bonnie had degenerative eye disease and eventually both her eyes had to removed, but for a long time she just had the one. I’ll always remember, after the first one was removed, my uncle asking which eye had been taken out. He then attempted to cover by saying, well, how was he to know; maybe she was winking.
That uncle drank a lot.
merrinc
What a sweet, sweet babykins. Blessings on SB and Mrs. SB for rescuing her.
Two big things on the agenda this week: 1) homeschooling my 13 year old. Anyone who says it isn’t hard lies like a Republican.
2) Stressing over a half marathon I’m registered for this coming Saturday. Having some issues with my right calf muscle so I’m not sure whether or not I’m going to make it and I will be positively unbearable if I have to DNS.
SIA
@sb: I’m happy for you and proud of you guys for taking Puddle home. What a darling.
And to my fellow insomniacs, adding D3 to my nightly consumption of melatonin, 5HTP (tryptophan etc), and magnesium really seems to have helped sleep patterns lately.
moonbat
Cute Puppeh! Good on SB for rescuing her.
This is the last week in our dog Jake’s month-long recuperation from a back strain/herniated disc. So far, so good. I am still carrying him up stairs but we have been able to step down on his meds without any setbacks so far. Fingers crossed!
It’s amazing how much space these little buggers take up in your heart.
Wonkie
I’m so glad you happened to be driving by in time to save Puddles.
Where I live back yard breeders are dumping their “breeding stock” along the roadsides because puppy sales are down. An acqaintance of mine found a tiny poodle the same way you found Puddles–dumped beside the road, in terrible shape. She ‘s Princess now and keeps a housefull of dogs, cats and humans under her tiny paw.
ruemara
That is both a sweet puppy and the sweetest story. Many blessed, cozy years together to you, SB and Puddles.
g
Awwwww….!
Liz
It reminds me of the sometimes trite phrase “who rescued whom?” But in this case it seems very fitting and very positive. Congratulations on the adorable new addition!
trollhattan
@merrinc:
1. Review race route.
2. Identify and create list of pubs along race route.
3. Start!
4. Refer to #2, as necessary.
Good luck!
asiangrrlMN
@sb: Puddles is adorable! Good on you and the missus for taking her in.
P.S. I’ll join the sleepless club, kthxbai.