3.12.2008

Sasha Plays


Sasha is the newest addition to our dog family. She's a wirehaired dachshund. We adopted her from a shelter in December. I found her on Petfinder.com, and Mr Wonderful and I drove about 2 hours to get her that same day. There was something about her that just called out to me, and the shelter she was in was awful....a very high-kill shelter, no vet on staff, no real requirements or even questions to adopt. Just fork over the money (I think it was a whopping $60 bucks), and you have a new pet.
The shelter thought she was very old. They were purely guessing, and basing it on her gray hair. (I guess by that logic, all schnauzers are old.) They had picked her up as a stray, and she looked like she may have recently had puppies. They said she was probably sick, and if so I could bring her back for a refund.
Um, no thanks.
When we took her to our vet, we discovered that she was only a year or two old. She was actually still producing milk, and at first they thought she was pregnant, but thankfully she wasn't. She's healthy and in great shape.
I was a little surprised that she was that young, because she's a very mellow dog. The only thing she really gets excited about is food, and 'loves'. Anytime Mr Wonderful or I sit down, she hops on our lap and tries to give our face a bath. Otherwise, she follows me around loyally and just sleeps. She never plays with the other dogs, or shows any interest in toys.
Until the other night.
I found a stuffed, squeaky hedgehog toy that one of the dogs had brought to bed, so I'd taken it away from them and hid it in a drawer. I pulled it out and tossed it to the dogs, and shortly after, I heard it very quietly and slowly squeaking.
When the other dogs have a toy, it's always SQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAK!!! But this time, it was squeak......squeak....squeak. I looked down, and it was Sasha! Her first time ever playing with a toy, and she played with that thing for hours. squeak.....squeak....squeak. She eventually fell asleep with this hedgehog.
I finally realized that she probably never played with our toys, not due to a lack of interest, but because she didn't know how. She'd probably never even seen a toy before, so she didn't know what to do with them. I strongly suspect she was from a puppy mill, and this confirms it even more.
I'm just so glad that her life is better now, full of love, care, plenty of food....and toys to play with.

13 comments:

Wonderful World of Weiners said...

It may be because I have doxies or it may be because I am already an emotional mush ball right now but this darn entry made me cry!! Yeah for Sasha! I can't tell you how sweet this story is and how wonderful you are for giving her a new life. Sasha is one lucky pup.

Thank you for making this little girl know the joys of a simple squeaky hedgehog!

Hallie :)

Anonymous said...

I, too, am on the verge of tears right now. You are truly a special person for taking an animal in need into your home. They need love just like any other living creature on this earth. If only there were many more people out there like you!

Best of luck to Sasha and your family! She's a lucky puppy to have you!

Anonymous said...

P.S. I love your blog - so I blogrolled ya! XOXO

Unknown said...

bless her heart.

Caroline C. Bingham said...

you're amazing


(and when I first saw the picture I thought the hedgehog was the dog's face. Threw me for a loop for a sec!)

suchsimplepleasures said...

what a wonderful thing you did!! i think it's so important to adopt pets from shelters!! that's where we've gotten our cats and our dog!
i love that picture...it looks so funny and so adorable at the same time!!
how are you feeling? hope you are doing well!
xoxo

Gen said...

It's really great that you are there for sasha! If only people were more thoughtful and less selfish when it came to getting a pet. I'm glad there are people like you around.

Lottifish said...

Awww...this story makes me smile.

Putting the FUN in DysFUNctional said...

Wow, thank you all! Pet Rescue is a passion of ours. I wish more people understood how many homeless animals there are out there.

Caffeine Court said...

She looks so sweet and content snuggled up with her new toy!

I have such a soft spot in my heart for dogs like her...I wish I could adopt them all! My sister just adopted a puppy rescued from New Orleans. He's a lab/? mix with only one eye. He's so cute and happy in his safe new home!

Tara R. said...

I think our Chocolate Lab (also a rescue) has the same hedgehog. I like it because it honks more than squeaks. But, she carries it everywhere. Sasha is gorgeous, I'm glad she found a loving and safe home.

OHmommy said...

Yippee for Sasha. I puffy heart weiners. LOL. I will never get tired of saying that. Must be a weiner dog owner thing.

LunaNik said...

This post made me get all teary eyed! I am a desperate animal lover and I ADORE when people adopt from shelters or rescue from the street. You did a wonderful thing here!