Another kind animal advocate in Santa Fe, NM shared her rescue story with me and it is compelling. Linda recounts how she came to adopt beautiful Tiva after this pup had a terrible start to her young life: In Linda's words: This is my Tiva, who arrived in my life when she was less than one year old. I had been assisting a woman, Terry, in Burns Flat, Oklahoma, by transporting dogs that she often pulled from the local animal shelter because they had a policy of euthanizing pets after only three days. The idea was to transfer these animals to other shelters, some in New Mexico, that would give them a second chance by try placing them in new homes. Terry said that this pup had been thrown out of a pickup truck on the very dangerous I-40 interstate, but the people in a car in back of this truck stopped to pick her up. She had minor injuries, but the folks who undoubtedly saved her life couldn't keep her, so they went to a small town nearby, (more like a whistle stop) and dropped her off at the shelter. Once Terry retrieved her, I found that the shelter where I had planned to take her was full, so I agreed to keep her for “a while”.
I was running the Santa Fe Community Farm then, and after she recovered from her bumps and bruises, I took Tiva to work with me every day. She was so thin and terribly afraid of everything and everybody, so I let her stay in the car under a shade tree, where she curled up into a tight ball on the floor. Several times a day I got her out to stretch her legs and I tried to socialize her, but she would jump and cringe at the slightest sound - plastic bags, a sneeze, a car door closing... Every weekend, she and I would go to adoption days sponsored by Bridging the Worlds Animal Sanctuary, but she spent hours cowering under my chair and wouldn't even try to sniff outstretched fingers. After about a year of this, I just gave up and told her that she had a home with me. I had 3 other dogs then, 2 of whom would attack her at any chance. So, I had 2 dogs in the bedroom and 2 in the living room for many years. She and Joy, however, my Katrina-rescued pittie, were best buds. Joy usually hated all female dogs, but I think that she accepted Tiva because she was still a puppy. Gradually Tiva has improved, but she has never gotten over the terror of unexpected sounds or new people - especially men. She likes the few people that she has met more than once but she is still very timid. I named her Tiva, which in the Hopi language means dancer, because of the way she stands and hops around on her hind legs with excitement at dinner time. She loves food!
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Dogonfunny's OriginsMarlene and Bill Barnes are the founders and owners of Dogonfunny® Creations. Marlene is the photographer & designer. She and Bill often collaborate on the captions and the happy-ending stories of pet adoption. They hope to inspire more animal rescue and support for organizations that make life better for all pets. The company donates generously to animal rescue groups with every sale and strongly advocates for animal welfare issues. Archives
January 2021
Categories
All
|