Mistie the Moo

I wish that anyone who reads this blog could reach into the picture and give this dog a friendly pat on the head; she deserves it. In the past year she has weathered adversity that some people might find difficult or impossible from which to recover. But Mistie is a canine, and lacks the capacity for self pity or giving up- one of the many things about dogs that make them superior to our species, in my opinion.

Some time back last summer, her human mom from puppyhood started a decline which ultimately lead to her death in November. Dot, her mom and my mom-in-law, was a dear, lovely woman and Mistie rarely left her side for 8 years. She loved to sit on Dot's lap under the apron Mom usually wore, slept by her bed in a little crate, and was the canine queen of the household. Mom loved her very much.

After Mom had died, the family decided that Mistie should stay in the house where she had always lived as company for Dad. While in some ways that could have been justified, it had to have been a difficult time for the little dog. She had been Mom's dog, not Dad's, and while he was never unkind, there just wasn't the affection that had nourished Mistie for years. To make things worse, Dad was suffering from the beginnings of dementia, and would forget about Mistie, who was discovered by family members at times still in her crate long after she should have been let out for the morning.

After several weeks of this, the decision was finally made that we could bring Mistie to live with us, something we had wanted to do all along. On a frigid, windy January Saturday, Mistie was driven to an agreed upon half way meeting place between Cleveland and Columbus where she was taken from the car and plopped down in the middle of a parking lot. She started running, certainly frightened and unsure what was happening. I ran after her, calling her name and fearful that she would either be hit by a car or run onto an icy pond right by the lot. Fortunately, I was able to catch her, put her in the car along with all her possessions, and head for home.

I'm certain that she recognized us, as we had visited many times in her life, and she was probably happy to once again be receiving attention and love. But what an adjustment it must have been to go from living all her life in a quiet place with no other animals and an elderly couple to being one of 11 animals and people who were busy coming and going to work! As if all of this hadn't been more than enough, two weeks after she moved in with us she spontaneously ruptured one of her spinal disks and was obviously in great pain. We took her to the vet, who recommended medical therapy at first. Soon it became apparent that this was going to prove insufficient as she lost the use of her back legs. She underwent a successful laminectomy followed by a month of total rest and emerged whole and healthy, although it took about 6 months for the big shaved rectangle on her back to totally grow in.

Mistie is now an established part of the family. She has her favorite places to sit (with me) and sleep (with me). She loves to go for walks, loves her morning treats, and races around in circles when we come home from work for the day. She has an endearing no-nonsense manner about her when approaching certain activities. For example, when going for a walk, she heads briskly up the sidewalk, ears back, nose forward. She know her driveway and makes a sharp 90 degree turn in when we get home. Her devotion to me is boundless. I am the recipient of joyful kisses every evening and her brown eyes speak volumes of love.

Sometimes I wonder if she misses Dot, and I know she must at times, as we all very much do. I am grateful, however, that Mistie has accepted me as her new Mom, and I feel closer to Dot knowing that I share the love of her little dog.