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| Maggie, Arbutus & I at the beach. ;o) |
I, am of course a little bias when it comes to old lady or old man dogs. My sweet Maggie is the ripe old age of 17 and she is feeling fine. My neighbours dog Arbutus is 15 and even with his stiff like tree trunk legs...he is feeling fine. They are such lovey dogs. Even Arbutus, with his snobbish side glances and seemingly distant attitude while walking right past you to the food dish...he loves the love. When you get a hold of him and wrap your arms around his long and strong neck...his tail is wagging and you know he is loving every minute of it. And then there is Maggie May. The strong and silent little old lady who just loves feeling the love and enjoys having the feeling that she is wanted AND needed by her people. And we so fit that bill...we want and need her. She has enriched our lives incredibly in the past 2 years. From the times that she would be wandering out in the middle of South Road at 1 am to the cold and rainy days she would come to the door to be inside by a nice warm fire. She was looking for someone to give her love and in turn she would give us so much more.
Clint and I have always discussed getting a dog...and once we moved here, we realized that we could totally make the dream a reality. Now, we just needed to have the right place and landlords in order to do so.When everything would fall into place we would head over to the Nanaimo SPCA and rescue an older dog...like 8 years or more. It seems like the majority of people purchasing and rescuing a dog, are looking for the young and trainable (sometimes it is the human that needs to be trained) kind. Puppies are snatched up instantly in a shelter...even pet stores go through puppies like mad. But what about the lovely older pups? Just like us forever feeling like a kid, they are always a puppy. Dogs of all ages and sizes love to play around, let loose and have fun...even if it is short lived. So anyways...we wanted to give an older and abandoned (obviously) dog a lovely home. And then Maggie showed up. Like I said...we would pass her just standing in the middle of the road in the middle of the night...in the pouring rain even. She was the ever wandering dog. I guess she always was that...
Maggie was pulled off the side of the #1 Highway in Langley back in 1995...she was about 1 year old at that time...she had fallen out of the back of a pick up truck. Because the vets at the SPCA said she was so responsive to them, even in the mass amount of pain she must have been in with her broken hip...they decided they should fix her up rather than put her down. A woman in West Van put up the $5000 for her surgery and then adopted her. Maggie became the neighbourhood dog in that section of West Van...going from home to home...being fed by everyone...lapping up the attention. One of the neighbours (Karen) ended up moving over here to the island...so the woman asked Karen if she would want to bring Maggie to live in paradise instead of the city. Maggie now became Karen's dog and a South End dog...wandering the south side of the island and meeting all of the neighbours. It was a great lifestyle for both dog and owner...just leave Maggie outside when you leave for the day and she is as happy as pie. Because of an old dog Karen has that was also a rescue and nervous of others dogs, Maggie had to live down the road with Karen's son and girlfriend. They love Maggie tons too...but are both so busy with work. Now, leaving her outside all day in the rain is different...her bones get achy in the cold...she's an ooooooold lady! I think she was on the hunt for a permanent home when she met us. I am home all of the time...so when we moved to that neigbourhood, Maggie started to visit. I would bring her in from the rain and set her up on a towel in front of the wood stove...give her water and a nibble of something tasty. She would eventually leave when she was ready. I started taking her with me when I would go driving somewhere as she would just be sitting in the middle of the street waiting. And I figured she is better off in the back of my car than wandering the streets...she will walk right up to a car...silly old lady! Eventually Maggie just became ours. When we moved back to the North End her owners said we should take her because she loves us so much. She adopted us!!
We may be her 5th owners...but she now has a permanent and happy home...always someone around to love. That is what she clearly wants. You can see it in her eyes when she watches your every move...you can see and feel the love in her very soul. She is a special old lady. She is so special that very soon we will be driving all the way to Manitoba with her in the back seat! Family reunion calls us out east...let's make it super fun. We are camping in the mountains and prairies along the way...with Maggie at our side. I feel that is we leave her she will feel abandoned after a day or two. She is too old to have heart pain. So, Maggie...I hope you love to travel for long distances. And I hope you love Manitoba as much as we do...cause you're going!! ;o)
This is a video of Maggie having a blast at the beach. She runs so sweet!!..like a teeter totter! ;o) Maggie + Sand = Fun Times. xox
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