Rescued Love: Vignettes from Our Life with Rescue Dogs

By Kenneth Wright

Sometimes, love can truly take you by surprise. This is how it was with us when we encountered a little lost rescue dog who needed a home. When she entered our lives, we began to understand the joy, love, and frustration only life with a rescue dog can bring. Then a couple years later, we invited another rescue dog into our family, changing our lives in ways we could not have imagined before.

Are you a dog lover? Or are you someone just looking to better understand the many forms love can take? We invite you to take a journey with us. Rescued Love will take you on a voyage through our memories of life with two rescue dogs, giving you a front-row seat to the ups and downs and the good and bad. And through our reminisces, we hope your own memories of life with dogs you have known will be reawakened. Come join us in our tale of life with our two rescue dogs, our Rescued Love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890431615

Book preview

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Rescued Love

Vignettes from Our Life with Rescue Dogs

Kenneth Wright

ISBN 979-8-89043-160-8 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-161-5 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Kenneth Wright

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Paw print graphics used in this book were hand drawn by Lia Wright.

The events described in this book are all true and taken from our memories of life with two beautiful rescue dogs.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

1

Vignette on a Dancing Dog, or a Proof Positive That an Unexpected Turn in Life Can Be a Wonderful Thing

2

Vignette on a Weird Sight, or Something Strange Appears from Bome's Back Side!

3

Vignette on an Unphotogenic Dog, or Neurotic Bome Stays on the Move

4

Vignette on a Vet Visit, or Bome Goes under the Knife

5

Vignette on Rescuing a Dog Named AJ, or Finding a Diamond in the Rough

6

Vignette at a Pet Store, or the First Training Class for the Wild Man of Precious Secrets Sheltie Rescue

7

Vignette on Vacuum Cleaners, or The Vicious Vacs

8

Vignette on a Seemingly Untrainable Dog Part 1, or Bome Attends Her First Training Class

9

Vignette in the Bathroom, or Rescue Dogs Get All Wet and Sudsy

10

Vignette on Rally Obedience, or AJ Enters the World of Dog Competitions

11

Vignette on Fur Balls, or How to Live with Dog Hair Everywhere

12

Vignette on Agility Training, or Teaching a Rescue Dog to Fly!

13

Vignette on the Most Slobbery Creature in God's Creation, or Dogs Can Have an Overbite Too!

14

Vignette with a Toothbrush in Your Hand, or Performing Oral Vexation on a Rescue Dog

15

Vignette on a Seemingly Untrainable Dog Part 2, or Bome Enters the World of Dog Competitions

16

Vignette in the Kitchen, or How to Feed (and Not Feed) a Rescue Dog

17

Vignette on the Sidewalk Part 1, or Bome Makes Magic and Mayhem

18

Vignette on the Sidewalk Part 2, or AJ Makes Some Magic of His Own

19

Vignette on a Flying Dog Part 1, or AJ Goes for the Blue

20

Vignette on the Road, or Bome Becomes a Tourist Attraction, and AJ Faces His Fears

21

Vignette on a Seemingly Untrainable Dog Part 3, or Bome Goes Off Leash!

22

Vignette on Dirty Backsides, or the Genteel Art of Butt Wiping

23

Vignette on Quadrilingual Dogs, or Even Dogs Can Learn to Understand a Foreign Language

24

Vignette on a Flying Dog Part 2, or AJ Takes Another Shot at the Blue

25

Vignette on the Canine Art of Begging, or From Looking at Them, You Would Think Certain Rescue Dogs Had Not Eaten in a Month

26

Vignette on Barking, or a Jubilant Rescue Dog, Lacerated Eardrums, Barking Fits, a Good Watch Dog, and the Most Unbearable Noise of All

27

Vignette on the Ecstasy of a Good Roll, or Full Bellies, Grass Clippings, Snow Angels, Mulch Devils, Good Nights for Sleeping, and Finding a Home

28

Vignette on Big Booms, or When Rescue Dogs Become Quivering Masses of Fear

Conclusion

Thanks

Final Thought

About the Author

To all the special men and women who work to save the lives of the unwanted, the abused, and the unloved of this world. You understand what a precious thing life is and are there to bring rescue and care when needed most.

Preface

If you have ever had a canine friend, this book is written for you. We invite you to come with us on a voyage through memories of life with our two rescue dogs. It is often said by people who have rescued dogs that they were the ones who were truly rescued. So it was with us. The presence of the two dogs filled a hole in our hearts we did not realize existed. And even though the grief of their inevitable passing partly ripped that hole open again, the joyful memories of the time spent together with them far eclipse the pain.

In a sense, as we worked on this book, reliving the memories of this time together made the rescue dogs live again in our hearts and minds. Hopefully, they will likewise find a home in your heart as you share in our recollections.

And more than that, I hope our reminisces will stir the memories of your time with your beloved dog. If your dog has passed away, through these pages, perhaps your dog can live again in your heart and mind as you recall your experiences from the first moment you met through all the years of your too short time together. Or if you are in the midst of the wonderful years of life with a canine friend, hopefully, memories of your early days together will be stirred and refreshed.

And if you have no dog, perhaps you will be inspired to rescue one of your own. You, too, can experience the joys and delights of life with a rescued canine companion. As we learned through firsthand experience, there are many who are awaiting their chance to find a home.

So we invite you to join us in our excursion through memories of walks and attempts at taking photographs, training sessions and agility competitions, vet visits and thunderstorms, vacuum cleaning and tooth brushing, and even cleaning up their dirty backsides after they finished their business in the yard.

The stars of this book are our two rescue dogs: Bome (pronounced boh-may) and AJ (pronounced just like it is spelled). If you are thinking these are strange dog names, you are not alone. We have been told the same thing more than once by folks we have met along the way. Trust me, there are stories behind both of these names; read on to find out what they are. Both were adult dogs when we met them, and we had no way of knowing how old they were. Bome joined our family in July of 2004, and AJ came to be with us in June of 2007. Bome passed away in May of 2012 and AJ in March of 2017.

We consider a rescue dog to be any dog taken into your home after spending time as a stray or being adopted from a rescue organization (such as the SPCA or a breed specific dog rescue).

My name is Ken, and my wife's name is Lia. I am from Cincinnati, and Lia is an immigrant from Taiwan. I am currently an office worker at a company in southwest Ohio, and Lia runs a piano studio out of our home. We have no children, and for the first few years of our marriage, we had no pets as well (as you will see, at first we knew almost nothing about how to care for a pet!). This all changed one day when we saw a beautiful little dog dancing in our neighbor's yard.

Finally, let me give a quick note on format. Each chapter is a vignette on an aspect of life with rescue dogs, such as feeding time, going to an agility competition, or even the time when Bome was spayed. Some can cover years of time (such as the vignette on vacuum cleaning), and others can relate the events of only two days (such as an agility competition). If any confusion results from this format, the fault is purely my own.

Now let's begin our journey together. My wish is for you to enjoy your time with us and our two beautiful rescue dogs. May you come to love them as much as we do.

The author with the rescue dogs, AJ and Bome.

1

Vignette on a Dancing Dog, or a Proof Positive That an Unexpected Turn in Life Can Be a Wonderful Thing

On July 17, 2004, we saw the dancing dog for the first time. Next door, a group of teenagers were taking advantage of a bright sunny day to have a pool party, and their loud music easily penetrated our closed windows. On the boundary between our two yards stood a telephone pole, and we noticed a dog tied to it with a leash; it looked like she was dancing to the music, stepping forward and back to the rhythm. We were struck by the beauty of this dog but were curious why our neighbors, who already had two dogs, had gotten a third one. On many occasions, they had complained to us two dogs were two too many! We later learned this dog was female.

On Monday evening, Lia was cutting the grass, and the neighbor lady brought the dog out and introduced her to Lia. She then launched into the tale of how this gorgeous animal had ended up in their home. Earlier that day, our neighbor had been driving on Route 4, a busy four-lane street near our home. She saw a little dog trying to cross the street and, certain the dog would be killed at any moment, slammed on the brakes and quickly pulled her car over to the side of the road. She jumped out and tried to catch the dog, which had, by then, somehow made it across the road safely. But being a bit on the heavy side, she was not able to move very fast! For a desperate moment, she thought the dog would either get away or run back out into traffic to an almost certain death.

But then, two teenage girls, seeing this drama playing out on the side of the road, stopped to help. Between the three of them, they chased down the dog, who apparently, seeing no chance of escape, sat down and allowed one of the girls to grab her. Then after a brief conversation with the girls, our kind-hearted neighbor ended up taking the dog home with her. This little creature was now a rescue dog.

She and her husband called the police to see if anyone was missing such a dog and put an ad in the local newspaper announcing they had found her. They even made fliers and posted them in the area where the dog had been found, but all to no avail. No one came forward to claim the dog.

When our neighbor finished her account, Lia asked if she could hold the little rescue dog, and a moment later, she was in Lia's arms for the first time. The dog was amazingly light, and Lia could feel her hip bone and ribs, and she was trembling. Then on Tuesday afternoon, Lia watched the dog run around the neighbor's fenced yard for two hours as if she was trying to find a way out and get back on the road. But finding no exit, she eventually gave up and stopped for a drink from their fish pond. On Wednesday morning, Lia spoke to the neighbors' teenage daughter, who told her that day would be the last day for the dog to stay with them. If no one would claim her, she was to go to the shelter; they already had two dogs and just did not need a third one. Lia immediately ran to the phone, called me, and asked that if no one would claim her today, did I think it would be okay for us to have her. This dog reminded Lia of a fox, her favorite wild animal, and she looked just like the stuffed toy fox I had given her as a souvenir of a trip I once took to Sapporo, Japan. And most of all, although she did not quite understand it at the time, she had started to fall in love with this rescue dog from the first moment she had held her.

I agreed we needed to give this dog a home, so at about 3:00 p.m., Lia trepidatiously went over to the neighbors' house to ask if the dog was still there.

The neighbor girl said, Yes, she is still here.

Lia then asked if it was okay to have her.

She shouted to her dad, Dad, the neighbor wants to have the dog.

The dad answered back, Who?

She shouted back, Neighbor!

Then he yelled back, It's hers!

A surge of joy ran through Lia from head to toe, the kind of joy one feels at life's happiest moments. She was exuberant to be getting the dog, but when she was brought out to her, Lia froze and did not know what to do. The sudden realization hit her that she had no idea of how to take care of a dog. Lia explained her dilemma, and the neighbor family gave some basic advice on dog care. They charitably let Lia borrow some doggie supplies such as a blanket, bowls, dog food, and a heavy leash (it looked like it was big enough to use on a horse!). Lia had just become a dog owner for the first time in her life!

You see, when Lia was growing up in Taiwan, having a dog in the family was the farthest thing from her mind. Stray dogs were almost everywhere, many of them suffering from mange and parasites. To her, they always looked horrible and terrifying. And every day on the way home from school, she had to run a gauntlet of barking and chasing dogs. At that time, leash laws or a requirement to keep pet dogs confined simply did not exist in Taiwan. She felt she had to run as fast as her young legs could carry her to make it home alive. The only vehicle their family owned was a motor scooter, and sometimes, her father would use it to give her a ride home from school with neighborhood dogs chasing them most of the way. Her legs would dangle off either side of the motor scooter, and she was absolutely certain that sooner or later, one of those dogs would take a bite out of her leg. Her childhood self could have never imagined the day would come when she would be walking home with her very own dog. But that day did come, and a surreal mix of emotions filled her heart as she left the neighbor's house with a little rescue dog and a bag of dog supplies.

Upon returning home, Lia found herself alone with her new rescue dog for the first time. Both parties were kind of afraid of each other at first. Lia went to one corner of the dining room table, and the dog went to the opposite corner. Then she ran around to the opposite side of the table, only to find the dog in the far corner again. She rounded the table again with the same result! They went around and around the table a few more times (imagine a grown woman and a little dog chasing each other/running from each other around a dining room table!). Finally, Lia gave up in a huff and sat down on the floor. She was at a total loss of what to do next.

She finally decided to set out some milk next to her on the floor and see if the dog would be brave enough to come. After a few minutes, the dog cautiously approached and took a few slurps of milk. Encouraged, Lia put some dog food in a bowl and sat it next to the milk. When the dog refused to eat, Lia held out some food in her hand, and the dog cautiously and gently took the food. A broad smile spread across Lia's face as she received her first slight taste of the joy, bringing a rescue dog into your life can give. Love welled up in her heart, and she knew she had made the right decision in giving this lost little creature a home.

Later, when she started teaching (Lia was teaching piano lessons that evening), the dog stayed on the corner of the neighbor's blanket and did not move for a couple of hours. The first few kids who came for their piano lessons did not even realize she was there. Being in a strange place, she must have been too frightened to move.

That evening, when Lia and I went to bed, the rescue dog stayed downstairs on the dog blanket, obviously still disoriented at being in our house. But at about one o'clock in the morning, Lia felt something near our bed. It was the dog standing up, pawing at the bed, and Lia experienced for the first time the feeling known to all dog owners: being awoke in the middle of the night by your dog. She probably just needs to go outside again, Lia thought. She took her out to the back patio and put the horse leash on her. The little dog did not want to go out, but Lia pushed