Body Building

When Clarisse first moved in with us, she was 9 lb 5 oz even with her overgrown hair. She scarfed her food down so fast she would get gassy. We suspect the sighted dogs in the previous home may have been eating her food before she had a chance to finish it. I was a little creeped out during the first days while petting her. Were all poodles this frail? I felt like we were going to hurt her from petting too hard. Her ribs stuck out some and her legs had no muscle to them. I remember struggling to maintain my composure the first time I saw her after her matted hair was shaved off as she just seemed too delicate, her legs too thin.

Over time, she has gotten less desperate when eating, often eating a little, then popping back by for a snack after a nap or a roll around outside. She has started running, hiking, swimming and gone on play dates. She has an astounding endurance that such a tiny figure would not suggest. Her body has grown strong. Her ribs don't stick out now. You can feel them if you press in, but there is no fat, just muscle, muscle everywhere. Her legs have incredible definition from all the hill runs she takes me on.

This week we took her to the vet. She has gained a whopping 1 lb 9 oz of pure muscle! We joke that she now has the body of a pitbull under her curls.

What a difference a little time makes! When you are considering adopting a rescue, especially one with special needs, you do have to consider what you can handle and what you can't. If you have small kids, a bite-risk isn't a good idea. If you have a lot of clutter and stairs, a blind dog may not be a good fit (although I am surprised at how well some blind dogs navigate stairs). However, do know that the dog you see at the beginning is not the dog you'll have in the end. The frail dog may end up loving to run. The socially awkward dog may become a social butterfly. The anxious dog may become an adventure hound. Your love can be transformational.

Clarisse Gives Back

Clarisse is an amazing creature. She survived much pain, torture, loneliness and neglect and now she has an amazing life filled with love, kindness and adventure. But she was a lucky one. The reality is that is she had not been giving birth to "worthless" litters, she would likely still be there. There are many dogs who aren't so lucky. They may be left in cages as breeding stock for many years with no positive interaction. They may be matted or sick but still function for reproduction, so they stay in the mills. They may not survive to see life outside the mill or may not ever adjust to the world outside a cage. They may be put down when an owner is given the diagnosis of "blind" or "deaf" or "needing amputation". We wanted to give back, to help dogs who have the chance to start a new life and to honor those dogs who won't get the chance.

Clarisse sporting her new bows that match
her leash and harness set.

We found an exciting event: the second annual Councilman Ted Berry's 5K Rescue Dog Walk Run. Councilman Berry was sued after passing an ordinance to ban the sale of puppy mill dogs in city limits. As a response, he organized a walk/run to raise funds and supplies for a local rescue group: Speak for the Unspoken. This amazing group works primarily with disabled dogs (although they won't turn away dogs in need) and a large majority of the dogs come from puppy mills.

Wait, little girl! It hasn't started yet!

They do a lot of work with double merle puppies. Merle is a quite striking color pattern that sells for more than "regular" colored dog. There aren't health issues associated with the color pattern as long as a merle dog is bred to a non-merle dog. Unscrupulous breeders will breed two merle dogs together even though 25% will be double merles who are at high likelihood of being blind, deaf or both. These dogs often come to tragic end, but with care and patience many can have epic lives (remember that smell is a dog's primary sense and the power of touch allows great communication between dog and owner).

We were totally excited to be a part of an event to support this group and came laden with dog food and toys to donate. There were so many donations that after they got all they needed for the rescue, they were able to donate a truck load to the local food pantry (I used to work for the foodbank and can attest that this is a huge need. Many end up going to pantries because of an unexpected crisis, but there are fewer resources for getting pet food than for human food during a food crisis. Ask your local pantry if they accept pet food donations; some even accept opened bags, which is great when your picky eater decides that the salmon flavor of their regular food is absolutely not okay).

Rare moment of stillness

It wasn't a timed race, which was good for us. Shortly after we took off at the start, Clarisse running for all she was worth, she got happy. She ran over into the grass, plopped down and started rolling in the grass and happy sneezing! I was too overcome with laughter to stop her. 

It was hotter than we anticipated. For this reason, I did carry her for part of the event. She likes to run for a few miles in temperate weather and she doesn't often walk slowly. Whenever she started to slow down, I picked her up and carried her for awhile, then put her down when we were in shade or she was well rested. I likely let her run less than she could have handled (and probably liked!), but when it comes to the heat, I'd rather err on the side of caution since heat exhaustion turns into heat stroke way too fast. At the end of the event, she was still happy-go-lucky and was bouncing around when we stopped at the pet store on the way home. She even tried to climb a bin of pigs ears, so she got a chew to bring home.

First 5k under our belts!

For those who are interested in reading more about Speak for the Unspoken, visit  https://www.speakfortheunspoken.com/

There you can Donate, Volunteer or even Adopt your new bestie. Speak for the Unspoken does do out-of-state adoptions as long as you are able to drive to the foster location to meet the dog and transport them home. You can also follow them on Facebook. I really can't say enough about how much I respect this rescue organization and the work they do to help beautiful dogs like Clarisse find their fur-ever homes.

#impairedwhocares