So, I got another dog in the house. Her name is Brandi, and she is a long haired chihuahua. I had mentioned that her owner was no longer able to take care of her. Unfortunately her owner passed away a couple of days ago. Her owner had a lot of health complications, and succumbed to them, in that, she was a single woman who left behind her mom, sister, and son. When she passed away, Brandi dutifully stood guard beside her fallen master for a couple of days until she was discovered.
When she was discovered, there was a mass of confusion, that ended with Brandi cowering under her master's bed as the police, coroner, and so on made their ways through her apartment. As her family arrived one by one there they grieved their loss. In that, there was a side distress, who would take Brandi. None of the family is in a situation where they could take a dog, and I heard distress in the owners sister's voice, 'she can't go to the pound... they'll kill her...'.
To back the story up, when I first met Brandi, it was one of the first days of moving in, and in that, Brandi shot forward and bit Chop on the foreleg. Mental image moment, Chop is one of the most laid back 150 lb. American Bulldogs you will ever meet, he is very animal friendly, and is happy just wandering aimlessly through the day, much like his owner. He was very confused as to why a 5 lb long haired Chihuahua would come after him, but in that moment, he figured if she's gonna bite me, I'm going to respond. So, sufficed to say, bringing her into my home, did not seem like an option.
Yet, after her owner's sister had said that with such distress in her voice... I had some thinking to do. As I spoke with some of the people that were the closest to the owner, I could feel this tug on my heart. I had to offer, so, I walked over to the owner's sister. Just as I was approaching her one of the officers that had arrived to help began to ask where the dog was going to go, and Tammy had started to explain that none of them had the means to take care of Brandi. Before I realized what I was doing, 'If Chop doesn't eat her, she can stay with me.' came out of my mouth. 'Really?!', she replied. 'Yeah...'. The owner's family thanked me both last night and today.
The point of my story, is this. I look a mess, 6'3", hoodie, tattoos, skully, 150 lb. American Bulldog named Chopper, and... 5 lb. Long Haired Chihuahua named Brandi.... yeah... when I brought her in, I half expected Chop to not be too happy about the addition, especially about who it was, and yet, I saw an act of compassion that just made me stop. Brandi instantly went on the defensive when we walked in, I half expected Chop to take one bite, and that would be it. Then it happened.
The best way to describe it, he sensed her fear, and then he did it. He slowly lay flat on the floor, legs folded up under himself like a big white sphinx, and then slowly dropped his head to the floor, almost as if bowing to her. He lay there and let her sniff all around her, and then he gently got up, went over to his bed, and lay down. Since, then, they have gotten along fine, my only issue is trying to walk 2 dogs with 2 adjustable leashes, that have 2 totally different minds of their own. It has made for some fun moments for the neighbors to watch I'm sure.
The only heart tearing moments are when Brandi turns to go into her old house, she heads towards the door, and then before the leash runs out, as if she realizes her beloved owner is gone, she slowly turns and follows us up the stairs and to her new door.
One of the reasons I love dogs, there is a love and a loyalty that is just there for them. They love those who are good to them, and will always be there for their owners, even in the event of death. So, I got a dog to add to the house, her name is Brandi, she is a 5 lb. long haired Chihuahua, and I hope I am as deserving of her love as her previous owner was, and I will take care of her to the best of my abilities...hey... maybe since there are crazy cat ladies... this could be the start of the daft dog dudes... yeah... let's hope not... I love each and every one of you, and God does too.
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