Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Striker, Striper...




He, like me, doesn't really care what you call him.

I slapped by hip "Come on Boy! C'mon!'

He lifted his head and surveyed the area around him, then behind him...then dropped his head back down.

Thirty feet away, I knelt down and smacked the side of my leg "I am talking to you, now...C'mon!"

His big ears flopped like long hair on a little kid chasing after an ice cream truck. I could almost hear him squealing out with shock, surprise and joy..."She's talking to me! Somebody wants me! Maybe somebody l-o-v-e-s mmmmeeeeeeeee!"

Aw, but his young, excited energy was quickly spent and he found rest quite heavily in the front room of my brothers house.

Instinctively and immediately, he fell in love with everything and everyone he came in contact. He'd gladly go anywhere with anyone of us

So there we sat...

Four adults, four households and between us 54 feet, pads and paws.

Not a one of us had any business taking in four more paws.

Nope, no business what-so-ever.

Oh, but we ALL wanted to.

There's something about this small south Georgia town...you either come with dogs, leave with dogs or both.


I named him 'Striper' but often times just find myself calling him 'Striker.' Had I thought about I would have named him 'Community.' Really, he's OUR dog. Not mine.

I brought him home and the next morning took him to the vets, where he was diagnosed with a couple of different types of worms, including the dreaded heart worm. He stayed a couple nights at the vet and came back here to recuperate from the arsenic which they had to treat him with. That was a little over two weeks ago.

Yesterday, the sun was out and so was he. He had a new found light about his eyes, a swifter wag of the tail and a quicker pace to his step. He's finally starting to feel better from the first of his three treatments.

It will be close to Christmas by the time he is completely treated for all of his worms and then, bless his struggling little heart, he's gonna go transgender.

Come the New Year, he will be like a new dog.

Top Photo: Dogs, not mine, at brotherlove's place.
Center Photo, on Right: What Striper has looked like 90% of the time, the past 2 weeks...very tired, very weak.
Bottom Photo: What Striker looked like yesterday afternoon & today. We can see the light!

18 comments:

~Babs said...

,,,,and that light is beautiful, just look at his eyes. One happy boy!
How lucky for him to have the light of your heart holding his four paws.
Sometimes we just gotta MAKE it our business for these guys, huh?
If I could I'd have every stray, every drop off, every critter who ever looked at me with those sad eyes.
Bless you for making him your business.

Me said...

..he's gonna go transgender.

lolwut

Too cute :)

Reggie Hunnicutt said...

Going transgender ....that's funny.

We have five rescue border collies in our small home.

Mel said...

Oh what a lucky puppy to be so loved by you.

He's home......this is a good thing.

<-- would like a puppy now

*sending healing thoughts for the puppy*

Shimmerrings said...

Awwww.... I love animals, so much. I love the way you described this, his ears flying back, because somebody was talking to HIM... precious!

skinnylittleblonde said...

Wilsons...happy he is, but no sooner had a posted this did he start on a wheezing, coughing, gasping frenzy. So, I still have to make sure he doesn't think he's feeling better than he is and outdo himself. Poor baby and I were up half the night. But we will get there.

Orhan... lol, that's a way of saying he's gonna get 'fixed' as in neutered. ;) He will never miss 'em.

Wreggie... Lol...we don't have small houses, we just live in over-sized dog houses ;) Funny how when I say "no more" it seems we can always make room for another one.

MEL !!! Good News! He is a PUPPY! He is only 7 months old! Lemme get him in good health and he can be YOUR puppy too! I will meet you in TimBuckTwo! ;) There are so many puppies Mel, me thinks that you should definitely go ahead and get yourself one. Of course, if you opt for Striper, he will come house trained, leash trained and all that good stuff and then when you go to get another little puppy, he will be there to help train!

Shimmerings... Oh, if you could have seen him. It still makes me smile. Words can't really capture how elated he was... poor baby, he is such a good boy. Somebody messed up.

skinnylittleblonde said...

I really do like that bottom picture. Funny... his ears were floppy and forward until I aimed the cell phone at him.

Lola Starr said...

Aw, he's so sweet!! I love floppy ears!!

The CEO said...

Jake and Grace are both here rooting for him. Grace wants him to come visit, Jake wants to play war with him. Grace loves him. So do I.

singleton said...

Ahhh, our handsome little lover boy....
Rivers...
Jed...
Leroy...
Stripers...
Striker...
Spike...
Peanut...
Injun...
Spot...
Clampet....
Jethro...
Keeper...

He just loved that we called him....

when really, it was him calling us...

Much love sweet sisterlove....

kj said...

aww, skinny, i see my stella in striker's eyes. he will be forever grateful and loyal for your love and kindness. it's taken stella two plus years to reclaim her playfulness and safety. it is a sight to behold.

i can tell this is one sweet dog.
congratulations.

:)

SHE said...

great story/great photos

dogs bring out the best in people around here too..

i have none (actually), but two, thanks to neighbors like you who share the love

"to the dogs!"

cheers, love, peace ~s.

Mel said...

Oh, how I wish.....*sigh*

I have a good friend who does Lab rescues--and they're equally precious and loveable.
Himself, however, is allergic to furry things--which is why Thammy the Thnake happened.
Doesn't stop me whinin' about wanting a puppy though! ;-)

skinnylittleblonde said...

Sorry so late in getting back here!

Karma...Oh you would love his ears...they are so very soft. His entire coat is amazingly soft, but his ears are like the finest silk.

CEO...Lol, I have a feeling he would do alright with Grace and Jake. I saw him share grub as a stray with the cats. His ears perked up and his shoulders hunkered down, I said "Ant!" and he went on eating! Now that's he's feeling better, I'm sure he'd love to play!

Sister Sing...Hahahaha, I love all the names we come up with! I just opted to go with the one, no the two, names he answered to ;)

skinnylittleblonde said...

KJ!!!
You are right! I too see Stella in his eyes! They are beautiful, soulful babies, aren't they?

She....hahahaha, yes my neighborhood is rich with dog owners and we have joked that it is a 'two dog minimum' neighborhood. That being said, my next door neighbors, who have none, say that I have them covered! ;)

Mel...I am sure Thammy is happy, but I, of course would love to see you have a dog. Allergic reactions to dogs is usually caused by dog dander. There are many great dogs who have very, very little dander and shedding and these dogs, historically, have been able to co-exist with people who have dog allergies. I have a girlfriend who has terrible dog allergies and cannot stand to be around my dogs, but she has three dogs herself with no problems. I'll be back in a minute with more info for you!

skinnylittleblonde said...

((MEL!))
As suspected...Labradoodle made the list! A compromise for you and your man! An F1B...they are so cute and from what I understand excellent companions!
Here are some links for you!



http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/allergy.htm

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/labradoodle.htm

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Allergies.php

Scott from Oregon said...

More love...

skinnylittleblonde said...

Welp, it's lookin' more and more like he's my big ole puppy folks...
such a sweet baby, but really I can't afford another mouth to feed.
Finally got his clean bill of health...