Rex a.k.a "The Poops," our boxer mutt, was rescued from a hotel balcony in Charlotte, NC. He was bound to the rails with rope, which someone had tied around his poor little neck, belly, and paws. The weather was cold, and Rex was malnourished and dehydrated. Brad's mom found this then runt and took him into her home.
The little puppy from the balcony has since grown into a beautiful but neurotic dog.
We have put The Poops on Prozac and other drugs. We have taken him to acupressure treatments...desperate efforts to help calm his nerves.
Nerves that have driven him to "hide" under the bed for an hour because the baby gate fell down and made a loud noise.
Nerves that have also driven him to poop in my brand new car on the way to obedience lessons. Don't worry...no picture of that.
Some people would find these and Rex's other habits annoying. I mean, there's a 50-50 chance Rex will pee on his paw when he goes outside. And, well, he is destructive too.
He has destroyed bras, overflowing trash bags, figurines, t-shirts, dog beds, and remote controls. But the THINGS Rex has destroyed will never surpass the value of his loyalty and unconditional love.
Many of you know that The Poops came into our lives during a time of great transition. Brad had fallen in love with this crazy dog on his leave, and we decided that once Brad returned home from Afghanistan we would take this four-legged bundle of trouble off of Sande's hands.
WARNING! Moral of the story coming soon...get ready.
On our hike to Mary's Rock last week, Rex got more attention than ever before. Many different hiking parties commented on how pretty our pup was, and four of them made note of his curly tail.
After passing Brad and Rex, a female hiker in her best baby voice said, "Awww look at that tail," and used her fingers to draw an imaginary spiral. She hadn't noticed me at first because I was trailing behind my boys. But then she heard me laughing, and we laughed for a moment together.
Cute tail. Adorable tail. What a tail...we heard it all afternoon, but nothing was cuter than the three year old with the surprisingly deep and monotone voice who said, "What a beautiful dog you have." The boy was right. Rex is beautiful.
And his tail is well, special, like him. When The Poops is scared, the curl disappears in between his legs. When he wags it, it doesn't go back and forth but in a circle.
Rex doesn't realize he's not normal. He just knows that he's loved, and you know what? He's happy. Hussein Nishah, said to be the Fruit Loop in the bowl of Cheerios. Come to think of it, we're a family of Fruit Loops, and life couldn't be better.
Now, go rescue a dog. Or hug the one you have. And don't be afraid to be a Fruit Loop.
You are spot on about dogs. Nothing a dog can do could ever cancel out the love they give. I would not trade our dog for all the ** you name it ** in the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Casey! I'm so glad you can relate. It's cliche, but I'm a firm believer that a house is not a home until it has a dog. :)
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