It’s been about a week and a half since Moose made his way into my life. Rescued dogs are not the same as pups you get that are 6-8 weeks old. They have a past.
I don’t know Moose’s full story. I don’t know what he’s been through, what he saw, or when his true birthday is. I don’t even truly know how old he is. Could be anywhere from 2-4? All I know is what I have. All I can do is love him from this day forward.
I have no idea if dog’s do what people do when life is less than for them. Do they fantasize about a better life when their life isn’t going according to plan? Do they get jealous of other dogs who seem to have it better off? Do they long for greener grass?
I do know that whatever happened to him, helped form some of his habits. I’ve had to potty train him. He still needs to be neutered. He eats his food like it’s on fire and because he eats so fast, he can get indigestion which seems to make him vomit just as quickly as his food went down. And there’s no warning. One minute he’s walking along, the next minute, vomit. Yuck!
I was watching tv the other day, and I don’t remember what show it was, but they said something about the “Parent lottery”. Pretty much summarizing how kids never know what they’re going to be born into.
Out of all the things in this life we have to get certified or licensed to do, bringing children into the world isn’t one of them. It’s a free for all.
I could go on for days about the heartbreak of not taking the seriousness of bringing children into this world and the damages that have been caused from years of neglect and abuse on lives that never asked to be here. I could go on for days about bringing a pet into your home, only to realize it’s way more work than you thought, so the animal suffers because you didn’t think it through. But, you can see these type stories every day in the news. Multiple examples daily.
I remember my son wanting his own dog as teenager. Over and over for years, I told him no. I knew who would wind up taking care of the dog. Who would be footing the vet bills. Who would be responsible for the cost of food. Who would eventually wind up training the dog. He wanted the easy part. Loving the dog.
Now that he’s grown up and pays his own bills, he understands more of what owing a dog would entail. When or if he gets his own dog, I know he’ll take better care into making a decision that can affect his life for years.
If I said I was sold on having Moose here, I’d be lying. It boggles my pea brain how a dog that could be between 2-4 is not potty trained! It hurts my heart to see him rush through his food like someone is going to take it away. He barks, way more than any dog I’ve ever owned. He barks continuously every time my son moves when he happens to be here. He’s so mouthy!
On the flip side, Moose is so loving. When he’s not barking, he’s adorable in every way. He loves to play fetch and go for walks. He’s a face licker. I’m not a fan of that. No siree, that is not my jam. It makes me feel like Lucy VanPelt. I want to run in circles while screaming “arrgghhh, get the disinfectant.” He’s mostly a cuddler but he’s ok on his own.
Then, out of the blue the other day, I noticed something wrong with his eye. Ugh! Turns out to be something called “cherry eye.” I’ll let you check it out for yourself if you’re interested in what it actually is. It’s only in one eye and I’m really hoping it doesn’t happen to the other eye.
This is my ugly part. I’m the one from the dysfunctional home that doesn’t want hard. I’m the one who wants all things to be easy and pretty. I’m the one who thinks that because her childhood sucked, she should get a pass in the adult part.
Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. Life is hard. Life is messy. Life is heartbreaking. And then your new to you dog gets “cherry eye”, and the oh so adorable looking Moose is now visibly flawed in addition to all the stuff going on in his brain I can’t see or erase.
This just got a bit harder than I wanted it to be. My first thought was, I’ll just surrender him back to the shelter because he won’t stop barking at my son. It’s too disruptive. And more aggressive than I’m comfortable with.
After all, I wanted the perfect rescue dog and this is not what I got. I know, I heard me whine too.
To assuage any guilt with this returning of the rescue dog, I was going to give the shelter everything I bought and let them keep the adoption fee. Surely, that would help the next person who was better suited for Moose.
But, something inside flipped yesterday as I was driving him to the vet to find out about his eye. In the car he was visibly shaken. He had a whine/cry emanate from him that just broke my heart. All of a sudden, all I wanted to do was to protect him and love him through whatever was coming.
We all have a rescue story. We all have parts of our lives that we don’t want anyone to see. Except there is One who knows our entire story from beginning to end.
Not once has God given any pause to how much He’s loved me. He’s looks past my flaws and says I’m the apple of His eye. His treasure. His masterpiece. God is always looking at our hearts. We’re always looking at the outer person.
When God rescued me from my mess, He didn’t say “take this one back to the shelter” until she’s perfect. No, He came to me just as I was. Messy, flawed and totally beat up and down by life. He enfolded me into His arms and said.
““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)
Last night at Bible study we learned the word “yoke” and the way it’s used in this verse means “teachings”. It doesn’t mean to strap on a big, awkward, heavy neck constraint. It means when we go to Jesus, we’ll find rest. When we learn from Him we find out who He really is. We do this by spending time with Him.
See, I was thinking my Moose would be an easy rescue. A picture perfect match made in Hallmark land. But easy is not what this is about at all. It’s about getting to know him. A week and half is barely scratching the surface. I guess it’s really true what they say about rescue pets.
Here I thought I was rescuing Moose, and he’s rescuing me.
Be gentle with yourself and others today. You never know when you’ll need rescued and it may be by the very person/thing you’re trying to run from. Remember, God uses ALL things!
Blessed to be Broken 
Looks like cherry eye is confirming your Moose is more than likely over to 2yro than any other age as cherry eye doesn’t typically happen much after 2yro!! Although his age doesn’t really seem to be the issue. I’m sorry about his other issues. I understand neutering mellows out male pups. Maybe Justin needs to let Moose face lick him and take him for a walk. He may stop barking…either from love of Justin or a worn out bark box!! Moose and you have plenty to learn from one another. I look forward to more stories! God bless the rescue…
On Thu, Mar 17, 2022, 12:27 PM Blessed to be Broken wrote:
> Trish Cordell posted: ” It’s been about a week and a half since Moose made > his way into my life. Rescued dogs are not the same as pups you get that > are 6-8 weeks old. They have a past. I don’t know Moose’s full story. I > don’t know what he’s been through, what he saw, or whe” >