The Meaning Of Rescue

"The Meaning of Rescue"

Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed,
I'd like to open by baggage
Lest I forget,
There is so much to carry -
So much to regret.
Hmm...yes there it is, right on top
Let's unpack Loneliness, heartache and Loss,
And there by my leash hides Fear and Shame.
as I look on these things I tried so hard to leave -
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.
I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.
Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things -
And take me right back?
Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage,
To never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage -
Will you still want me?

~Author Unknown~

I found this poem on the internet on a dog rescue page. It did pull a string for me. We did find Kia (Our German Shepard) at the pound. She was 9 months old and as big as she is now. She is 11 now and weighs 100pounds. It was an hour before the pound was closing that day and it was her "last" day. I had to do some fast talking to Paul because he was not at all happy about getting a 100 pound dog. She is a fully registered German Shepard and the previous owners had left her papers at the pound for the next owner. The reason they put for not keeping her was "Supose to be daughter's dog and she decided to go to college and she doesn't like cats"

We had 3 days to change our mind and in that 3 days she was the best dog ever!! Not that I would have taken her back if she would have been bad. Once I decide on a animal they stay with me till the end. We had our 2 cats at the time and she didn't mind them one bit in that 3 days! She instiantly bonded with Paul (which drove me crazy!!) and she was just the perfect little angel! I will say thou that during the first 2 or 3 weeks she did have a saddness about her. Even then I knew it was because she missed her previous owner/s. I also knew she didn't really understand why they had left her or why she was now with us.That is why that poem hit a chord with me today when I found it.

Well after the 3 days her true colors came out! She wasn't a bad dog but lets just say she was a very hyper dog with a mind of her own! She did like the cats....well she liked to chase them anyway! One of our cats finally figured out if you didn't run from her she would just go lay down and not bug them but it took our other cat awhile to figure that out. We had to segergate them for awhile.

We saw the movie Marely & Me the other day and that dog reminded me of Kia so much!! It was a really good movie if you get a chance to see it! Anyway we did get Kia in dog training and we learned to handle her. Paul even showed her in dog shows for the first year we had her. I will say our first couple of years with her were tough but like the movie, totally worth it with so many great memories! I will say I have always felt safe with Kia! I know she would give her life to save ours if she had to! That is in the German Shepard blood! She has always been good with the kids and even now is friends with the cats. I catch them all sharing her bed at times.

Kia has been a very special part of our family and I can't imagin life without her!

ps. If you click on Dog under label at the bottom of this post it will take you to a couple more posts about Kia with pictures.