Paradigm Farms Horse Retirement: Sad Beginning, Happy Ending

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Sad Beginning, Happy Ending - One Year Later

It has been almost exactly one year since we had our sad stray dog show up on the farm. Her circumstances were certainly said when we met her. She was wandering around one of the run-in sheds, and so disoriented she walked into a fence two times. I got a leadrope and led her to the barn, and when I offered her water she drank and drank and drank. Two things quickly became apparent. The first was that no one was looking for her. We posted aggressively about her on social media, lost and found groups and anywhere else we could find and never got a single inquiry about her. The second thing that became apparent was that she and Ewen could not coexist peacefully. Ewen is a young, extremely hyper and playful dog. This was an old, tired, sad dog who wanted to rest. We did take her to the vet and have her examined, tested for heartworms (by a miracle she was negative) and vaccinated.

the sad, skinny, thirsty dog that showed up on our farm one year ago

Once it became apparent that Ewen was never going to give this sweet old dog a moment of peace, and that no one was looking for her, we began begging our friends to give her a home. Jason and I were so, so grateful that one of our friends immediately stepped up and said she would give her a home. Our sad, lost dog made the move into her forever home a couple of days later.

Abigail Rose on her first night in her new homse

The first order of business was giving her a name, and her new mom settled on the perfect name of Abigail Rose. Abigail Rose then got a new caller and a ID tags, a soft dog bed, and canine and feline siblings. She had a home and a family.

Abigail Rose with her siblings

For the first year Abigail Rose literally clung to her new mom. If her mom was at home she would not let her out of her sight. She would not go outside to go to the bathroom unless her mom came outside, even if the other dogs were outside in the fenced yard. In fact, for the first two weeks she would not go outside at all if she was not on a leash. After a couple of weeks she would go outside without the leash as long as her mom came along. Abigail Rose finally passed a huge milestone at her one year mark with her mom last week: she started going outside with the other dogs to hang out on the deck or go to the bathroom.

Abigail Rose has the perfect life now

Abigail Rose's mom is convinced that she spent most of her life thinking she had her own human and then somehow lost her human. She thinks that is why Abigail Rose was determined not to let her new mom out of her sight for the first year. We have three possibilities as to how I came to find her wandering aimlessly, bumping into fences, at my farm. The first is that her person died and she was abandoned. The second is that she got dumped for some reason. The third is that she had a stroke or somehow became really disoriented and got lost. Or that she got lost because she is almost completely deaf and she follows her nose a lot and she accidentally wandered off. If the third option is what happens it makes me extra sad because it means no one tried at all to find her. If someone was even half heartedly looking for her, they could have found her.

Abigail Rose now glows from good care, love and happiness

The good news is that Abigail Rose has spent the last year living her dream life. She had a human who loved her and whom she loves. She has dog siblings that she gets along with. Thanks to good nutrition her coat went from faded and dull to shiny and healthy. She has gone on many field trips and car rides, which she loves. In short, she's remembered how to be happy, confident, love and be loved again. It's one thing to offer a bit of helping hand like we did, and entirely another to actually offer a home. We can never thank Abigail Rose's mom enough for stepping up for Abigail Rose and giving her not just a place to live, but a home and a life filled with love.

The best picture of all, Abigail Rose and her mom. Happy endings make me happy.