Adopted! Papillon with his new owner
Nearly five months ago, I found my way down a dead-end road to a long driveway shaded by cedar trees filled with bossy squirrels. I tried to stay out of everyone’s way, because I’d learned the hard way that human beings are not always kind or eager to meet a new friend. I’d spent a large portion of my life chained up, unable to run more than a few feet and left out in the weather–hot and cold.
The thing about me is that I’m mostly beagle, which means I’ve got a nose that loves to follow a scent. It gets me and my fellow beagles into trouble sometimes. That and our loud, distinctive voice. We’re hounds and we love to cut loose with excitement when we hit a trail. Also, we don’t listen to anyone calling us when we’re following the scent of a deer or rabbit. It’s just our nature. But being chained up isn’t much of a solution, I can tell you that.
As it happened one day, like in a fairy tale, I got free of the collar and chain that held me, and I hit a scent. I ran and ran until my feet were sore. When I realized how far I’d gone, I knew I was never going back to that place where I’d been a prisoner. So I just kept going. I tried to stop at a few places, but the humans were angry that I was there. They chased me, and I got attacked by several bigger dogs. Let’s just say that it could have been partly my fault, since I was a two-year-old male with all the impulses and desires that come with that “condition.”
At last I stopped along this shady drive. I was exhausted, and I was beaten up and bleeding from a big dog that took exception to me. That’s when she found me. She brought me food and water, checked the wounds and doctored them, and told me that I should go home. Except I didn’t have a home to go to anymore. I couldn’t go back to the prison, and nowhere else along the way wanted me. So I hung around. For three days. Then, one day she was coming down the driveway and she stopped and picked me up. She took me to this strange place with many dogs and cats and people rushing around taking care of them. My first act was to pee on the wall. I mean I had to leave evidence that I had been there. It’s how we dogs communicate. Soon thereafter, we learned that I had heartworms. But first things first: I was scheduled to be altered, and then I was treated for the heartworms. It was a terrible ordeal, because I had to have medication and then say quiet for two whole months. That’s difficult for a beagle. I also got the other worms taken care of and got all my vaccinations so I won’t catch Parvo.
My rescuer taught me to use the bathroom outside–even when it’s raining. Peeing on the wall is not a good thing in the world of humans. It makes their hair stand on end. She had to put up a electric fence because I was so think I could slip through the squares in the pasture fence she had around the yard. Let me just say, that I learned quickly to stay away from that fence. Yow! That made my ears stand on end. But I had my own doggie bed in her room, where I was always dry and warm and I could sleep in her lap when she read or watched television.
Another good thing was my heartworms were gone and my heart muscle began to get stronger. I can feel it, pumping stronger and stronger each week. I gained weight. I lost the urge to pee on the wall and learned “manners.” And then I was taken to me my new rescuer, a wonderful lady with a big heart for beagles and horses. And now I have a great life. Some stories do have a happy ending. I’m living proof of that.