Saturday I decided was the perfect day to make some special Frankie time. Since I needed to run to the feed store I figured that would work well for him. I opened the back door to the Jeep and turned around to pick him up. He decided he was tired of being “helped” and jumped in all by himself. Even with 4 legs he would put the front legs on the seat and wait for me to pick up the back end for him. I guess the 4th leg was holding him back. We drove into town with his head out the window. At each stop light he would come up and sniff my hair or lick my face. I wondered if he thought we were going to the vet again ?!? Pulling up to the feed store he settled in the back for a little nap while I ran in. It was a cool day and I left all the windows open for him to enjoy. We pulled around back to pick up our purchases a couple minutes later. I opened the back gate and Frankie and I patiently waited for about 10 minutes before it was our turn. I scratched his ears and his belly so he was quite content with the wait. While loading the Jeep the guy kept saying what an interesting dog Frankie was. Frankie looks like a dingo so I agreed with him. As we loaded the last items, the guy got very serious and in quiet tones he asked ” Do you mind me asking what happened to his leg?”. A little surprised my brain jumped to the story my husband has been telling everyone, IED in Iraq, but I just couldn’t do it. I explained about the dog fight and how amputation was the bet option. It surprised me though that this guy saw Frankie’s loss of a leg as a traumatic experience that would be hard to talk about. With or without his front leg, Frankie is a great dog who loves attention, belly scratches and food. While the time surrounding the surgery was stressful, I will never look at the choice we made as something to be hidden or kept secret. I took Frankie home and he rolled around in the grass (bragging to the other dogs about his adventure, I am sure). Then it was time for his next nap.
Before we went through all this, who would think a trip to the store would become so special? I find myself appreciating so many more little things than I used to. Sounds like Frankie’s doing so well. Love all the naps – wish I could join him!
Hug and Wags,
Judy and Baby
Me too…he naps in the middle of the lawn with the sun shining brightly on him. Who can say that dogs aren’t a window to the way the world was meant to be. Gotta learn to appreciate the little, simple things in life. And love every aspect of our pets.
Those special little every-day moments! Those are to be cherished and tucked away to be pulled out and remembered later as the significant events that they were. We’re so happy that Frankie is loving life!!!
I found that most adults approached the question of what happened to Rio’s leg in a very similar manner. Like they were worried about upsetting me… Nice, but unnecessary. Kids, on the other hand, would just blurt out, “what happened to her leg?” Either way, I always looked at it as an educational opportunity, a way to share with people the wonder of dogs and their ability to overcome such gigantic obstacles. Who knows, maybe at a later date, those people will be faced with a similar situation, and they’ll know, without all the agonizing that we had to go through, what the right solutions for them is…
Micki
great day!!!! and, (like a cherry on top) you ended with a nap, nothing better!!
charon & spirit gayle
They love those pats…I wonder if they just think “life has just got better” with people noticing them and being more gentle than previously.
I reckon they develop a new SMILE that is tripawd-grown.
pats to the napper.
Gandalf and Meg
The Feed Store! We loved going to the tractor supply store and walking up and down the aisles. Pretty soon they will have the duckies and chickies and wabbits to smell !! And a big dog nap after? What a great day!
I think it’s nice when people are a little hesitant to ask what happened. Better than them saying something rude or dumb I suppose. After saying it at least three dozen times, you’ll find you can talk about it in two sentences or less, and usually the response is “Awwww! He gets around great doesn’t he?”
Tripawds really are superstars wherever they go. Talk about walking inspawration!