"Little Bunnie Foo Foo"...

For the last week of adopt a shelter dog month, I thought I would tell you about Bunnie and how she came to be part of Kemple Dog Tribe.

Someone dumped her on the side of the road in front of my neighbor's house. It was that simple and that sad. Bunnie is an amazing dog and they missed out. However, if they had not left her, she would not be in my family, so for that I am grateful.

It was a very hot August evening when I arrived home from work. As I went in to the house I noticed a cute white puppy hiding under my next door neighbor's car. I went in the house, did my usual thing and was leaving the house to go out to dinner when I saw the puppy again. She looked hot, and thirsty and hungry. My neighbor was out so I went over to ask about the new puppy. I have to throw in here that my neighbor at the time (not the same neighbor that I have now) had a dog that he did not take great care of. I was always going over and playing with Rex, making sure he had clean water (he never did) and also making sure that he was warm enough in the winter because they left him outside even in the snow. Oh and the guy would let him run out of food. FOR DAYS. Not a good dog owner. We will leave it at that. But I digress. I asked my neighbor if he had gotten a new puppy. He said no and gestured underneath the car and said "I have been trying to get rid of the damn thing all day". After holding myself back from knocking his lights out, I asked if he had given her water and he said no. It was at least 100 degrees that day. So, I went home, got some water and coaxed her out from under the car. She had a skin condition and was covered in fleas and ticks. She seemed friendly but extremely shy. After assuring my neighbor that I would take care of her and make sure that she did not end up in his yard, I took her home with me and fixed her up in the car port. I could not bring her around my other 2 dogs because I wasn't sure what she had and I did my best to get the ticks off. That is when I named her Bunnie. The next morning I had gotten her a vet appointment and worked on the fleas. The vet said she had worms, fleas and demodex mange but other than that, was fine. So I took her home fully intending to just foster her until I could adopt her out. She would not stay in the house so I had to let her live in the backyard. We borrowed a dog house and set it up on the deck and got an umbrella for our large out door table so that so she had shade during the day. She was so happy out there. I would go outside every night and sit with her for an hour or two. Sam and Chloe loved her and she seemed to like them too.
Then one day I came home from work in a huge panic because we were having huge thunderstorm and I was worried about her. When I opened the door to the deck, there was Bunnie, curled up and sleeping ON TOP OF THE TABLE, under the umbrella dry and snug as a bug. It was at that moment that I knew Bunnie would never leave. 2 weeks after that, Bunnie finally came inside, and has been sleeping on my bed or my couch ever since!

Bunnie is an amazing dog. She is so smart and athletic. We did agility for several years and she was very good. Unfortunately, Bunnie's mom was not as good! She has been my demo dog when I went to talk to students about responsible dog ownership and also about volunteering. She has been the "friendly dog" for Canine Good Citizen Testing and the comforter to me when I needed it. Bunnie is an amazing hunter. This has not always been a good thing for me as I have to "clean up" the presents that she leaves but it is incredible to watch her. Bunnie is so strong. She has had two surgeries, one on each knee, and each time she has completely blown me away with how hard she has worked to be able to walk again. She has these huge "moo cow" eyes that just melt my heart. When Sampson moved, Bunnie came the alpha of the dogs and she rules with an iron paw. I watch her take charge when she thinks I am not looking and she is a force to be reckoned with. She also has this amazing sweet side and will lick Chloe's ears when she knows they itch and lets Chloe lick her face back.

As I sit here now and see all 3 of them curled up and sleeping I think how luck I am to have them. They are a lot of work, and sometimes a lot of worry but they are everything to me.

Thought for today: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” Gandhi