Tuesday, April 13, 2010

An unexpected visitor


Pat Davids here.
I have to complain about this. Our quiet, sleepy neighborhood has become a mess. The city is repairing a main bridge on our end of town and all the traffic is being rerouted past our block. It's a sand street and I am living in a Kansas dust bowl as dump trucks and heavy equipment rumble past our house all day long raising clouds of choking gray dust. I wish it would rain.
Then yesterday, out of the dust, came a young visitor. She barely got out of the way of a speeding car.
She doesn't have a name. She has a collar but no tags and a tail that wags in spite of her thinness. You wouldn't believe how thirsty she was. I think she just got lost in all the confusion and changing traffic patterns. I don't recognize her from our neighborhood.
My yellow lab, Sadie, didn't care to have her home invaded, but I couldn't leave this poor girl out on her own. After some stiff-legged growls and a huff or two, they decided to be friends and chase each other around the yard.
How strange is it that when our lives seem all a mess and nothing is going right, God sends us a small reminder to be grateful for the little things. Like a bowl of water, a new friend and our own loving home.
I've been trying to think of a name for my visitor. I know I can't keep her. I've put up signs to direct her owner this way. I hope someone wants her. She's so sweet. Tomorrow, if no one claims her, she'll go to our no-kill shelter. Did you know black dog are hard to adopt out? Who could not want those pretty eyes and wagging tail. Perhaps her white markings will make her more acceptable.
I thought of Twinkle Toes for a name. She got those cute white feet. Or maybe Lucky Lady because the car missed her. Blacky just won't do. Okay writers and readers. I need a name for this girl. I'm not taking her to the shelter without one.

11 comments:

Pat Davids said...

Adge,
I don't know. It doesn't make any sense to me.
Pat

Project Journal said...

Adge,
Well, black cats are supposedly superstitious, but dogs....I don't know!

Pat,
She's adorable!!! If I lived there, I would want to adopt her (though our baby girl, Maddie, probably wouldn't love it).

She looks like a southern belle, so Belle? Ummmmm....Twinkle toes is very cute and appropriate. My mom's rule to naming pets is, "If you're going to stand in the door and call them in from outside, what do you want the neighborhood hear you yelling?!" Lol....here's some other ideas:
Dottie
Ellie
Liberty (what an interesting name that'd be!)
Cleo
Penny (though she's not a bronze/brown color...)
Lily
Oreo (heehee...)
Olive
Rose/Rosie
Belle (from above)

Now, I'll admit it's a little tricky because we don't know her personality. However, we know she's a trouper and the cutest lil thing ever! So, there you go. I don't know if that helps, but I'd name my dog any of those names, so i like them! Lol!
Talk to you later! Good luck!
Hannah

Pat Davids said...

Hannah,
I love Oreo. What a cute name.
It's so hard to decide. Speaking of yelling out the door, we once had a pair of dogs named Tubby and Fatso. It was very uncomfortable yelling out the door for them. I got some strange looks from our new neighbors and I could never call them if someone was walking past our house.

Ruth Logan Herne said...

We love black animals. My husband has always had a soft spot for black cats...

Meowwwwww......

So despite our "Do Not Keep A Male Cat On The Farm" policy, "George" is now curled up on the sofa, watching Jeter and the rest of the Yankees win their home opener.

And our chocolate brown standard poodle that we breed to our beautiful red retriever stud dog, invariably produces...

Yup.

You guessed it.

Black Doodles. They're technically Golden Doodles but it's really tricky to explain to people why their Golden puppy is actually um...

Black.

Genetics is such a fun and inexact science.

Pat, good luck with Twinkle Toes. That's a really bad name, by the way. Unlike GEORGE for a cat.

I did not name George. As if!

When I name cats they get really radically cool names like Callie (calico).

Pumpkin (orange)

Stripey... I don't have to explain further, do I????

Ruth Logan Herne said...

Ahh, Hannah...

We had an Oreo cat. Coolest cat ever. She thought she was a dog. Loved her to pieces.

And our Standard Poodle: Hearthside's Lady Liberty (call name: Libby)

And that was because my son and partner in the dog business said if we were buying a high-falutin' Poodle we'd better not give it some stupid name like "Fifi" or "Colette".

My apologies to any and all Love Inspired readers named Fifi and Colette.

With my luck they'll be sisters in Quebec.

Oy vey.

Pat Davids said...

Update on Oreo.

Here's an update on Oreo. I took her to the animal shelter this afternoon, kind of hoping no one was looking for her and I could soften my husband up in a few days and bring her home again.

Good plan, except Oreo had a micro-chip. She also had an owner who had reported her missing and by now she is on her way home.

Happy endings all around. Thanks for thinking of my little visitor today and for sharing your dog and cat names and stories. Pets are wonderful gifts.

Have a blessed day.

Project Journal said...

Awwww! I'm so glad you liked Oreo...I was a little partial to that one too seeing as how I love food! Lol!

That's good, but a little sad too that she got to go home. It's one of those things that you want the animal to have the best thing happen. So, I'm glad she got home, but to us she'll always be Oreo *wink* Did you find out her real name?

Ruthy, Wow! You've had a couple of the names I listed....cool! My aunt has a George the cat too! However, he's had a TON of urinary tract infections, so he's ummmmmm a she now, we'll just say. Alicia and I pick on him/her and call him/her Georgina now *wink*

Fun post, Pat! Thanks!
Hannah

Sheila Deeth said...

She's gorgeous, and there's lots of black labs in Oregon, so black's not always sad. Oreo's a neat name.

Merrillee said...

We adopted a black puppy. We named him Pepper, and he lived to be nearly eighteen.

Pat Davids said...

I didn't learn Oreo's real name. They just made me leave her, but I did hear them calling her owner.
I hope she stays home and has a long happy life.
By the way, Cindy W, I really like Spat's because of her white toe.
You ladies are a hoot.

Rita Garcia said...

She looks adorable, how sweet of you to take her in. I also like your message of remembering to be thankful for the little things. Hugs, Rita