My first author bio mentioned an ancient and grizzled cat… who then promptly died at the ripe old age of 15, leaving me with no pets to include in my bio. The actual heartache of losing a companion I’ve had with me for a huge chunk of my life aside, to be truthful the house felt pretty empty without some other sentient being sharing it with us. I mean, we keep aquariums, but that’s not really the same (not that some fish don’t have darn cute personalities… but its hard to snuggle a fish.)
A couple of months ago we started scouring the Humane Society website, and looking at other shelters and rescues in the surrounding area. We started by adopting a 5 year old mix who was utterly terrified by the pound environment- she was huddled in the corner and barely responsive. She’d been a stray in Arkansas for along time, and when she was caught, they shipped her up north (I didn’t realize how often shelters ship dogs back and forth across the U.S.?) to where I live.
After about three months, she’s finally coming out of her shell, and just started sleeping on our bed this week, and she’s finally coming to us for attention and affection. Meet Nala…
Nala has a black merle coat, which is just gorgeous, and glass spots in her eyes (spots on her irises that are white)- those are characteristics only of a few species of dogs, including Australian cattle dogs and catahoula leopard dogs (both of which are much bigger than she is- she’s only 28lbs). So whatever kind of mix she is, she’s a very pretty girl…
And just last weekend, we traveled to a rural shelter a ways away from us to adopt Nova, who is a 5 month old Beagle mix (although mixed with what.. I’m starting to think Chihuahua =) Nova is adorable, loving, and OMG does she smell good (why do puppies smell so good???). Seriously. Go smell a puppy. They are awesome.
The sweetest thing is that Nova has really helped Nala to open up. Before Nova came along, Nala pretty much wanted to run outside in the yard, or sit quietly in her bed with a giant “DO NOT DISTURB” sign hovering over her head. Since seeing the puppy interacting with us, she’s decided that maybe some affection isn’t a bad thing, and she’s starting playing with the puppy outside, and snuggling with her. It’s amazing…
Now, if only Nala and Nova could help me finish sorting out the plot for Book II.