A Tribute to Ladybug
It had been many years since I had owned a dog, although I had longed for a Golden Retriever for years. I was quitting my teaching job and staying home to help my husband with our home-based business. Now, I knew I would have the time and energy that a Golden deserved. A friend suggested we start by contacting Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta. I contacted the rescue group and filled out the paper work. We were questioned and inspected and told we were ideal but we’d have to wait. Due to some paperwork glitches, it was almost 6 weeks before we were given an apology and told that we had been moved to the top of the list and that several folks were going to work very hard to find us the perfect pet. They kept asking us what we were looking for, and we kept saying, "We don’t know, probably a female – we’ll know her when we see her." I have to say that I am a praying woman and I had prayed for a long time that we would find the perfect Golden to fit into our family, so I believe the paperwork glitches were divine intervention.
The adoption day at PetSmart arrived and we were told they had a puppy for us to see. I could tell the coordinator was distressed, and finally she told me that the foster who had the puppy was either late or wasn’t coming so why didn’t I start going down the line and looking at the other pups. We were on about the 3rd puppy, and were having a nice discussion when I looked up and saw Lady. She was about 10 dogs down at the other end of the store and she had stepped out of line and was looking right at me. I’m sure I was rude to whomever I was talking to because I just went straight to this beautiful white faced senior who was the answer to my prayers. It was a spiritual moment. We looked into one another’s eyes for a long time. I don’t know how to explain this to you except to say that we understood one another. Everyone around saw what happened and needless to say the foster didn’t question a thing. Lots of others came to look at Lady, but it was obvious she was mine.
Lady was a 9 year old owner turn in. She had been adopted as a tiny puppy (I do have a picture), and one of the family’s six children especially spent time with her and trained her a bit. As the children grew up, Lady was relegated to the back yard with a large bowl of food to keep her company. Finally, grandchildren came and Lady "brought debris into the house" which caused them to give her up to the rescue group. (Yes, they ACTUALLY said that!) She weighed a little over 90 lbs and should have ideally weighed about 75-78lbs. The foster mom said she had spent hours brushing and cutting mats out of her beautiful fur. Lady came with her beloved tennis ball that she kept with her at all times. (see photo)
After the adoption, we had a few hours before the foster mom would deliver Lady. The first thing we did after buying good food and cans of green beans for her diet, was to fill a basket with tennis balls. (I think we bought 30 – this was before I knew how adept she would be at collecting them from the tennis courts.) Lady seemed a bit tense, but also seemed to know she was fine. She loved the tennis ball basket! We were experiencing a very hot summer and we bought her a kiddie pool the next day. It was then that we saw her smile for the first time!!! (see photos)
I found myself calling her Ladybug because that was what my Grandma used to call me. Everyone, including my mom who doesn’t consider herself a "dog person" fell in love with Ladybug. She was even invited into Mom’s house for every occasion. She rode with me everyday, morning and afternoon, through the carpool line in the middle school, and took that job very seriously. If it got to be 3:30pm and I didn’t seem to be moving, she came to let me know it was time to go to school. Ladybug was a wise old soul who was very set in her ways. She did not like soft surfaces such as the bed, and came to enjoy riding in the car despite the soft seat, although she always hid her head when the car was in reverse.
On my daughter’s birthday a woman was giving away kittens in front of WalMart. Of course, we took the only kitten left. Ladybug came alive!!! It was her baby!! She worried about the kitty and walked around and around trying to train the kitty, but Alice the kitty wouldn’t behave. When Alice neared the stairs, Ladybug would pick her up very gingerly and move her. She would wake me up in the night and go and stand by my daughter’s bedroom door until I let her go and check on Alice, then she would go back to bed. We had to keep the doors shut because Ladybug also liked to enjoy the delicacies of the litter box as a snack.
The vet had warned us that Alice was sick and might not make it. Ladybug and I nursed her around the clock for 4 months. The day before Alice died, Ladybug wouldn’t go near her. Alice said her goodbyes to each of us and then snuggled into my daughter’s arms to take her last breath. It took Ladybug a few days to recover, but animals seem to understand these things better than we do.
Because GRRA had saved our Ladybug, we decided to become foster parents to help others like her. She didn’t think it was the best idea, but she did get friskier around other Goldens. She played like a puppy most of the time, and we had to be careful not to overdo it, because she would chase a tennis ball until her muscles were sore. She taught all the fosters how to go in and out of the doggie door and where to find the water bowls. As long as they didn’t try to sleep on her side of the bed she was OK!
We had never had her near a lake until the rescue group had a picnic at Stone Mountain. As soon as she saw the lake, she tried to jump out of the car window. She was usually such a calm dog in the car, so this was a real shock to us. We let her run into the water and everyone was remarking on how much she loved it. Eventually the park ranger stopped us, and it was not easy to keep her out. A group "run" had been arranged, and I kept making apologies for Ladybug saying "We may be walking because she isn’t much of a runner." Well, just to make a fool of me it seems, she took off running with me at the end of her leash (she did NOT like leashes and had not spent much time on one), and she stayed at the head of the line the entire time until she came to a place where she could see the water, then in she went, pulling me along behind her. I couldn’t get her out and had to have assistance when the rest of the group finally caught up. Of course, just about that time the park ranger also drove up and gave us our last warning. I couldn’t believe she was so strong and energetic – she was like a pup. This was 6 months before cancer overtook her. When I question myself regarding her symptoms, I remember this day and know that she felt healthy at that point.
As I’ve said, Ladybug was a wise old soul. I felt safe in her presence. Even though I saw to her feeding and brushing and well-being, it was clear that it was she who was really taking care of me. She knew which noises in the night to ignore and which ones were important. She knew when the kitty was dying. She knew all of the important things. She was my "heartdog" forever. I love her and I miss her.
~Raven Taylor