Chapter Two
Mia
Mia came to me by way of a mass breeder not far from my home. The breeder was surrendering about 15 dogs that were no longer producing. I made arrangements for them to go to different area rescue groups, but since I had pekingese, and knew that I loved the breed, I decided I would keep Mia and foster her.
Mia had been pregnant, and after delivering three puppies, the breeder assumed she was done. However the next day, Mia was still acting strange, so the breeder took her to the veterinarian. Mia still had four puppies inside of her. One large one was blocking the way. Unfortunately, it was already dead, but the vet managed to save two of the other ones, by way of c-section. Over the course of weaning the five remaining puppies, two more died.
I convinced the breeder that Mia shouldn’t be bred again due to her having to have a c-section. Mia was two and a half years old, and had already had four litters. She had spent her entire life in a wire cage measuring 2 foot by 4 foot. When I put her into my truck, she cried and cringed away from me. She finally ended up riding the entire way home wedged behind me, between the seat and my back. She was petrified.
When we got to my house, I let Harvey come down and meet her. She didn’t know what to do. The tile floor scared her, she had never been on a solid surface before and I’m sure her paws ached from the wire constantly cutting into them. I carried her into the backyard, and set her down. She alternated between holding different paws up, as if the unfamiliar feel was hurting her. After a few moments, she sniffed the ground and looked up at me. I could see that she ‘got it’. Her tail began to swish and she looked around with perked ears, that probably hurt from years of hearing a hundred other miserable dogs barking constantly. Harvey ignored her, making his way around the backyard, every vigilant of his toys and territory. She cocked her head and picked her way over to him. They made their way around the perimeter of the back yard. Harvey showing her the good smells and what to watch for.
As we prepared for bed that night, I put Mia into a crate. She was horrified. What little taste of freedom she had experienced had just been undone by putting her back into a closed dark space. I immediately let her out, settling her in an open ex-pen with lots of blankets. She seemed content. Harvey and I went upstairs and got in bed. When I woke up in the morning, Mia was in bed with us. She had climbed out of the ex-pen and come upstairs, so my husband just hauled her up into our bed. Mia never slept anywhere but in our bed from that night on. She was bound and determined to make the most of freedom. She became very fond of blankets, pillows, couches and beds, and rarely slept on the floor even for naps during the day.
Mia lived with us for two months. She spent Christmas with us, and was overjoyed at having her own ‘presents’. She had a toybox full of toys, and if I picked them up and put them back, she immediately ran to the box and drug them all out again.
One day I got an email from someone interested in adopting Mia. I almost didn’t return it. I would have been happy to have kept her forever, but I knew that if I didn’t place her, I couldn’t help any other dogs. So I called the woman back and we arranged a home visit. I drove nearly two hours, with Mia, to her new home. Mia walked in the door like she owned that house. She met her brother and sister dogs. She met her new mom and human sister. And I looked in her eyes, and I could see. She ‘got it’.
I cried the entire two hour drive home. Not just for having to let her go, but because I knew in my heart that these people would love and cherish a little dog that no one had ever wanted, who lived in a dark, wire cage and never knew a kind touch or any kind of love. That this little dog would finally have her own people, who no one would ever take away from her. Mia was home.
