Our Joy

After some of the eleven puppies I had found on the side of the road were adopted, we got word that 3(!) had gotten away from their new homes.
Our shelter is a county facility (that's why we are working so hard to have our own) and you can not always rely on the staff to know what breeds are there. So, Kevin stopped at the shelter every night on the way home to see for himself. He never did find one of our puppies, what he did find was Joy. He would come home and tell me about this little bitty black dog that would wag at him every time he went there. The note on the door said that she wasn't housebroken and that she would bite.
The day she was scheduled to die he brought her home. Joy had acute colitis and indeed messed in the house without any kind of warning. You would too if your tummy was in that much uproar! Poor thing was in pain and never knew when it was going to hit her! The vet check provided us with the needed answers and med's, as well as the recommendation to feed chicken and rice until she was better. That's what we did. Once her little body (she has maintained a weight of 14 lbs for the last 11 years) was all straightened out, I took her to the shop where I worked at the time to groom her.
This little old (already she was 9 years old) lady turned into a two-headed dragon! I was allowed to shave her back and throat but the rest of her was OFF LIMITS! She bit me, and my friend Annette and I wrestled with her like you would not believe. Finally we succeeded to get a pug muzzle on her and things became less dangerous, if not easier. From then on one of us would hold her and the other would sneak up on Joy from behind and slide the muzzle on her little face - but you had better get it right the first time!
Non of this made me love her any more. If I could have seen a way out of keeping her... That was not to be.
I started taking her places and lo and behold, she was a people person. Strangers could approach her and she would make up to them. She has always liked men of any age. This encouraged me to take her to a Nursing Home. The activity director had to test her first to see how she would respond. Well, maybe I couldn't touch her tail but this lady sure could!
That's how her career as visitor began. Up until a very short time ago, Joy went to a local Nursing Home every night and spread smiles and good feelings along the way.
She has done Hospice work and walked for all kinds of good causes. The only thing she never did, was work with children. In her life before here, somebodies children mistreated her fiercely, to the point of breaking a rib. When children would come to visit us, she would hide under the bed.
I will have you know that she has NEVER bitten anybody but her groomer (me) and the person holding (Annette or Kevin) her during grooming.
Now she is 20 years old, mostly blind and deaf but she still takes part in our daily life. She wants to be close to us and I have devised ways for her to safely do that. There is an ex-pen in my kitchen and a small blanket beside my chair in the living room. That's where she is to be found almost all the time. I have to protect her from the other dogs, who will run her over if I don't. They all act like she isn't even there!
I am glad Kevin brought her home all those years ago. Even if, at first, she wasn't my dream dog, she is now. Her friendly little spirit and fierce independence have taught me many a lesson!
I have been trying a new drug an her and it seems to make her more aware of the things around her (Denestra). I don't know that it has helped any of her other parts but it does seem to make a difference in her awareness.