Be the Voice for the Voiceless : 2022

The puppy & Maryanne

When I decided to go get a new dog I was deeply saddened over the loss of my Ritta and the sudden loss of Martini. The depression would have overtaken me, but my God Most High helped me move forward. God who pulled me through, like always.

We searched and searched, weekend after weekend and I saw not one dog that would fill the void left by my Ritta and Martini. I cried every time I looked at a dog, my Jack Jack was even looking a little depressed of the loss of his sisters. He was acting a little different. I was acting a little different. I prayed and kept searching. I cried every time I looked at a dog, I wanted to take them all and I didn't want them at all, my heart was broken and nothing was filling it (I cried and prayed).

I saw this dog all curled up and I tried to play with her (no luck), so frail and scared looking. She looked frozen with fear. Then I held her, not knowing at the time the rescue probably drugged her. She looked terrified and I knew she needed to feel safe and feel loved. So we held her for hours. The shelter guy even offered us to take her just for a couple days to see if we liked her. He was telling us her story, my sadness got deeper and deeper. Listening to Maryanne's story, no wonder she was so sad.

The puppy & Maryanne

He told us she was rescued in Putnam County Florida, from a hoarding backyard breeder situation. I forgot the number (maybe 200 or 300 animals and a single wide mobile home). I can't imagine so many animals in it's a little trailer with no room to walk, always created. My heart hurt. But if that wasn't bad enough, she was adopted by an elderly couple and because she was so scared she wouldn't play (they took her back to the rescue), my heart shattered.

My husband said we could take her home for the weekend and I told him, "You know if we take her home, even if we hate her we're not returning her!" As we drove home her it seemed that the drugs started wearing off she started whining and whining and whining in terror.

When we got home We noticed that she was scared to be in the backyard, on the concrete, in the front yard on the grass, scared of the tile and scared of the carpet. She was scared of absolutely everything. When she pees she squats really low to the ground, someone told me that's because she was created her whole life. Not sure if that's true or not. I feel like they never took this dog out of the crate based on her behavior. They just bred her and created her.

Jack Jack LOVED her and was always cleaning and snuggling with her. Approximately a year after we got her, she finally let us give her cookies. Before that, we had to toss them on the ground in front of her and we had to walk away from her food so she would eat. She bonded with my husband and I first, because we were the ones who cared for her the most. The funny thing is she continually barked and barked at everyone else in the household, like they were strangers and she hadn't been looking at them for the past 2 and a 1/2 to 3 years.

On Halloween day 2021 we had a incident and my other dog Jack Jack, he had to be put down. And she was her normal terrified self just like on day one. We gave her so much extra love but again my heart was broke.

My husband didn't want another middle aged or old dog because if the incident, if I had to get another dog it had to be a puppy. And of course my heart would not allow me not have another dog, Dogs seem to mend my broken heart. God led us to this cute little puppy in Georgia.

This is where Marianne's story gets exciting, this puppy was 3 months old and was so annoying I was just beating myself up and my husband for getting a puppy, not really. I wanna say when the puppy was 6 months old Maryanne started really taking a shine to her, but the puppy didn't act like her Big Brother. It took a little bit of time, then they began bonding. Now mind you this puppy was about the same size if not a little bigger than Maryanne when we got her and now she triples the size of Maryanne.

One day we were outside all the dogs dogs and I noticed Maryanne was playing tag with the puppy. Then I began to pay attention she played tag with the puppy and wrestling with the puppy a lot. Maryanne has been with us almost 3 years now and she has lost 3 of her packmates. Having been been through so much trauma. She has come a long the way, I finally got to witness her blossom and become a real dog. This puppy now 11 months old brought Maryanne her out of her shell.

God-bless me with this amazing gift, I got to witness Maryanne become a real dog. I LOVE to watch them play every day and I just can't get enough of it. As annoying as my little puppy is now 11 months old, she was the best thing for my little Maryanne. God has blessed us in so many ways and right now that is the number one thing.

Leave it to a little unwanted dog rescued from backyard breeders and who deserves a chance to be happy and make others happy along the way. Earlier I wrote even if I hated her we would keep her until the end, but you can't hate a dog they are full of so much love that it will over flow to those around them. They just need time and given that 2nd chance or 3rd chance they just need time need time to come out of their shells.

Almost 3 years and she's a real dog and she stopped being barking at the other people in our house and finally she allows them to pet her (I believe that the puppy help with that too). And now she realizes as a result she gets so much more love, cuddles, pets and belly rubs. We had to give her time and the (in my opinion) puppy opened the door to become a happy and real dog for for her a little bit faster. It's amazing to watch and I'm so thankful to God for allowing me this opportunity to grant these dogs theirs 2nd and 3rd chances.

God's work is also being kind to his creations, his animals. The moral of this story is don't just get a dog because you wanna pet, they are a life long family member that you need to be committed too. Don't just get a dog because you want to say you have a 100% pure bred whatever type of animal. That's not fair to all the ones out there that need to be rescued, who need homes and love.

Make sure you give your rescue all the time they need to come around then trust you. Some will trust you easier than others. I had my one dog and took her almost 10 years before she even gave us a kiss. They're all different but they all need time to overcome whatever their problem was. Love and time, it's all that we can do for these animals that we choose to put in our lives. Don't just get a dog, get a friend. I realize they are also meant for protection, that's what mine are. But I still love them like my little furry babies. Like they'd protect me, I will protect them.

I have a pack of 100% pure bred rescue dogs. They have been the best and the worst (3 bites and 2 emergency room visits), but I will still take care of them and love them until the end of their days.