Around Sandy Springs — Murphy
Who found who? And who rescued who?
Recently I talked about having to let go of our dog Walker. It was painful. Still is.
We’d been keeping our radar up for another dog; sort of. Walker cast a long shadow. There is a meme of two dogs sitting at the end of a dock, watching a sunset. One has angel wings.
“They still talk about you,” says the living dog.
“I know,” says the deceased pup.
Even writing those words moistens my eyes.
A few weeks ago a friend of ours told my wife Carol about a dog on a rescue web site. We talked about it. A lot. We’d looked at another dog previously , which only made me miss Walker all the more.
We booked a time to go see this other dog. I think we had a better sense of what we wanted. Me? I was one degree away from skeptical.
The rescue pup came into a small room and within 30 seconds laid down on our feet. Not at our feet. On our feet. We were gut-hooked. His name had been Rocky but Carol suggested Murphy. The vote was unanimous.
Here’s what we know about Murphy. At some point, about two years ago, his back left leg was broken. The people he lived with didn’t fix it. I don’t know why. He was surrendered, thank God, to a rescue. He was brought to Beyond Pets in Marietta (which is committed to rescuing animals in a really big way), where his leg was evaluated. Based on the bones knitting together is a manner God didn’t intend, the leg had to be in amputated. Less than a week later we met him for the first time.
We went home, talked about it, and knew we’d found the dog we hoped we’d find. That night he came to his forever home. I don’t know what the rest of his life will be like but he will never spend two years in untreated pain.
There there has been some assimilation. In less than a month he was taken from his home, lost a leg, and moved into a new home. I can’t imagine. We just love on him as much as possible because that’s what the Beatles said we need. And he’s so flippin’ adorable.
He has a big fenced yard. Two pillows — three if you count the mat in the guest powder room. We sussed out the right food. And treats. For a three-legged dog he embraces walks with enthusiasm heretofore unknown.
He’s just what we didn’t know we were looking for.