Elsie's Journey (aka CC or LC) Let's go...

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 and Thursday January 20th, 2011

Another life saved. LC, or Elsie, (originally CC) was at the Lancaster shelter in CA. A very last minute pull even though she had been networked here for a week. Teamwork was key here. It wasn't until the 19th that someone stepped in to find her a home. Thank you Julie McCarty of River Bottom Homeless Pets.

Elsie was an owner surrender. They say she is a Shar Pei/ Damatian mix. I don't think so. Maybe a little Pei, but if you ask me she is a cattle dog/ pit/pei. She went in on the 7th of January to a very high kill shelter. Why so high kill? People are uneducated about the need to get their pets fixed. Puppies come in there all the time. Elsie is only 9 months old according to her records. We don't know why she was "surrendered", and in some ways that doesn't matter now. It can't be her disposition. She is sweet and gentle. She is good with other dogs and people. She is not food aggressive at all.

We had a long night after getting home. I have two dogs that can be aggressive, so having Elsie here for a couple of days is good for them. My heeler/border collie mix just keeps at Elsie's heels. My Akita mix, female, was ready to attack. All the dogs sleep in the house with those two almost always on the bed. Elsie spent the night in the bathroom with a gate blocking the door. Her own bed with the shirt I had been wearing as a pillow.

I offered her Reiki and she was willingly accepted. All the dogs did. The energy felt gentle, like Elsie. Soon sleep prevailed.

This morning, while I was getting my chickens' and ducks' food ready, she jumped the gate, quietly. No mishaps, just a bit of posturing. Time for a walk after all the bird chores were done.

We don't use leashes here because we live in the middle of thousands of acres of juniper, pine and sagebrush. Elsie navigated the snow just fine, mostly sticking to the trail of packed snow. CV, the heeler mix, kept following her for the most part. No problems. I think they were all hungry.

I feed a vegetarian diet to my dogs. I make most of it with a back up of Natural Balance Vegetarian dry food. I have been feeding this way for about 10 years now. Breakfast went off without a hitch. Now, all are napping in the sun except for Elsie who has decided that the being on the couch, next to me, is perfect.