Dog Blessed by Kyla Duffy

Author:Kyla Duffy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: dogs, dog, dog adoption, dog rescue, puppy mill, puppymill, puppy mills, dog breeding
Publisher: Kyla Duffy

Running For The Cure

Clarence: Yellow Labrador Retriever

Adopted by: Dani and John Posner

Recently a member of Over the Mill sent me a story about her friend who had sought out a puppy who was in the news for being horrendously abused. She was able to adopt the puppy, who after extraordinary medical care grew up to become this woman’s grateful pal and running partner. Their story was in a running magazine because they both had just finished a half-marathon. The comments included after the story contained numerous accounts of people who sincerely felt that running was especially curative for dogs with unfortunate histories. I can see how freeing running must feel for the dogs, coupled with sharing such an adventure with their person. There is a sense of euphoria during and after running, folks say. Who deserves this more than a dog, any dog really, but especially a puppy mill survivor? Dani and Clarence are running together these days. In general Clarence’s life to date has been quite a marathon, but he is certainly coming out the winner:

When my husband and I went to Main Line Animal Rescue to look for our second dog, I had heard about puppy mills but didn’t know much about them except that they were horrible for the dogs. When the volunteers were showing us the dogs and identified some of them as “puppy mill breeder dogs,” I was surprised that dogs who had spent years in isolation, kept by people who didn’t respect them enough to give them names, still wanted to have attention. That was the case with Clarence. He trotted over to us, tail wagging, although he did keep his head low. I will always remember his eyes; they looked haunted, yet I felt hopeful. It was clear Clarence wanted to be loved, and thinking about the basic affection he never had broke my heart.

Once at home with us, Clarence was anxious and overwhelmed in his new environment, but bless his heart, he seemed determined to learn. The first time he responded to his name brought tears to my eyes. We celebrated when he took treats from our hands and was no longer terrified of the car. Every small step was a huge accomplishment and a reason to celebrate.

Clarence loves his sister, Bella, who has been a very positive influence in his life. She’s a beautiful Siberian Husky, and although she is only four, she has two extremely rare diseases involving her immune system. As a result, Bella’s immune system has destroyed her adrenal glands, and her body can no longer control her heart rate without medicine. Her immune system is also attacking her eyes, and we have been fighting blindness for some time now. Nevertheless, she’s a great dog who somehow feels it her duty to help with Clarence. When Bella is feeling well and is her bossy self, she really does help us train Clarence. For example, when we leave to go to work, Clarence gets very anxious. We have worked with Clarence by teaching him a sit/stay while we calmly walk out the door.

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