She's somewhere between 12 and 18 months and she's already had at least two litters. She just weaned the last one, which produced 9 puppies, 8 of which survived. She was set to be euthanized even though she was pregnant and at the last minute a rescue group rescued her. She spent some time in a temporary foster home and then went to the vet and had nowhere to go after that. So she came to me to foster until they find her a permanent home.
Her name is Shimmie and she's a tiny thing. She might be 20 pounds at full weight. Right now she's skin and bones. Taking care of her babies took everything she had.
She has a haunted look about her. Do mother dogs get sad when their pups are taken away? I know they grieve when their humans or other dogs in the house leave or pass away. Do they bond with their babies? Or are they relieved when they're gone?
Shimmie is the "P" word. She's a breed that strikes fear into the hearts of many and is apparently scarier to the Ohio state legislatures then a yard full of tigers. She's a pitbull, so small that they call her a pocket pittie.
Pitbulls came from English bulldogs, who were bred to fight bulls in a horrible "sport" called bull-baiting. The bulldogs were bred with terriers to give them other qualities, including a respect for humans so deep that they wouldn't turn on their owners when being pulled away from the fight. When bull-baiting was outlawed, their douchebag humans started fighting them with each other. They were the most popular breed in the 1920's and 30's and were known as "nanny dogs" because they were so protective of children. Did you know that Petey from "Our Gang" was a pitbull?
Her first day was interesting.
Danny from the rescue brought her over. She got out of the car and greeted us enthusiastically as if we were old friends. The plan was to have her meet Bear outside and then take them for a long walk together, but it started raining. They met in the house and were less than enamored of each other. Rain or not, we had to walk them and dissipate some of that energy.
Things were calmer when we got back, but Bear and Aki needed reassurance that they weren't being replaced in our hearts or laps.
Two things about pitbulls that make them a little scary - they have sharp teeth and a really nasty growl. Bear plays rough with my son's Bonzai. They sound like someone is being murdered and it doesn't alarm us at all. But when a strange pitbull starts growling? It makes me a little nervous. I don't know whether they are playing or having a power struggle, but we stopped them right away each time.
She doesn't like being sniffed. Today I wonder if she was in pain. She was half on my lap and Aki tried to sniff her from behind and she snarled and lunged at him. I caught her but she scared the hell out of him. He ran behind my chair and started yelping, making me think she bit him. I put him on my lap and he was so upset that he started hyperventillating. He was ok, just scared. It was kind of funny once I knew he wasn't hurt. And it's not unusual. Every dog wants to eat Aki at first. He either looks delicious or obnoxious. or both.
She's protective of food. Every time she heard Bear eating in the kitchen she'd run over and chase him out. I had to keep her barricaded so he could eat.
One time after she chased him out of the kitchen, he came to sit by us. She walked over as well and started giving him the stink eye. He didn't move, but apparently he gave her that look I know all so well and she lunged at him. He was chastened to say the least. Later, he barked at her, inviting her to play (or so it looked to me). She walked up to him, stuck her face right by his, and started growling until he walked away. It was exactly like a street punk getting in someone's face, yelling "Yea? You want a piece of this? Let's see what you got!"
Later, we were all hanging out in our usual spots - my husband on his couch and me on mine with Bear on my lap and Aki on the armrest next to me. Shimmie settled on the blanket my husband was using, in between his legs. She looked comfortable and content and was snoring in no time. I was struck by how this dog could be in a strange house with people and dogs she'd never met and a sad and terrible past but could take full pleasure in the moment. There was a life lesson there.
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