Louie's Story

Louie came into our lives as a foster dog. There he was, looking at us from behind the chain link in the shelter. He had a cute face, a stocky Dalmatian with black ears. He had a sore on his paw that seemed like a scrape that would heal up fine, otherwise he seemed like he was in good health. He seemed like a nice dog... (this is where the suspenseful movie music plays)

We agreed to foster Louie and took him home. We began noticing things. Louie hated the commotion of the playground on our daily walks and anything that went by on wheels. He was generally lethargic and showed signs of arthritis. We figured he must be pretty old. He did not run, ever. If you said the word "no" and moved toward him, WATCH OUT. He did not play, with toys or with other dogs - it seemed he didn't know how. The "scrape" on his paw was a Lick Granuloma - he was gnawing himself to the bone. He would not allow us to touch his tail or hind end.

When I say he would not "allow us" to touch him in certain places, or to approach him while using a stern tone of voice, there might be some that are thinking we just needed to grow some backbones and show this dog who was in charge. Well, Louie changed all of our ideas about this - he has changed our lives and made us better people. This story might convince you too. At this point, someone was going to get hurt showing him "who was boss." This, clearly, was not going to work.

It became apparent to us pretty quickly that someone had beat the tar out of this dog on a regular basis. Anytime tensions rose - noise, tone of voice, lots of movement and chaos - Louie turned into a menace. But even without the benefit of the experience we have now, it was clear that this dog was afraid. Really afraid. This dog had been through hell.

We began thinking in terms of giving Louie a nice last few months. Adopting him out was out of the question. We figured he would either fall apart on his own from age, or he would become so dangerous that he would need to be euthanized.

Then a surprise. A bad one. Apparently, the shelter really should not have put Louie in the foster program, as his abusive previous owners were actually suing to get him back from the shelter.

We waited for news. And then they won. They story was, the boyfriend was the one doing the beating, and he had been kicked out of the house. So after having this unfortunate, terrible, loving dog for two months during the litigation, we met these people at the shelter to give him back. There we were, delivering him back to the hell he came from. The woman was there with her young daughter, herself a mess and the little girl looking unkempt and dirty. Clearly the girl loved the dog who she called Sparky. I hoped that they might provide each other some comfort as my husband and I turned him over.

I held back from storming at this woman, wanting to ensure she might listen to my plea - If things don't work out, please have the shelter contact us. He has some real problems. We promise he won't have to go back to the shelter.

And to her credit, she did. Apparently Louie "growled at her son." Not much of a surprise to us, as this was a daily occurrence at the time. Anyway, about a month after we turned him over, she left him with the "rescue" she originally obtained him from - which has since been shut down for housing/hoarding the dogs in horrible conditions, the carcass of a dead dog in with the miserable survivors (the "pre-quel" to Louie's horror movie of a family). This "rescue" contacted us, and we met them in the parking lot of a local shopping center to get him back - it was time to sever all ties with Louie's old life. They brought him out of their van. Louie was filthy. I mean FILTHY. He looked awful and hopeless, head hung low, looking at the ground.

But that dog recognized our voices approaching. He lifted his head. In an instant, he went from looking like he was at death's door any second to having the light of life in his eyes, a different dog. I have had few moments like that in life. When our eyes met, he knew he was saved, and I promised he would never have to go back - we both understood this in that moment. We were a family now.

We took him to our own vet, since there was no question that he would now be our dog forever. Of course, we had no idea how long "forever" was going to be... The vet said Louie was only about 4 years old, and you could have knocked me over with a feather.

We learned that a gentle touch and positive training works. We learned that patience pays off in the dividends of absolute love and devotion. We saw him blossom as we made him feel safe and showed him that we would help him understand what we wanted of him and help him be successful at it rather than punishing him for his mistakes. We learned that a dog that is broken can become whole again, and can keep getting better year after year.

Over the first year Louie lost over 20 pounds that had been weighing him down. The second year, we moved into a house in the woods, and we saw him take off at a run for the very first time, in pure joy. He became a dog again. He learned to play with our other dogs. He rolled in piles of leaves. A love of all creatures that must have always resided inside Louie resurfaced. He loved every foster dog and visitor that crossed our threshold. He became a certified Therapy Dog and shared the love he gave to us with others in need. The fourth year he played with a toy on Christmas morning. This was his Christmas gift to me.

Louie's body showed the wear of a tough life. After 6 joyful years with us, his hind end didn't always work anymore, but there was never a complaint when he fell down. He just got back up and proceeded to enjoy whatever it was he was doing - if he remembered what that was. His favorite pastime was gardening, and as I did my own chores Louie did his, pruning back plants as he saw fit. His body continued to age, but the whole dog had found a fountain of youth, making up for lost time. I have never seen a creature more appreciative than Louie and with such zest for life. All that we have given to Louie, he has certainly returned tenfold. We have been lucky to know him.

We helped Louie find the RainbowBridge today, where he will wait for us until the day we'll walk across together into heaven. On his last day, with a little help, he was still able to pick an apple from the tree, tend a few plants one last time, and lay in a sunny spot in some soft grass. We will miss him dearly.