When a Rescue Dog Rescues You

by Jerrie Alexander

I’ll confess right up front. I’m an animal lover. Granted most of them have been horses. And at one time the Alexander place housed two kids, eleven horses, two dogs, and one cat. (Except for the time I bought twenty baby chickens.)                                                                             

So while working my romantic suspense novel The Green-Eyed Doll, I wasn’t too surprised when a big mixed-breed yellow Lab turned up in the book and befriended Sheriff Matt Ballard. Distrusting and hungry, he adopted Matt, showing up to eat but shying away from any contact. The scene worked. They needed each other. So the no-name dog stayed.

Now meet Buddy. I found him out back, flat on his side, too weak to raise his head. Unable to go any further, he’d gone down and had given up. His wounds weren’t visible under all that hair, but we rushed him to the vet where she uncovered bite marks from a much larger dog. Of course, with him weighing in at seven pounds, most dogs were bigger. He was dehydrated and malnourished. He needed to be neutered and wormed, but his system wouldn’t tolerate harsh medicines. So Buddy came home with us while I set out to find his owner.

We were without pets and liked it that way. Okay, we thought we liked it that way. I called every establishment I could think of, printed pictures, and put up posters everywhere I could get permission.

I called the humane society and asked if anyone had been by looking for a lost dog. They hadn’t. The woman said if I brought him to them, they’d keep him two weeks and then euthanize him if unclaimed. That was sooo not happening.

I expected a kid, tears running down his cheeks, to show up at our door clutching the dog’s picture to his chest wanting his pet back. Of course, we were going to give him over.

Thursday, October 18, Buddy celebrates a year as a permanent member of our household. His bed is next to ours, his doggie door is in place and a good part of 2 acres is fenced. He loves it out there, but most of the time he’s close by stretched out enjoying life.

I can’t say we rescued Buddy. It’s more like he rescued us. He brought unconditional love with him. If you ever need assurance that a rescue dog knows who stepped up and saved its life…adopt one. You’ll be a believer.

Buddy’s come a long way, taking us with him. We’re assuming he came to us for a reason. We needed him. The universe spoke, and we listened. How about you? Ever been given a gift by the universe that you didn’t know you needed?

Originally Posted Oct 15, 2012 When a rescue dog rescues you.

Jerrie Alexander writes alpha males and kick-ass women with a hint of humor. Whether her hero is a member of our nation’s military, the FBI, CIA, or a Sheriff in a backwater Texas county, he’s intelligent, aggressive, and hard-headed. He fights injustice, lives life on the edge, and when he falls in love…it’s forever. Her heroine is not afraid to stand shoulder to shoulder with her man and fight for her beliefs – a woman, who loves life, sex, and laughter – a woman who struggles through the dark times and pulls her man, sometimes kicking and screaming, into her heart.

Jerri's first book, THE GREEN-EYED DOLL 

will be out in December, 2012.

Find out more about Jerrie Alexander