L is for ...

LOVELY LIZZIE

I have a passion for animals. You name it, and most likely, I will like the animal, except for snakes, they should all be squished under the tire of a car and killed. But dogs, pigs, cows, things like that, well, I just love and adore them. I have been fortunate enough to have had several pet dogs in my life from Pepper and Aggie to Marlowe and Zoey, and I have truly learned that dogs are honestly man’s best friend. They love you unconditionally and know when you are happy and when you are down. They want to spend time with you and want to play and be loved. They are loyal, devoted and dedicated to their master – at times, even better than a human friend. So, why wouldn’t you love a dog?

Occasionally, I will dog-sit, and that is always a treat. I used to dog-sit my former coworkers’ two dogs – one was indoor and the other outdoor. She would bring them to my house when she would go on long Christmas or summer trips, and it was always interesting to see how they adapted (and sometimes didn’t) to new environments. Recently, I have started dog and house-sitting for one of my friends who has two of the sweetest dogs on the planet. She has a wild and rambunctious little puppy named Bernie, who has been featured in a prior blog and even has won a second place ribbon at the NC State Fair, and then there’s Lizzie – sweet, precious, lovely Lizzie.

Little Lizzie was born in the grand Sunshine State of Florida to a lovely couple, named Peter and Wendy. Peter is an absolutely gorgeous father and Wendy is a precious mother. The litter, which Lizzie came from, consisted of five puppies with three of the five being double merles, which automatically makes Lizzie a special addition to our grand world. Lizzie was a precious little puppy who loved playing with her balls, and she has grown into a beautiful young lady, who is very well taken care of by her lovely human Mom.

When you first meet Lizzie, you think she is just like any other dog – running along, barking and carrying on as any typical furry friend would do. But, if you look closely at her eyes, you can see there is a difference, but hey! that’s nothing unusual as some dogs have different color eyes. But, that is not the case with Lizzie as she is a very special little lady. Lizzie is what is often referred to as a double merle, which is the name given to a Sheltie that is white (which, as I learned is rather rare – I guess I just assumed that Lizzie was just a white Sheltie – I had no idea that signified an unusual occurrence) and double merles often are known for having some physical impairments, as well. In Lizzie’s case, she is visually impaired in which she can only see what’s straight ahead of her and cannot see anything to her sides. Because of that, she struggles with heights because of a lack of depth perception. Lizzie is trained in sign language and when she is looking at you, she can read the signs and respond accordingly. In addition to her visual impairment, Lizzie is also hearing impaired – she was born completely deaf. Call her name and holler at her all you want, and she just walks right on. So, my first time dogsitting Lizzie & Bernie, when he was just a few months old peeing and pooping everywhere, was a great learning experience in teaching myself to adjust and adapt to meet both of their needs!

If some humans had the same impairments that Lizzie has, they would simply give up and think life was over. However, Lizzie does not allow her impairments to get the best of her. Quite the contrary, Lizzie is honestly one of the smartest dogs that I have ever encountered. You may be sitting there watching something on TV and all of a sudden Lizzie will start barking. As humans, we’re sitting there thinking “what in the world is she barking at” because we can’t see anything nor hear anything, but Lizzie knows! She can feel things and can sense things – she has her own sixth sense (and not like Bruce Willis’ movie seeing dead people either!). For example, she can feel and sense the train before it comes thru town blowing its horn; something that I could only physically hear when it arrived closer by. That, in and of itself, absolutely amazed me watching how she could do that. And, when it comes to play time with a toy or heavens to Betsy time for a bone don’t let Lizzie’s sweet little innocence fool you. You take her toy or her bone, and she is coming after you – poor Bernie has gotten snapped a few times.

I think my favorite thing about Lizzie is that if you leave the house, she will wait right by the door that you exited from until you return home. She is so loyal and faithful. If you sit down on the floor with her, I can guarantee, she will lay right beside you and give you sweet little nudges asking you to pet her, and she will even return the gesture with a small, gentle kiss showing her love and appreciation. She is a princess in all rights. She is prissy and loves to show off her beauty. If you take her on a stroll down the street, as we did for the 4th of July, and she acts like she is Miss America prancing right down the sidewalk.

We should never take our animals for granted because just like humans, they can have their own impairments. We should learn to love and appreciate them for who they are and just how God made them! It is amazing to watch dogs with impairments because many times, you would have no idea they have any sort of physical impairment because they can adapt so well to their surroundings. Lizzie is a precious dog and if you have the opportunity to meet her, you will likely not even realize anything is wrong with her, unless, of course, you do try to talk to her because she will have no idea if you are speaking English, Chinese, or whatever to her. But no matter what, she will likely love you nonetheless because she is a precious princess in all aspects of life. Take care of our critters because in the long run, they will help take care of us and comfort us at times when we may need it the most!