Pebbles is ten years old - a Beagle Labrador mix who was brought to us by her family in May of 2003 with a sad story. The Dad was a mechanic at the local service station after he lost his job at a computer company. Then, his wife succumbed to the cancer she’d been battling for five years. Their son was in the Marines and had just been deployed to Iraq when his mother died. With his late wife’s medical debts, compounded with his son in a war zone and the low paying job issue, he subsequently lost everything, including the family home. He basically fell apart and in tears, told me that for the past couple of years, Pebbles had kept his wife company while she was sick and home alone. Once she passed away and the man was working twelve hours a day, Pebbles was left by herself all the time. Pebbles had been especially devoted to the son (now in Iraq) who had found her when he was a boy. He and his best buddy, while fishing at a lake near the buddy’s home, offered to share their peanut butter sandwiches with “Pretty Girl,” as they initially called her. As the boys got on their bicycles to start for home, “Pretty Girl” chased after the future Marine, no doubt coaxed a bit by him, as well. Once home, the boy begged, pleaded and promised his parents to not only to always make his bed every morning but to also take to garbage out every time he was asked - if only he could keep “Pretty Girl”(who he later decided to name “Pebbles”). Today she lives out her days with us at the sanctuary and after settling in, she’s a happy, playful “Pretty Girl” without a care in the world. Pebbles has a great sense of humor and is quite tolerant with the younger dogs, like Kathy, who loves to bite her on the backs of her legs in an attempt to initiate a wrestling match with her. She never gets mad. She has a hilarious act she performs from time to time where she fights with her back feet. It’s difficult to describe so we’ll get some video of it. |
