My Golden Blessing
by Christy M
Georgia Kaye
As the story goes, she was at an overcrowded shelter in the downtown area of a huge city and her days were numbered. She had been returned twice for misbehaving and when my husband happened by the shelter on his lunch hour, she seized her golden opportunity by grabbing his leg! I know everyone is proud of their furkids, but this dog has been something special for our family. She tested the limits of my patience when we first adopted her but once we got past the battle of wills and established it was the 2-legged beings that ruled the house, she became the perfect dog. At the time we adopted Georgia, we had a Yorkshire Terrier who weighed 6 lbs and exemplified the term “terror terrier” for in all her years we were never able to fully housebreak or train her. Chloe was stubbornness personified. We also had a beautiful tri-color border collie that was an amazing Frisbee dog. Her leaps and back flips to catch the disc were amazing. Sadly, both our Yorkie and Border Collie met tragic deaths and left our golden girl, who had always been the meekest member of the pack, alone and lonely. Even though Georgia went to work every day with my husband, she wasn’t the same as a lone dog so we thought it best to take her to a shelter to pick out a playmate. After parading a litany of dogs before Queen Georgia, she selected a 9 week old black & white furball we named Baxter. Georgia was mom to Baxter, teaching him all the things a young pup needed to know. Whenever you saw one dog, you saw the other within inches. Little Baxter worked his way into all our hearts and broke them when he passed at 26 months from leukemia, leaving Georgia as lone dog again. The next addition to our growing family was Sophie, a 4 month old Schnoodle and again Georgia was called upon to show a youngster the ropes. She has done such an amazing job that we have added two more dogs, a Shih Tzu and a Golden Shepherd. Georgia is an amazing big sister to all our dogs and such a great snitch that I’m sure the FBI or CIA would love to have her on their team. When one of the furkids has an accident or destroys a toy, Georgia finds me and shakes from head to tail until I investigate the cause of her behavior. Unfortunately, the day the Golden Shepherd (youngest pack member) destroyed half of our new leather sectional, I wasn’t at home for Agent Georgia to demonstrate her tattle “tail” talents. Georgia will be 10 on December 8th and has been a true Godsend to our family. She has guided us through good times and bad and even navigated her way through several of the 22 moves my husband and I have made in the 17 years we’ve been married. She has taught us many life lessons and shared her heartwarming ways with seniors and disabled children during therapy visits to nursing homes, hospitals and schools. Georgia’s latest project is helping first and second graders read by volunteering monthly at the library. Most recently, Georgia was immortalized in her own chapter of a fabulous book released last month. The book is called “Titan’s Tales and Other Dog Adoption Love Stories” and is a tribute to shelter dogs, their caregivers and their new families. It is definitely worth a read (www.titanstales.com) and a portion of the proceeds goes to animal charities. Author Julie Chalpan was inspired to write the book because of her own adoption love story--Titan, a Jack Russell/Beagle mix that recently turned 14. Georgia may have been given a second (well actually third) chance when she picked my husband, but we are the ones who have been truly blessed. She has opened my eyes and ears and, most importantly, my heart to others. Seeing her in action, whether it’s on a pet therapy visit or just watching the calming effect she has on people who stop and ask to pet her, sure does a Momma proud. Nancy's Note -- Thank you SO much, Christy, for sharing Georgia with us (and all your other wonderful furkids)! What an amazing, wonderful dog! You are definitely blessed to have her in your family, as mom and big sister of the pack, and much-loved therapy dog. Please feel free to share more stories of her adventures in therapy and literacy tutoring. We'd love to hear them! |
