the story of daisy :: dog photography :: personal story

you've met daisy dog.  she's a pain.  but we still love her... well i do anyway.

today i want to share daisy dog's story with you.  it started out pretty sad.  keep reading though, 'cause it ends happy:

about 13 years ago, i was hiking in shawnee national forest (southern illinois).  happily hiking along.  that's when we happened along a very tiny, very skinny puppy limping through the woods.  she couldn't walk on one of her back legs.  when we got close, we noticed her protruding hip bones, ribs and about a million fleas jumping off of her.  she was pathetic.  but...

she had to belong to somebody and some point.  her tail was clipped.  i quickly scooped her up, not even caring about the leaping fleas, and snuggled her the rest of our hike.  we stopped by the forest office on the way out to see if anyone had reported her missing.  no one had.  then we all stood around and discussed what to do with her... well, everyone else did.  i just kissed and loved on her.

posters were hung.  ads were put in the paper.  this was just a quick weekend trip for me, so i made my friends promise to take good care of this little puppy while i returned home.

her owner never came.  after 2 weeks, a good friend brought her to me.  she was mine and i named her daisy.  i don't think she touched the ground for 3 days because i loved on her so much.  when i took her to the vet, he estimated her to be 3 months old.  she had been hit by a car and her hip had healed itself incorrectly.  we could do surgery, which would cost a fortune, or she could just live out her life with a limp.  i chose the latter because i was 19 and had no money.

now, i'm not gonna say this has always been an easy or happy path.  the dog drives me crazy at least 80% of the time.  she barks for no reason at nothing at all.  she gets in the garbage.  she sheds.  a lot.  she can't go up or down steps very well (but somehow can jump on the couch).  she's a nervous dog.  and impatient.

but!  something wonderful has happened as she has gotten older and we have moved to the farm.  she runs.  she runs fast and free all day every day.  pictured above, she is rolling over... something i never saw her do until recently.  it's like her hip suddenly stopped bothering her.  it's like she's a puppy again.  it's like she's benjamin button!

i don't know how much longer i have with this old{young} girl.  she's been a big staple in my story of life.

isn't that the most beautiful thing about pets?  they make your story so much more interesting.  xoxo