Little Baby Girl

Let me introduce you to my children. Currently, I have five hooligans taking up my space, shedding all over the place, slobbering, passing gas, and just plain dirtying up my house but I wouldn't trade them for a ride in an F-14 with the Blue Angels. That is a huge statement if you know me. If not, that's a blog for a whole nother day.



First, let's meet Little Baby Girl (Little Girl for short).

As you can see, this little baby is missing one of her back legs. But it doesn't slow her down one bit! She is the happiest dog of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, they are all happy dogs but I think Little Girl realizes she is on life #2 and she is making the best of it!

The day Little Girl came into my life was one of the coldest February days I can remember. The wind was howling but it was just as sunny as could be. I don't think it made it above freezing and the nights were in the single digits. I live in Hampton near Atlanta Motor Speedway and I am a huge NASCAR fan. I usually can't avoid the racetrack if I go out and being such an avid fan of the sport I always turn my head and look. That day, Little Girl was lucky I was a NASCAR fan because on my way home from town I did exactly that. Turned my head to see the racetrack and there was this little dog being harassed by geese in the grass field parking lots of Atlanta Motor Speedway. I giggled at the sight but then I REALLY saw her. She was skin and bones and not walking on one of her back legs. At first I kept on going because I have to be rational and say, "Natalie, you can't save 'em all". Well that lasted for about 3 seconds and I immediately turned around. As I drove back by I did not see her. I went and parked in the open field and walked to where I had first seen her. She was nowhere to be found. I figured she ran off to her next appointment and that God would lead her to her next meal, which she needed desperately. If I don't think like that I would go crazy!

I hopped back in my car and drove away, knowing that I had tried. As I started to pull away, there she was. Standing about 100 feet directly in front of me digging in the ground for something she thought would ease those pains in her belly. This time, I drove up to her. But that didn't work, as she took off running across the field and into another lot adjacent to the one I was currently spinning dirt in trying to catch the little booger.

I knew I was going to have to coax her to even get near me but with what? I had a bunch of toilet paper and cleaning supplies in my car. Sure, she needed a bath but I doubted that was what her fancy was at the moment. I had to get some food. There was a Family Dollar right across the street from AMS so I scooted over there and picked up a bag of dog food all the while hoping she was still there when I got back. I pulled into the lot where I last saw her. I spotted her in the corner at the bottom of a steep bank. I parked my car at the top of the hill and pored out a huge pile of food. She was watching me the whole time wondering what this crazy lady was up to but still didn't look the least bit interested in me until she caught a whiff of what I had. Her nose went up in the air and it started twitching. I called and called her to come get a sample but she would rather starve to death than have anything to do with me. So, my stealth mode kicked in and I hid in my car about 20 feet from the "trap". About 20 minutes passed and I couldn't believe that she hadn't come to get a taste of what made her nose twitch. I got out of the car, walked to the top of the hill and there she was. About 3 feet from the pile of food. I crouched down and used my sweetest voice and started calling to her, "Come here Little Baby Girl" and at the same time tears started streaming down my face as I could see the extent of her condition. You could see every bone. She had lacerations all over her face, and legs. She had a fungus growing on her underside and her leg was broken. Her little tail wagged but she was still unsure of me. I guess she decided since she had been this brave, she may as well stay and eat.

I sat there on the side of this bank, with the wind almost freezing my tears as they left my eyes, and wondered what to do with this pitiful baby. I had to take her home. I could not leave her in this condition, in this cold, to die. So, that's what I did, calling her Little Baby Girl the whole time and crying, snot slinging everywhere, wondering how this happened.

The thing is, none of that matters now. Now she sleeps on a pink bed at the foot of mine and has something for her belly everyday. And the three legs she has left are spring loaded.