Taking Care of Pearl
Pictured on the left is a scared, dirty, hand-shy Pearl.	A couple of months later, on the right, Pearl goofs around with her friend Stuttgart.

Pearl came to us, her foster home, in the beginning of March 2000. When I reached out to pet her for the first time, she hit the ground, thinking I was going to strike her. My husband came up to her and she flopped over on her back, pee squirting everywhere!

She was an owner turn-in, reason given: digging under the fence. When you take into consideration that she was in a backyard with several other male dogs, was bred constantly, and was most likely abused by a person, I don't blame her for trying to break-out.

Pearl stayed in one of our spare bedrooms in order to remain very still while being treated for heartworms. During the treatment she became very sick. One day I went to shake out her blanket and found that she had "hidden" all of her vomit balled up in this blanket. I took the blanket away to be washed.  Later on I checked on her only to find a little mound in the middle of the floor.  n it was her hedgehog toy, a food bowl, and a scarf she found in the closet, underneath it was vomit. Pearl was so afraid that I would punish her for throwing up.

We slowly introduced her to my dogs, two very rambunctious boxers named Stu and Scully. She growled at both of them whenever she caught a glimpse of them from her room. I told her "no growl" each time, and she immediately got an embarrassed look on her face. When she  started feeling better, we began taking Pearl into the family room to watch tv with the rest of the family, keeping her close to me so she would feel unthreatened. It was a slow process, but it paid off, Stu, Scully, and Pearl became "the three stooges" and became the best of friends. She chased the ball just as hard as Stu, and played Scully's favorite game with her, rope bone tug-o-war.

When she was not playing, she followed me from room to room, never taking her eyes off of me.  While on the computer, she crept up into my lap and gave kisses. One time she crept up to give me one of her famous paw gripping hugs, I was focused on something else, not paying attention, we both fell backwards in the chair!

When we would leave and come home, you could always find Pearl at the window, nose and lips pressed firmly against the glass.

She had gained 10lbs of weight as well as a ton of confidence! And thank goodness, she stopped her submissive peeing episodes in front of my husband. She didn't want to get up on a couch or a bed at first, but Stu & Scully, my two boxers, taught her that snuggling on the furniture is what a boxer is supposed to do! She became such a part of the family, I was not so sure that I could let her go, let alone find a home good enough for her.

In mid-June, we received a phone call from a woman looking for a boxer for her husband for Father's day. He had lost his boxer at 11 years of age a few years prior and missed him very much. They had a two year old little girl named Katelyn and I was worried about how Pearl would do with a toddler because of her nervous tendencies. 

But I thought that we would give it a careful try and I took Pearl for a ride over to the family's home.  Pearl greeted them cautiously, always keeping one eye on me. She did ok so I took her a couple of days later for a "sleep over" to see how she would do with just them.  She did very well, and we decided to let them adopt Pearl. 

I am happy to report, she is doing excellent, here is a recent email from them:

Pearl is doing WONDERFUL. She and Bryan are always wrestling. It's really funny to watch those two go at it. Pearl gets so excited when he gets home. Katelyn does nothing but cover her head with kisses. I know Pearl gets  annoyed about it sometimes b/c Katelyn will sit there for 10 minutes and just kiss her, but she takes everything that she gives her. I've yet to see her act  aggressive towards her. 

Bryan and I both appreciate so much that you let us adopt her, she is now like another child. Can you believe she actually sleeps on the pillows with us??? I woke up this morning and she was right up against me with her paw around my waist. TOO CUTE!!! So anyway, thanks again!!!!

So that's the Story of Pearl. She is my inspiration to continue doing rescue. When I've lost hope, am tired of dealing with all of the people, tired of taking care of all of the foster dogs, I think about "Taking Care of Pearl," her happy new home, and everything that she gave back to us. She said thank you everyday in every way she knew how. She has made rescue even more worthwhile. So thank you Pearl, for taking care of me.
 
My hope is that this limited work of art serves to uplift the owner in the knowledge of his or her substantial contribution as well as increase awareness regarding the homeless, neglected, and abused animal populations.
- Christine J. Head, Artist