The Legacy of Abuse is Everlasting....August 16, 1999

The Legacy of Abuse is Everlasting....August 16, 1999

I awoke early this morning after a restless, sleepless night. The source of my insomnia, stretching the last few days now, is none other than Reekie.

It saddens and stresses me when Reekie is not well, feelings shared by any conscientious pet lover and owner. Nevertheless, when Reekie is not feeling well, and particularily when he is injured, his stress, and consequently mine, exceeds what could be considered normal.

I have mentioned a few times how hyper Reekie can be. When he is injured, his anxiety levels shoot through the roof. The vet believes that this is a legacy of the abuse he suffered as a puppy.

It was fall four years ago. As I was separating from my then wife, somewhere in the country a litter of eight puppies was born. Their mere birth was a miracle given the condition of the mum: unwanted, unfed, left chained outside, beaten, unloved. How she was able to nurse the pups enough to thrive escapes me. As they did, however, they merely became more targets for the owner, who continued the cycle of abuse on the next generation. Luckily, they were left out in view of the road, and one passerby, after seeing their condition day in and day out, finally called animal control. They were immediately seized and taken to the SPCA.

My Reekie was one of those pups.

Raising an abused puppy took a great deal of patience and unconditional love. At first, his anxieties were directed outward. Three destroyed couches and one mangled (and full at the time) waterbed later, he began directing his emotions inward. The consequence is that he refuses to let nature heal his existing injuries, and adds new ones in the process.

Recall I took Reekie to the vet last week because of a scratch on his ear. Almost a week later, the scratch is now a huge, scabbed sore that goes almost through the entire ear from one side to the other, and the infection has spread into the ear itself which is red and raw. Because of the pain and irritation, he is getting little sleep, nor am I. Because he cannot dig far into the ear where the infection is spreading, he has taken up chewing his leg to the point where one big patch is bleeding and furless. I had to take him to the vet again today.

Leaving the vet an anti-itch injection later, armed now with antibiotic pills, cream for the leg, and liquid for the ear, I hope Reekie will begin to heal, at least physically. I am not sure even my love is enough to heal his emotional scars, but I know he is and will always be the most loved dog on the face of the Earth. Perhaps he has a chance, but he will always have a home.

....Blessed Be