A very old stray {The Old Fella Story}

IBcarguy wrote:
I just found this thread....OMG, what a story. Very sad yet very inspirational...the human (and canine) spirit of love and compassion is amazing.
Been sitting here over an hour and haven't read nearly half yet.
No doubt....Richard and Sue are very special people and Old Fella was lucky to have found them.

Welcome to the Old Fella family. Each time we pick up a new member I can't but think Old Fella's legacy goes forward a little more. Please come and join us in Branson, Missouri next June for our annual Old Fella Rally. There you will get to meet all the fur gang and humans who make up this wonderful story and help keep it alive.

This morning it was bitter cold. The outside thermometer on the patio said it was 9* while the thermometer located at the camper said it was 15*. So by just moving South East for about one-hundred yards I gained 6*. I knew it was cold when Mama wanted back in so quick after going out. Peaches turned around and went back to bed, she's no dummy.

I hope everyone has finished their Christmas shopping, if so how about lending me a hand? I still have some gifts to buy so I hope to get that job done by tomorrow. When I look at out fur babies and think how much their lives have changed it makes me love them even more. No more cold days and nights wondering where their next meal is coming from. No more being afraid of people trying to figure out if they are going to pat them or throw something at them. They bring so much love and trust with them and leave the hurt they have suffered back in time where it is forgotten and washed away.

Hobo is still so shy but so loving. All she wants to do is please and be loved on. When we go for our walks in the morning and she is off leash to run the fields she always makes sure she isn't too far away from either Sue or I. When called she immediately comes running back to us. When Suzie gets into trouble and she is yelled at to come back, Hobo runs to me and lays down at my feet as if to say, "Is it alright, am I alright?"

I tell everyone Hobo is our special little girl. I do that because she is. She is not as smart as the rest of the fur gang, in some ways she more obedient, more she is short of full load when it comes to intelligence. I believe she was ignored by her other owner and never given any attention, therefore she never had that nurturing to help her grow in making relationships with people. When she came to live with us she was dependant on Mama for everything as far as relating and getting along with us.

Today she has come a long way and is so much better in trusting people. I pleases me very much when she will come and stick her nose under my arm and nudge me for attention, that us something she would never do before.

Okay I need to run for now, with you later.