Olive's Story

Olive came to live with us on January 30, 2010. We weren't looking for a dog. Just two weeks before we lost our beloved Scully. My heart was still heavy with sadness at her passing. We decided that we would look for another dog in the Spring and that in the meantime we would start researching breeds, temperments and sizes as a base when we started looking.

Now, I know that I was probably setting myself up by even looking at websites devoted to rescued animals. But I looked at hundreds of dogs and lots of black labs/lab mixes and didn't even experience a twinge of interest.

Then there was Olive. There she was and her story of losing her front leg and her family all in her first year. I was drawn in and went home that night and asked Kevin if when we started looking at dogs we might consider a three-legged dog. His first reaction was no, but then I pulled up her profile and he felt it too. She was the dog for us!

Two days later she came to our house for a "meeting" and she lavished us in love and treated our other dog, Bisou, like a rockstar. The cats she simply sniffed and left alone.

She teaches me something everyday about loving with abandon, trusting without hesititation, and playing with gusto! We haven't found anything that she can't do yet ... she runs, plays, runs up and down the stairs without any problem. She is great with Bisou (they play all the time) and leaves the cats alone. She did eat a library book while we were at work today, but she is new and a puppy so we are just working with her to learn commands (which she takes to really well). Her most favorite thing to do is cuddle. She'd be laying across us all the time if we let her. Most of all I feel the sadness as losing Scully lessening with the love of this incredible dog.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Tripod Wonder


I had to pick a photograph of something that reminded me of beauty and brokenness for my class. Immediately I thought of Olive and posted this picture and shared this little reflection: We adopted Olive from a rescue organization just two weeks ago. Everyday she teaches me about creating beauty from brokenness as she loves, trusts, plays, and lives with vibrancy and abandon. Within the last six months Olive lost her right leg and her family. Though some people perceive Olive as broken (she was labeled that way by the rescue organization), there is absolutely no part of Olive that lives out of a broken place. We do know that Olive’s first family, like so many in the Midwest and throughout the country, lost their home due to foreclosure. They surrendered Olive to their local humane society because they could no longer afford to care for her. Families and homes are breaking under economic duress. Olive came to us because of this terrible loss, but from that loss we have discovered the beauty of coming together.
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