Trudies Legacy

(I let my Mom have the keyboard today)

I wanted to skip over this month because I knew I would want to write a story about our angel Trudie and part of me where my heart lives just didn't want to.  Trudie deserves a story though. I thought alot about what words I would want to write and as one of our friends here once said when she lost her four legged love she wanted only comments about his celebration in life and not sadness.  I liked that alot, and respected her for pointing out his life was about joy.

I am hoping that is what my words touch on today, the celebration of her life. I am worried I will go down a different road.  This is Trudie.  She was five-six years old when Butch brought her home one night.  She came from the same place that Stella, Sammy and Gussie have came from. We don't buy them from this troubled person we are given them because they need a chance at a good life.  In the beginning when we first brought home Stella Rose and Sammy we were under the mistaken belief that once they were out of the bad place they would see all the love we had to give them and magically be okay.  Stella of course had issues but Sammy did very well, Butch brought home Trudie without asking me.

I was very mad at him because I just didn't think I could take on another soul and have the time to give them they would need.  Trudie had lots and lots of issues, most of them typical for a dog who has lived their whole life producing puppies and never been given any love.  Trudie fell in love with me as soon as I wrapped a warm towel around her, and she loved me to last day of her life.

She loved Stella Rose and Sammer and was the old lady of the group.  She liked it when I dressed her up in pretty clothes the same as Stella.  I think Trudie just wanted to be "the same" and didn't ever want the label of a puppy mill dog.  For the first time she was free and free to find out who she was.  She was kind, and loved sitting on my lap and her dad's lap.  Sammer was probably the most jealous of her on my lap and that was because he thought he was the baby of the house.  Pretty soon though they found their places on our laps, and in our bed.

Trudie had some medical issues that wouldn't go away.  UTI's that kept coming back so it was nearly impossible to get her house trained, and living in a cage for 5-6 years didn't help.  She also had a collapsed trachea and each day I could tell her breathing became harder for her.  The vet told us she was not a good candidate for surgery because of how severe it was. We gave her anxiety medication to help her when she would get upset and breathe to hard.  It didn't help.

For all the love given to her, the hardest thing Trudie had to overcome was trusting children.  Our grandchildren love our pugs and have always been loving and kind to them.  They knew the story of Trudie so they were extra cautious when around her but she would often nip and bite at their legs when they visited.  We would put her in the other room so she would relax.

I was very new to the rescue world and didn't have any contacts for training help.  I talked to the vet and apparently he didn't know anyone either.

Rescuing is hard work and I came to understand we skipped a step with all our pugs.  They never came from a rescue organization where BEFORE they could have came to our house they would have received all the medical help they needed to be healthy, they would have lived in a foster home and the foster mom would have known if they could live with other animals, or children. They would have became more socialized.  We didn't know about those organizations when we brought home Stella, Sammy and Trudie.  All we knew is that they needed to leave those pens and be given a life, and that is all we knew.

I don't want to look back on the time we had Trudie and say we did everything wrong for her because we didn't.  She knew love and learned trust for the first time in her life.  That is what I tell myself everyday because those words help me when I think about her.

Trudie's legacy is this:  Remember those two little pug puppies that I took out of the same place that Trudie came from.  Well, they are well now and live in their forever homes.  They received all the medical treatment they needed to be healthy and the little boy had surgery on his eyelids.  They lived in foster homes until they were ready for the next step.  They will be well cared for and loved.  I didn't bring them home and try to save them, I did what was best for them, and not me.  That didn't mean I didn't want to, it meant I loved them enough to do better.

Trudie's legacy is also that now I know people who can help if situations arise that I have no idea how to handle and I also know a trainer who will help.  She is Gussie's teacher and of course has her own sanctuary for dogs who have only one chance left.  Its a wonderful place and I try to bring her items that she needs whenever we go to class, they are gifts from angel Trudie.

Trudies legacy was bringing home Baby Gussie and Maggie as puppies and working with them differently so they would be more socialized for the world.  We are so thankful that they are healthy and love our grandchildren, I tell myself that Trudie has helped them become who they are.

For every dog that leaves my life they always leave a lesson with me, I just have to open my heart enough to understand it.  Sometimes the lesson is absolutely heartbreaking BUT it is the lesson they wanted me to learn so I will do better the next time.

I love you Trudie and I miss you.  I know you are happy now and playing with Sammer.  I am so glad you were waiting for him when he got to the Bridge.

Your Momma
Deb

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