Stinky

On my way home from the Marta tonight, I passed a stray/lost dog. Unfortunately, stray dogs are common in Atlanta. It was clear, however, that this dog was in more trouble that most stray dogs running the streets. He was walking slowly, running into the curb, and acting very confused. My heart strings had been pulled.

When I got out of the car and approached him I quickly learned that Stinky (you can only image why I named him that) was blind and could barely hear. My heart strings about snapped. I called Chad and asked him to bring a blanket. I made sure Stinky didn't get hit by a car, which wasn't easy. Being blind and not hearing well, he just wander aimlessly, and seemed to prefer walking on the street to the leaves on the side of the street. He was a little guy (maybe 8 pounds) but I didn't want to pick him up because he was a mess, and very very stinky (gurl, I had a cute shirt on!). So I stood in front of him when cars came to make sure they went around him. I'm sure I looked crazy (but cute in my non-stinky shirt).

We took him back to the house, blocked him off on the deck, and gave him food and water. He chowed down. I called Lucas' friend, Jen, because I knew she had rescued and fostered dogs. She asked me not to call Fulton county animal control because she felt Stinky would be immediately euthanize, given that he is blind and somewhat deaf. She agreed to foster him and find him a home. All she asked was that I give him a bath and drive him to her house. You gotta love lesbians.

I tried to give him a bath but couldn't do it. He was such a mess and the smell was horrible. Horrible! I was gagging and almost threw up. It was bad. Thankfully, Chad stepped in. He's good with gross. I've never seen such dirty water. His fur was so matted and tangled that Chad had to cut chunks off with scissors just to bathe him.

In addition to the smell, it was emotionally hard. The poor little dude was shivering in the tub. He was scared and confused. Chad had tears in his eyes as he washed him. However, once we got him out of the tub and dried him off, he got a burst of happy energy, like dogs do after a bath. It made us laugh and smile, which we desperately needed to do at that point.

Later, we both had emotionally charged "people suck" meltdowns.