Story submitted 2012-05-16

My dog Joey

I always get rescue dogs, and each one I have gotten has had their own unique and wonderful personalities. I especially like senior dogs, because they deserve a good and happy life. They have often been abandoned by owners they loved, which is to me especially painful.
I did not want Joey specifically, but I was offered him, and took him. He was difficult. He bit everyone, seemed to be terrified of hands especially. He had the dachshund traits of stubborness, and was not at all intimidated by the other dogs. I worked with him a lot on being calm, flexible, and biting less. I was not tremendously successful.
In the end, we each knew what the other was, and this worked. He liked to follow me from room to room, sitting between my feet at dinner, sometimes begging. He liked to go on walks, but not too far because he got tired due to heart failure. He always slept with me, barking to be let up on the bed, settling down, snoring. I had to work around him because if I tried to move him he would bite me. It was okay. When I got home from work, he was happy to see me, barking and wagging his tail at the door. His teeth were horrible, and lots were missing when I got him. The vet said she would not dare put him to sleep to clean them, so he had terrible breath. He did like dental biscuits, but brushing was definitely not something he would tolerate.
The night I took him to be put down, after his heart failure got so bad there was nothing to be done, and he couldn't breathe, I knew I would not see him again in this life. I had him four years, and I felt like we were married. When he was gone I felt like I lost a big part of myself, and would never be the same. He is buried in my backyard, with a rosebush on top. My children joke I loved Joe more than them, and in a way I did, because he was a companion to me like children cannot be. I will never get over Joe. He was a rescue...for me.
Lisa Covel