George of the Meadow

Let’s be clear right up front…we NEVER meant to have a dog! NEVER! We discussed it so many times and each time it just made no sense for us to have a dog.

We moved to Alabama in the spring of 2024 and by November slowly settled into life back inside a real house. After seven months living in a bus (not a built in bus, just an empty vehicle) while we waited to sell our Idaho house it was a great pleasure and pure joy to go to the bathroom without going outside in the rain. Here we were on an overgrown 11.7 acres of meadow, forest and a beautiful big pond, not to mention a snug little house. Everything was new and we were taking it all in quickly and gladly.

We didn’t notice him at first. He kept himself hidden, probably scoping out the situation to see just how safe it really was.

Inside the house some unpacking ensued while some things remained in boxes to await renovations that would slowly unfold. Ah, to have a kitchen again, a stove and fridge, a sink with running water. Heaven.

It took him until January to show himself.

There he was one day as if by magic. A dog. Out on my usual meanderings around the property and especially taking in the magic of the pond I would spot him from afar. A dog. He kept a long safe distance.

At first we thought nothing of this new presence. A neighbour with insufficient fencing perhaps or a good escape artist at work.

He watched us as we went about our day.

By February he was getting a wee bit closer and we thought it was time to shoo him back to his home. He kept a safe distance from us as he ducked under our broken down fences and skittered away.

March came on and he was still there joining me on my daily meanderings at his self appointed safe distance so I began to sing to him. “George George George of the meadow fast as he can be. George George George of the meadow watch out for those fleas.”

He was getting thinner and more bedraggled. I could now see him better as he approached a bit closer.

I went to the neighbour’s house. It was beyond time to sort this out. That was when we got the true story. He had been dumped off with another dog. Yes, you read that right. Dumped. Like garbage. On the side of the road. With a companion who was almost immediately hit and killed by a car. Shortly after this tragedy he too was hit but, somehow, with no help forthcoming, he survived on his own in the wild of the woods and overgrown meadow. The neighbour had tried to get him to come so he could get him safely to a shelter but he would NOT approach. He had seen him eating from the cat dishes that were left out for the feral cats.

We talked about the situation and what our next move ought to be. This poor animal had been dumped like trash on the side of a busy road months ago and had been fending for himself ever since. We had to do something.

As if he heard us, the next day he showed up with a white plastic mixing bowl and left it in the meadow. True story.

I went out immediately and bought some dog food. Bringing it home I filled his self appointed dish and sat at his established safe distance on the ground and waited.

He approached so slowly. I stayed as still as a marble statue. I didn’t make a sound. It took him so long that first time to get to the bowl as he watched me warily the entire time. He ate quickly and ran away immediately after.

We began a routine twice a day of me filling the bowl and him eating while keeping his guard up. He continued to trail me on my walks as I sang his song.

I moved the bowl closer to the house and very slowly closer to myself.

Finally his food sat on the sidewalk in front of the porch and I sat on the lawn chair on the porch talking quietly while he ate.

Then it happened. On April 18 I held treats out to him in my hand and he came and took them. I touched his head for the first time and it was so soft it broke my heart. That night we bought a kennel and placed it on the porch covered with a warm blanket with a dog bed inside. On April 19 he slept on our porch inside the warmth of the kennel. He was now stuck to me like Velcro whenever I stepped outside.

April 20 I began to assess the damage. He stood perfectly still without a single complaint and zero aggression as I cut huge mats out of his hair that couldn’t be combed, and brushed through the rest. I pulled countless tics out of his body. I found a huge infected lump behind one ear and cleaned it before applying ointment. Within days it would be completely healed.

We took a ton of pictures and a local shelter helped us post on Facebook to try and find him a new home. So many people stepped forward but we weren’t done yet. We wanted to be sure he had medical care before he went anywhere.

By April 30 he had a collar and leash and made his first trip to the vet. No chip. No surprise. Needed worm treatment. Also no surprise. Got all his shots done, heartworm preventative started, flea and tic preventative started and set up an appointment for him to be neutered. Surgery happened on May 5 and he settled into the house with us while he recovered.

Something happened. Something unexpected. Somewhere between putting a dish of food out in the meadow and nursing a lovely gentle soul back to health I fell in love….with a dog.

After much contemplation we decided together that we now had our own dog. Yes, we now have a dog. We broke the news to the people who were hopeful about adding him to their families and they completely understood.

His name is George and he’s part of our family now. He’s smart, quiet, gentle, loving and really gorgeous. This is truly a story of one person’s trash becoming someone else’s treasure.

#dogstory #dogadoption #petstory #petadoption