Recently, I realized just how proud I am of my daughter and the values that she holds. When you raise your children, you try to instill in them values that you hope will guide them through major issues in their lives and yours. You never really know what 'takes' and what doesn't until they are presented with issues that will govern the decisions they make.
A little over a week ago, my daughter's lovely little shelty dog, Baxter, was severely injured by a rottweiler that belonged to their neighbor. The rottweiler was no match for this young shelty that was a delight to my daughter and her family. He grabbed the little dog after trespassing on my daughter's property, her porch to be exact. and shook the little dog within an inch of his life! I was in Atlanta visiting her brother at the time, and my daughter called me after the fact and was truly concerned as to whether her Baxter would live or not. She had horrible feelings of guilt about not interrupting the attack and attempting to remove the larger dog from her shelty. I assured her that she. herself, could have been injured in attempting to intervene. Nevertheless, she has suffered a horrible form of post-traumatic stress reliving the incident in her mind affecting her sleep and her eating. Fortunately, the owner of the dog, responded to her screams and pleas for help and he and his son pulled the rottweiler off of her dog. The damage was done though, and the sheltie suffered horrible injuries that have thus far involved 3 surgeries to repair his torn flesh and God only knows the trauma he has suffered emotionally. Such a sweet little dog, he has fought so hard to live in spite of his injuries. Before the second surgery, my daughter called me regarding the expense she and her family would incur with relation to Baxter, possible over $5000.00 that they might not recoup from a lawsuit against the owner of the rottweiler. She loved this little dog so much and some people were advising her that because of the expense she should have the dog put down. I didn't want to unfavorably influence her with the wrong advice, but with my strong love for this dog, any animal really, I advised her to follow her heart and do what she thought was right. I then hung up the phone and sobbed wishing that I could write a check for this loveable little dog even though my income is so limited. I vowed that I would support her regardless of her decision. I anxiously awaited her call and when she did call, she said, "Mom" I am so glad that I talked to you, I have decided to go ahead and get Baxter the treatment that he needs. I was never so proud of my daughter as I was in that moment and I hung up the phone and said to myself, "I must have done something right in my lifetime" to have such wonderful children as she and her brother. They value what is truly irreplaceable, unconditional love from their pets and their families. Moments like this make you happy to be their parents, they really do. This little dog is not even 2 years old and he has given so much to all of us, his family, that he deserves our love and support during his time of need. Thank you god for this little guy, and for my daughter, who places his love and devotion as it should be. I am proud to be her mother!
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