I had my last hound for nearly 14 years, his name was Rocky. He was a rescue as well, tied to a tree in Tennessee , starved, rope digging into his neck, and waterboarded as punishment for existing. Long story short, he was the light of my life. Been through hell yet made sure my mom and I were the center of his world. She was terminally ill, he stayed with her when I had to work nonstop. And when she died suddenly at home alone, he was with her. That’s love, and  when he died, that was the last of my family. I had no one
    I really could not process any of my profound losses, and I would look at rescue sites and pet finder and quite frankly, never make it past a simple inquiry, I was just not ready. This went on for nearly four years, and one day on Pet Finder, I saw this picture of a hound girl named Rita. She was a little mousy looking, and I had only ever grown up with and had male dogs. So why I was looking so intently at this pic, who knows. But I just was caught up in her eyes, and I found myself saving her and going back to look and see if Rescue Coop added any more pics the next few days.
   Well one day I just took a closer look and thought, she really is pretty, I can see her having a flower name(I would go off with Jack the Ripper if he gave me flowers, lol). And of course one of my favorite flowers is a rose- and I decided that a scruffy little hound girl needed to be named that , because roses are elegant and dignified. So I sent an inquiry about her- she wasn’t far away, and Kathy said they could bring her to me. I found myself pulling the trigger on this and setting this up. I can remember thinking , what have I done, am I ready?

Rose’s Story

Then the work began. She freaks out (quietly, she never makes a sound) during thunderstorms. So o built a safe space for her in my walk in closet, mattress pad and blankets. So whenever she felt tense or anxious, that was her safe spot. Kennels were out of the question, she had no teeth in front from trying to get out of her cage her whole life. Then slowly, she realized she was safe. Just little things, tiny little things every so many days. She developed a personality- typical smart ass hound, and she communicated the only way she knows how. Which is adorable- she makes little gremlin sounds, she never really barks. Except when she’s big and bad outside with other dogs around
     So today is her second gotcha day, and it’s been such a process. She has beds and blankets and toys, she eats some high end food(chicken and flax allergies). She loves to nest and curl up(coonie curl). She still hasn’t given me any kisses, I don’t know if that will ever happen. But she shows affection much and in many ways. She loves to have something touching me when we’re on the bed or couch, usually her paw. And she turns upside down and grin this most ridiculous grin when I’m sad or not feeling great. She gets so excited for walks and meals and down time. She and I have our own language- I’ve joked with the vets that she’s autistic, and I’m not sure I’m wrong. I used to babysit autistic kids when I was younger, and there are striking similarities. So I approach what I do with her differently. This works. She knows I get her, and that’s important
      My Rose will probably always have some issues. Point is, I share this with rescue posts and hound groups, especially when they’re having trouble adopting out a hound. I have learned that just because I have had dogs my whole life, I still have learning to do. She has humbled me and taught me to refocus, which in turn has made it so much better for her. I am her guardian , her protector, and honored to have her. I try to remind people it’s not always easy, but it’s love. And it’s not always about you. I would kill for this girl, and she is my family. The only one I’ve got left, and I’m all she has. Although she’s pretty and funny, so everyone she meets think she’s great. Which, of course, she is
      It’s been a journey, and I’m so grateful to Rescue Coop to trust me with her. Rose is a gem, and I hope to make sure she knows it every day. Please continue to support this organization, donate if you can, volunteer, spread the word. Because they all do matter

So they transport Miss Rita to me, she is quiet and seemed relaxed and chill, what I was looking for. The adoption was finalized, and here is this shy little girl, beat up from what I would assume is a life of nonstop breeding and hunting and neglect, just looking at me. I’m like, lord, she’s has no idea what to do. But I’m remembering the 3-3-3 rule and decide patience is key, this will be smooth sailing
    Okay, not smooth sailing. I don’t think Rose had ever been inside before, she didn’t want anything to do with being inside. And she only slept during the day, because she probably hunted at night. She wasn’t affectionate at all, and would just freeze at any noise. Took her to my trusted vet, who was like, yeah, body score of like 2/3, she’s malnourished, her ears had been eaten away at the edges by flies and other bugs. The shelter removed some sort of mass then lost the tissue sample, so I held my breath wondering if she had cancer(no, as far as we could tell). She had(and still has) black burn marks on parts of her legs, and judging by how she responds to anything that sounds like a gunshot, they’re probably from being shot at. She was spayed at the shelter, but Dr. Stech said she had a litter not too long before she was rescued- and she was estimated to be at least 8.
    So there we were, a scared, confused, and just don’t want to be here dog who didn’t know how to dog. She didn’t understand toys, she didn’t communicate at all unless you tried to give her meds via mouth(been battling hookworms for nearly two years, omg) , then she would recoil and growl. And there I was, trying to figure out if she’s even going to make it. She was catatonic when she was afraid, looking up at the ceiling and darting her eyes upward. My blood boiled at the life she was given, and I was angry for having to try and figure out how to make it right. Angry with myself, because dogs flock to me, it’s always come so easy to fix whatever ailed them. For the first year, I really thought she would be better off humanely euthanized, but my heart would cringe and just absolutely refuse to accept her fate. I just cried most days, I thought she hated me or that I just wasn’t good enough to make her happy
    My vet tried a little sedative, absolutely didn’t work. Then one day I took her out, I was sick with COVID of all things, it was raining , and she just refused to even do her thing. I looked at her and said, why do you hate me- like a damn child. She just gazed at me, and something just clicked. I looked at her and calmly took her inside. And started to grow up(even at 50, lol) and put myself in her shoes