Another Rescued Dog

It was the longest, hottest summer on record that sister Mary and I spent in Ft Worth, closing out Aunt Louise's apartment and settling her affairs.  At the end of the summer Mary headed back to Hawaii and Daisy and I started our return to Tucson for my annual rounds of doctors and dentists.

 One place I usually spend the night is at a casino on the New Mexico side of the border just a few miles from El Paso. The casino has about 8 spaces with hook ups for RVs where they charge a very nominal fee.  No, I never play the slot machines or sit at the poker tables--mostly because I cannot handle the smokey air, but I also don't see the pleasure in the games.  Now, if the casinos should have a table for Mexican Dominoes or perhaps another for party bridge,  then I might be able to ignore the smoke.

I had just finished breakfast and was preparing to pack up and continue on our way to Tucson when suddenly I heard horns honking, tires squealing and people shouting, all from the very busy thoroughfare in front of the casino.  I looked over to see a lady leaning way out on the driver's side 

window as she inched her car along the road, all the while coaxing this beautiful dog to follow her.

She pulled into the casino lot, stopped her car and jumped out to make sure the dog was safely out of the traffic.  The dog seemed to want to go with her but then looked at me and decided I looked more interesting.  "I almost hit him!" She frantically explained.  "If I left him on the road he would surely have been killed. "  

We checked the dog for tags and found none, though clearly the dog was well cared for.   "I have to go to work," she said, "so I don't have time to take him to the animal shelter.  Can you take him?" she asked as she quickly jumped into her car and sped away.

Daisy was not at all sure about this sudden interloper.   A young man drove up and said he had seen the dog on the road.  He wanted to take him but he was a soldier on his way to report for duty and said he didn't think they would let him have a dog.  

I used Daisy's spare leash to keep him from running off but clearly he was ready to stay right where  he was.

And Daisy was quickly warming up to this new friend.

I could not handle another dog in my somewhat small and crowded RV so I called Pet Smart for some advice.  I told them I would not turn this beauty over to any animal shelter that might kill him and they gave me the phone number of a rescue center in El Paso and suggested I try them.

The person in El Paso reassured me they did not kill animals and several hours later someone drove over to New Mexico and took him away.

It was sure hard to say goodbye.  Daisy had quickly bonded with him and the rest of the trip to Tucson I think my own little 'rescue dog' was heartbroken and depressed. Ah, such is life.

Aunt Louise --1921--2018

In previous years this is the week I should have been in Ft. Worth, to celebrate Aunt Louise's birthday.  She would have been 98 years old on Oct. 19th.  

She was born the year before women got the right to vote.  In 1941 she went to work for an airplane manufacturer that would later become General Dynamics--designing airplanes (because the men had all gone to war).  In 1945 the company decided she was too good an employee to replace with one of those soldiers returning from the war so she continued to design airplanes for them for the next 50 years--and always she was the only woman in that department.

She was a role model for my sisters and myself and such an important part of our growing up time. So many summers were spent with her and Grandma Zelma.   She and her mother were  surrogate babysitters for three very rebellious, preteen/teenage, girls.

(our trip to Italy in 1998)

Aunt Louise introduced my sisters and myself to museums, ballets, concerts, live theatre, geneology, the nature of Texas, and history of every sort.  The absolute highlight of my time with her was when, at 87 years of age, Aunt Louise decided she wanted to find her grandfather's home town of Barga, Italy.

It was a wonderful trip that I will never forget. 

I recall how sister Mary and I worried that the trip to Italy would be too strenuous for her--boy, we were wrong.  She walked us to exhaustion and never once complained.

 

While waiting for a table in this popular restaurant in Florence, we discovered how the Italians revere the matriarchs of every Italian family.  The owner of this highly acclaimed restaurant came rushing outside and cast a worried glance at Aunt Louise.  Seconds later he returned with  a chair, a small table and a glass of wine for her--while sister Mary and I continued to stand.  After dinner the owner presented Aunt Louise with a bottle of wine to take with her as a souvenir.  He gave us the bill.

Her last two years were enhanced by a wonderful caregiver, Suzanne, who made sure that Aunt Louise continued to stay interested in the world around her.  

This was my favorite picture of her someone brought to the memorial service.  She is holding a baby pig.  

 

 This was Aunt Louise's 'crush'. During happy hour when he was performing he would always come to her chair, take her hand and sing directly to her.  (much to the chagrin of all the other ladies in the room) He sang her favorite hymns at the memorial service.

(Memorial at Hill Villa)

When Aunt Louise first arrived at Hill Villa, she was invited at mealtime to join a table, shared by two sisters and one brother-in-law.   Within the first year one of the sisters died and no one else was asked to join. Three years later the last three died--within two months of each other.  It was so sad to see that empty table that four friends had shared.  Someone finally removed the table from the dining room.  "Too many ghosts." was the reason given.