This is Irene, who was the second dog who arrived on Sunday evening along with blind Owen. She came to us from Kentucky, where she had been turned into a rural shelter on a Friday in early September. The shelter staff saw that this little Shih Tzu/Peke mix was suffering from terrible problems in both eyes and was in a lot of pain, so they took her to a vet clinic for the weekend.
A couple of days later I received an email from Suzy C., a volunteer for the shelter, who had taken the dog to the clinic that Friday. She was writing to ask if we could help. Suzy wrote, "It is a young dog, very sweet, loves to be cuddled, but on pain meds waiting to see its fate. If we take it back to the shelter, it will be put to sleep. It needs surgery." She ended her note by saying, "We are desperate to give this dog a chance!"
We agreed to take the dog and pay for whatever medical care she needed. The veterinarian ended up having to remove one of her eyes and was trying to save the second eye, which had developed a corneal ulcer. In a subsquent update on the dog's medical condition, the shelter director emailed me to say, "We are so grateful for your help! Going back to the shelter would be a death sentence and none of us wanted to see that happen."
As it turned out, this little dog arrived at the vet clinic the same week that Hurricane Irene was working its way up the East Coast, so the clinic staff named her Irene. She weighed all of 8 pounds. We hadn't even seen what she looked like until the clinic emailed us some photos of her after her surgery. Irene stayed at the clinic for a few weeks until our transport could pick her up; the shelter was unable to find a foster home for her for that time, but given the medical care and observation required for her remaining eye, it was just as well that she stayed there. She can see from that eye, though the corneal scarring does seem to hinder her vision somewhat.
But the minute we let her out of her crate in the transport van Sunday night, we realized a veritable "Hurricane Irene" -- the furry 8 lb variety -- had just arrived. While blind Owen was wrapping his paws around Alayne's neck and quietly cuddling like a teddy bear, Irene was jumping up and down on me, offering lots of little kisses, and twirling and bouncing as she ran about at the end of a leash. Talk about a ball of energy! By Monday morning we were already calling her "Pistol," though "Hurricane" would have been just as appropriate.
She has a bulging eye, squashed face, wild hair and an underbite, which doesn't make for a very photogenic girl.
But she asks, "Who says I'm not pretty?":
(Click on photo for larger image.)
She spent her first few days here happily rushing up to and greeting the other dogs, and trying to get some of them to play. Yesterday evening Alayne saw Irene repeatedly working on blind Avery, who sat motionless, ignoring the fluffy thing whirling around him:
Of course, she probably didn't realize Avery was blind and couldn't see her play bows, but after awhile she must have begun to wonder whether this was actually a Beagle statue decorating the front hallway:
She finally gave up on Avery (Avery: "Good grief, what was that?!?") and moved on in search of other pursuits.
Here's a rare sight -- the "sitting still Irene":
And something even more rare, the "sleeping Irene":
Apparently she can go for 16 hours without a battery recharge.
We call her "motor mouth" because she makes lots of interesting, hard-to-define sounds, mostly with her mouth closed. Many different small motors in there somewhere.
You can't get anywhere near her without getting several kisses, and whether you bend down to her level or pick her up, either way you're going to get smooched. She is the happiest little thing, always thrilled to see us again -- even if it's only been 45 seconds since we were last in the room.
And there you have it -- please welcome Little Miss Hurricane Pistol Irene!
---
Another Shelter Challenge begins -- and No. 3 again already!
The new Shelter Challenge started October 3rd and ends at midnight on December 18th. Grand prize in this round is $5,000, plus $1,000 for weekly winners and $1,000 for state winners. There are also other categories ... please see the Shelter Challenge website for details.
And remember, you can vote every day, so consider bookmarking the voting page to make it easy.
You can vote in the Shelter Challenge here.
Please note: Use Rolling Dog Ranch for our name and NH for the state and our listing will come up. [Yes, we are still listed as Rolling Dog Ranch for the purposes of the contest, not Rolling Dog Farm.]
Because of your votes, we just won $1,000 as a weekly winner in this round of the Shelter Challenge. Please help us win more money for the animals here by voting every day, and by encouraging your family, friends and colleagues to vote every day, too. Thank you!
LOVE the name Irene! It's my middle name, my grandmother's name and my dear sweet departed sheltie's name! She is TOO cute to be named after a Hurricane! God bless you for taking in Irene!
Posted by: Yvette Irene | November 29, 2011 at 10:56 AM
Welcome dear Irene...what a very sweet little girl you are....such a loving family you now have!!
Posted by: Valerie | October 19, 2011 at 05:11 PM
Welcome little Miss Pistol, you are GORGEOUS!! What a cutie!
I had a good chuckle at Avery's reaction to the whirlwind - it's more or less the same as my Old Girl's reaction to anything young and playful these days: just ignore it and pretend not to notice, she usually emphasizes her intention with a long loud yawn!!
Thank you to all who saved Irene and Handsome Owen, I always get a little sad when I think these wonderful personalities might have been lost to us... Thank you thank you thank you!
Take care of yourselves, love&hugs.
Posted by: Bregda & Boemsie (South Africa) | October 19, 2011 at 05:23 AM
OH what a cutie. She will be loads of fun. AGAIN thanks for taking her and Owen. Let the good times roll. Bet she gets adopted out soon ha ha.
Posted by: Karen | October 15, 2011 at 09:26 AM
She looks a lot like our one-eyed Scamper. He also is newly adopted from our local shelter and a whirlwind of energy. Wears out all of our older dogs and then starts with the cats. (He has already learned the hard way that messing with the cats is not the best idea he ever had). What a pair these two would be.
Posted by: Barb | October 14, 2011 at 07:57 PM
Avery was meditating: OK! All things must pass... I've been through worse.
Posted by: Mauro Salles | October 14, 2011 at 06:31 PM
Whirlin', twirrelin' little cutie patootie! She is adorable and you tell her she's very beautiful, too!! Thanks so much for the great loving care you give these dear anipals. I'm voting every day!! <3<3
Posted by: Joanne Standen | October 14, 2011 at 05:55 PM
Irene is a lucky gal!!!! We have another Irene who got her name for the same reason. Despite all attempts, we did not find her owner. She's a cross between a boxer and an english bull dog and has an underbite. What a sweetie she is and I can't imagine life without her!!!!
Posted by: Sandy Suggs | October 14, 2011 at 05:54 PM
What a charmer! Another case of the big personality in the small package. Thanks for letting us welcome her!
Posted by: Tonya Allen | October 14, 2011 at 04:57 PM
Another perfect example of why you guys, and RDF, are there! So glad everyone along the way chose life for Irene! Looks like she is certainly livening things up!
Posted by: Lisa K. from CA | October 14, 2011 at 04:54 PM
Oy, good luck! She sounds just like my little Pomeranian, Luna. AKA Lunatic/Looney Tune/Loudmouth/Crazy Train. Have Fun! Can't wait to find out who her play buddy turns out to be.
Posted by: DarcC | October 14, 2011 at 04:54 PM
Welcome Irene!!
Steve and Alayne -After being a regular follower of your blog for a number of years, I took the plunge and adopted a rescue dog earlier this year. I believe I was ready to do this because of all that I've read on your blog. She's great, we'll definitely adopt a rescue dog again.
Coincidentally, she's also a 'smooching Shih Tzu.' with bulging eyes, an underbite and crooked teeth (14 of which required prompt removal after we adopted her). Thanks for all you do.
Posted by: Carol | October 14, 2011 at 01:30 PM
What an amazing thing it must be for animals like Irene and Owen that have faced pain, abuse, and homelessness to finally understand that Rolling Dog Farms is their home for good. (And what peace it must bring them.) And Steve and Alayne, what satisfaction is must be for you to see these former sad little ones blossom into the dogs they were meant to be. Bravo!
Posted by: Peggy | October 14, 2011 at 01:30 PM
Simply beautiful. Inside and out.
Posted by: Linda | October 14, 2011 at 01:20 PM
Irene, you're absolutely right: you're VERY pretty!:-)
It's great to know she's no longer in pain, and blissfully happy at RDF.
A huge hug to you all from Italy.
Posted by: Carla Polastro-Nigro | October 14, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Whaddya mean not cute?! She looks like a little blonde bombshell to me. Give Rennie some kisses back from us out here.
Posted by: Mircat | October 14, 2011 at 11:51 AM
Irene... you are BEAUTIFUL!!! Welcome honey!!
Posted by: Penny | October 14, 2011 at 10:52 AM
Irene looks like she is winking at us. I'm thrilled that she escaped the "gallows". She has so much to offer if given the chance and now she will have it. A shi zhu is a high energy dog, loyal, very loving and playful. Mine passed June16th of this year after 13+ plus years together. I rescued her from a pound in NH when she was about a year old. She was funny and quirky and missed.
Posted by: Kathleen Rivard | October 14, 2011 at 10:49 AM
WELCOME HOME IRENE WELCOME HOME
I can see Avery thinking
"ok if I don't move maybe it will go away"
Posted by: Eric | October 14, 2011 at 10:45 AM
she's fabulous! what a fun and funny little girl! thanks for giving her a chance!
Posted by: melanie | October 14, 2011 at 10:43 AM
They are both so cute!!!!!! She looks like a pistol. Wish I had room for another one - I would probably be trying to figure out how to get her to MS. HAHA
Posted by: Toni | October 14, 2011 at 10:36 AM
I am smiling as I read this post.
Such a special girl with so much love. Thank you all for giving her the chance to live. She is a truly a sweetheart. I get the feeling we may be seeing many a post regarding Irene and the "aftermath!"
Posted by: Mary H. | October 14, 2011 at 09:03 AM
Welcome, Irene. I can't wait to see what Lori does with you! You're certainly going to change the dynamics around the old homestead with your style. You go, girl!
Posted by: Janet in Cambridge | October 14, 2011 at 08:57 AM
She's adorable!!
Posted by: Lynda in Michigan | October 14, 2011 at 08:29 AM
Oh, welcome to RDF, Irene! She's really adorable and it's great that she's fitting in so quickly. Seems that you have another little lovebug on your hands!
Posted by: Ann | October 14, 2011 at 02:57 AM
What a cute twosome (by chance, but never mind) and how happy they must be to have been rescued! Way to go for all the people involved, including the ever fabulous S&A ofcourse ;-). Maybe you can film her to let us hear the motors inside Steve? You've made me curious about them!
Posted by: Jessia, NL | October 14, 2011 at 01:52 AM
She's poetry in motion--I think she is just beautiful. So cute with Avery.
Posted by: Reta Davis | October 14, 2011 at 01:18 AM
Good Night, Irene!
Posted by: Linda | October 13, 2011 at 11:02 PM
She is absolutely adorable! Thank you guys (and everyone involved) who helped her....she is a treasure!
Posted by: Leila - Washington | October 13, 2011 at 10:45 PM
She's great! I really hope that one day I can be a forever home for a dog like the ones you help rescue.
Posted by: Ashley | October 13, 2011 at 08:36 PM
She looks to be very photogenic and very cute! A moving target for sure tho. She sure is a little cutie.
Posted by: Anne in FL | October 13, 2011 at 07:57 PM
She seems like a handful. A happy handful at that. Best wishes, as always.
Posted by: Evelyn | October 13, 2011 at 07:40 PM
LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Love Irene, love Owen, love all the other fur babies, love you guys, love RDF(I still want to say RDR!), and really, really love these posts that can't help but to make everyone reading them break out in a great big smile! Welcome to the good life, Irene and Owen!!!
Posted by: Carolyn Kupferschmid | October 13, 2011 at 06:40 PM