This is a dog story.  This is also a goddess story.  This is what happens when a goddess thinks you need help.

I’m Telling You This Story to Tell You Another One

In the not so distant past, I had been working at home and heard a soft noise.  I looked out the window and there were turkeys in my front yard.  They were practically doing a chorus line on my porch.  My two (nonhunting) dogs were sleeping.  Without really thinking any of this through, I grabbed my shotgun and went out the front door.
They all scattered.  Shit.  I took some shots and ended up with two spent shotgun shells and a hurt pride.

Hunting for Birds

My husband and I decided to go hunting recently for mountain grouse in an area where we know there are some.  We also went looking for bears because he had seen a bear in the area.  I foolishly took a .22 in the hopes of bringing home a grouse.
We saw no bear and saw one blue grouse who played peekaboo behind some cover.  I took a shot, missed, and flushed the grouse.  So, now I’m hurting from two stupid failures.

Driving Home

So, we get in the car and drive home.  We were some four to five miles away when we passed some people with dogs.  One of the dogs who didn’t appear to be attached to any of them took off chasing our car.  None of the people looked concerned.
We continued to drive and the dog kept following us at a full gallop.  Once or twice she tried to become a wheel chalk by actually catching up to our car.  We avoided her and figured she would turn back to her “owners.”

Arriving at Home

No shit.  We arrived at home with a dog in tow. At this point, I hopped out of the car and went to her.  She was nothing but skin and bones.  I’ve worked with athletic dogs in the past–this dog was emaciated.  She was also dehydrated.  I scooped her up in my arms–she had no collar–and brought her inside.  At that point, I knew we had a third dog, especially when my husband said to wait on contacting shelters.
She was in bad shape, she’d devour anything we set in front of her.  We have to bait water to get her to drink because I think she isn’t used to drinking.  Her teeth suggest she’s between 6 months and a year.
For a week I looked through the lost notices and nothing appeared for her. Even if it had, I would’ve been reticent handing a dog in such poor shape to an owner who treated her like this.  People dump dogs up here all the time.  The dog had no collar and no tags.  Pretty much a dumped dog.

Skadi, Seriously?

Looking at her, I realized that I had a German Shorthaired Pointer.  A bird dog for finding, flushing, and retrieving birds.  Apparently Skadi is tired of my failures and sent me a bird dog.  And when I didn’t take the dog at first, she had her run behind my car until the dog ended up on my doorstep.
So, apparently Skadi thinks I need all the help I can get.  And apparently this little dog needs my help too.
And yeah, Skadi is right.
Thanks, Skadi.