Happy Gotcha Day Cindy Sue!!

In all the excitement over the Presidential Inauguration, I totally forgot Cindy Sue's Gotcha Day.

January 20, 2007, is the day My Man and I drove 4 hours to Battle Mountain Nevada to pick up our new lil' girl. Her name was Cindy, a 3 1/2 year old Rat Terrier. We'd never met her...just viewed photos of her on Petfinder.com. It had been 10 years since I'd had a lap dog. I was so excited to go pick up this lil' girl that so desperately needed a home!

It was a cold, snowy morning, so we started at daylight with donuts and a thermos full of hot coffee.





Along Highway 78 about 20 miles from home, we came across a nice lil' herd of wild horses. This is the Sheepshead Herd Management Area. They look pregnant and in nice shape.




Well, Cindy and another Rat Terrier had been given up to the Elko, NV Humane Society by an elderly man who said he could no longer afford to care for them. Cindy didn't do well at all in the kennel environment. She had quit eating and was loosing a lot of weight very quickly.

The Elko HS called Monster Rescue, a local rescue in Battle Mountain, to see if they could take these two Ratties and place them. Cassandra is a wonderful person who works so hard to place her rescue dogs in good homes. She answered all my questions via email, and when we got there to pick up Cindy, everything was just as she said it was.

Cindy was thin, but healthy. The vet had given her a clean bill of health. He said that the only thing Cindy was lacking was a home and love. Well, that was easy to remedy for us!! Cindy slept on my lap the whole way home! She just wanted to be loved.

This is the day we got her home...look
at all those ribs and back bone!

But how could anyone resist a face like this one?

Cindy quickly adapted to farm/ranch life. She'd been a city dog before, but she was thrilled to be out running free! Her hunting instincts came into play all too often...her nose lead her into trouble more than once.

I put a goat bell on her collar so I could at least hear her. She is quick and so curious...every hole had to be investigated. When I couldn't hear the bell, I'd have to start calling and searching for her. She wasn't usually too far away, but I don't trust the coyotes one bit.

Her first run in of trouble was with the Great Horned Owls. She got too close to their nest up in the rocks and one of them attached her. She came running down the hill toward me in the round pen, stopping every so often to look behind and bark...the closer she got, the redder she became. She was covered in blood. I couldn't figure out where it was coming from, so I put her in the utility tub to wash her off. She had multiple puncture wounds. I called the vet and told them I'd be there within the hour.

After getting the horse put up that I was working and getting her settled in the truck, I made it to the vet's in 55 minutes. She was in shock by then. They had to sedate her and clean the wounds. She was on pain meds and antibiotics. She couldn't even get up on the couch because she was so sore. Luckily she didn't have any internal damage.

I had assumed it was either a coyote or bobcat that had bitten her. But a local neighbor stopped by and I had him take a look at her...he immediately said those were talon marks...OMG the owls in broad daylight!

The next run in was with a rattlesnake. Bit her on the end of the nose...another mad dash to the vet....and after a shot of antivenin, she was as good as new in about 3 days.

Enjoying a run in the hay field while moving wheel lines.

An expert quad rider...she loves the wind in her face!

Her own bed in the horse trailer.
She loves to camp!

Halloween scarecrow...she's not overly pleased with her mom.
If looks could kill...

More holiday torture.

Cindy Sue receives her very first Valentine

from her sweet lil' Dogster pal Vinny.

When Cindy first came to live with us, for some reason I kept calling her Susie. Susie was a Rottweiler that my mom had years ago. Obviously she looks nothing like a Rottweiler! But that's how she became Cindy Sue.

She loved our trip snowmobiling...she sat
tucked in between us.

A Big Dawg in a lil' dog suit...she's not
one to be left on the porch!

I sure love my brother Cowboy...and Abby too...
sometimes.

So, Happy Belated Gotcha Day Cindy Sue...I love you very much and you are a treasure to me every single day.

"Silly boyz...don't they know trucks are for gurlz?!?"