A Big Dog Named Tiny

This is the story of how we got our dog named Tiny.  No before you say, "Another dog story," take a little breath and be happy.  Next week I'll try to talk about the strange bugs that carry a strange tropical disease that invaded William's bed quite a few years ago.

Today you'll just have to settle for this story.  Ok?  Thanks!

We got Tiny on the day that our old dog Blackie went to that great land beyond... 

Blackie and Girl

the scrub trees and was buried on the far side of the big field in front of our house.  Tiny was so small.  She was very happy to stick her head in one of Uncle Byron's old boots and go to sleep.  Nowadays she plays with that same old boot!

The day that Blackie died was a rough day.  He died from a disease called CDV or canine distemper.  In the States, dogs are routinely vaccinated for it.  But in Brazil, most dogs are lucky to get fed.  Our little city has free dog clinics once a year for rabies shots but nothing else.  In the middle of the night Blackie started acting very strange.  He had been a little slow that week, but he was getting old and we didn't think much of it.  CDV is a virus that eventually attacks the brain.  So Blackie started having seizures and we did our best to keep him quiet until we could get him to the veterinarian in the big city the next morning. The doctor explained after he saw Blackie and ran a few tests that he could recover, but because of his age and the fact that the symptoms were well advanced that it was possible that he would not walk or maybe shake all the time.  We decided to go ahead and let the doctor put Blackie to sleep. 

Well as we were on our way back to Sobradinho with a dead dog in a nice box in the back of the truck, Uncle Byron turned in towards a missionary's house.  We thought that he must need to pick up something another.  Instead of pulling up to the front gate though, Uncle Byron went around to the back side of the missionary's property near a back gate and stopped the car near a field that was filled with lots of junk.

He jumped out of the car and went walking around turning over old tires and cardboard boxes like he was looking for something.  When he came back to the car, he put a little puppy down in the floor board near the boys.  Nobody said a thing.  Uncle Byron got back in and started driving on to Sobradinho.  I was more than a little ticked as he explained that he had seen the dog yesterday while  getting some old tires for the boat in the field where people throw out lots of junk.  In fact he said, there had been two just alike.  He had felt like he should rescue them both but had decided against it.  When we had to go back into town because of Blackie, he remembered the little dogs and thought it would be a good idea to see if they were still there.

By the time we were half way home the boys had started talking a little about the dog and to the dog and had patted it a little.  I was so convinced that we needed a new dog on the same day as losing the other, but there it was.

Girl Dog wasn't so convinced either but after a while she seemed to take Tiny "under her wing," so to speak and allowed her into the fold of our family.  The first time we had a retreat after that little Tiny only was about a month old.  So we took her along.  There she is following me around. She is the only one of our dogs to have ever gotten to go to the Island camp.
 

Tiny loves to lay on top of anything cloth.  There she is laying on a pile of dirty clothes ready for the wash.  Blackie loved to lay on top of stuff - big boxes, benches, and would even get on top of the washing machine sometimes.

At some point around two months old, we realized that Tiny was going to outgrow her name quickly.  She may have been better off named Sandy or Grande, but we decided against changing it.

I think Tiny is the most obedient dog we have ever had.  She can be snippy about getting into the trash but she was quick to learn:  sit, stay, out, shake and come.  I think Girl has even picked up some of Tiny's wanting to please attitude over the past two years.

Tiny ended up bringing great joy and entertainment into our house after the loss of Blackie.  Her arrival may not have seemed quite appropriate at first, but Uncle Byron did a good thing.

We love her very much and she does her job of protecting our family with a good loud bark!

But don't tell everyone - she probably wouldn't bite anyone - except perhaps the mailman!


If we had not gotten Tiny that day, Old Girl would have been a very lonely dog when we ended up staying for a full year in the States in 2014.  They keep each other active and happy.  Recently Uncle Byron and I have been taking both dogs on our 5k walks from time to time.  Tiny loves it and runs along keeping up.  Girl gets a little tired but is encouraged to keep moving along just to keep up with the competition - Tiny.

Missionary dogs around the world play an important task to help their families.  They are often more than just pets - they are needed to protect their owner's homes and families.  I knew that if our house was ever invaded by robbers that Blackie would eat them alive.  All I had to do was say - Sic' em!  Tiny has a loud bark and does like to chase people who walk by.  I'm not so sure if she would ever attack anyone like Blackie would have, but she gives the appearance of meanness which is almost good enough.  Girl is a little old and slow but give a good squeal and hollar - Rat! and she will come to your rescue.

Next week look for a story about dangerous bugs that were taking up residence in  William's mattress long ago.  After next week's story, Aunt Michele will be mostly offline for about 5 weeks!

Take care and have a good week!