Tinky Like Sunday Morning

Tinky by MEG

This morning, I had it all planned out. I was getting up and going out to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Then I was coming back home and chanting and shopping and taking care of business and reading my book until time for bed. That's not exactly how the day has played out.

I made it to the car and got on the road to go get coffee when I spotted Tinky. She's a black and white shih tzu that was wandering out into traffic and was about to get hit. Lucky for her the car she was in front of stopped, and I pulled up next to that car and got out, picked her up and brought her home. She smelled like a hobo's ass, but she was compliant enough. She has a collar, but no tags and she is about as blind and deaf as a dog can be. She may also have an impaired sense of smell - she definitely did not know how bad she smelled. I bathed her and Marilyn made up fliers, which we will distribute around the neighborhood and to local veterinarians today. We checked Craigslist for lost dogs, but didn't find her listed. We will keep checking back.

She has been wandering around our back yard, in and out of the house since about 9:00 AM this morning. She cooperated with her bath and seems to be feeling pretty good, but she is OLD. I think she may have had a stroke, because she seems a bit addled and shaky on her feet, too. We aren't sure if she just got lost or if she was set free, because she has so many problems. The cats aren't thrilled with her, but luckily, she is oblivious to their existence. She occasionally lets out the odd "Ruff," but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to her random bark. We are perplexed by her, to say the least. She seems healthy enough (previously listed problems aside), but has not made an effort to eat or drink anything since she got here. She seems to have the appropriate amount of energy for an old dog, but doesn't seem to mind or crave affection. She lets you pick her up and carry her, too.

Even after her bath, she still smells and she has chewed her tail to bits, so she has some type of skin allergy going on (not fleas, thank goodness). I thought it was too cruel to call her Stinky (she has enough going against her as it is), so we have dubbed her Tinky, and hopefully her stay with us will be short lived, Although she doesn't seem to be much trouble at all, and we are all growing fond of her (except the cats).