Paradise in my mind
Samara beach in Costa Rica sure feels like Paradise. But it's not all relaxation. It's actually more of a time to use all of my life skills, and see how all the years have combined in experience and knowledge. In the last few days we have helped a guest get to the hospital. Did a few hours of hotel-sitting for some friends who own a little place. And today I helped rescue a dog. I'm going to talk about the dog, not the guest, because there are no privacy concerns with the canine. (And no, I don't have any updates on the guest yet).
One of the long term guests at my Mom's mini hotel came to ask if Ron was here. He is out helping pick up someone from the airport, so I got to step in and do some hero work instead. There was an injured dog in the creek across the street from us. The poor thing was laying in the water, which wasn't very deep, but I'm not sure how long it had been there.
I grabbed an old sheet, put on a long sleeved shirt, some sturdy-ish shoes, and big work gloves. I had to go through a barbed wire fence to get to the creek bed. I had to go through more barbed wire to find a place to go down the 10 foot bank, trying not to fall - there was nothing that resembled a path. Then I saw the dog, just whimpering, and not looking at me. I got there first, and just talked to the dog, and started edging closer. Then the other 2 people came, and we spread out the sheet a bit, and the dog got nervous and tried with great effort and pain to take a few steps. I kept talking to it, it was a medium sized dog. So I came beside it, stepped into the water, and grabbed it by the shoulders while still talking. The dog was trying to bite me a bit, but you could tell it was because it was in pain. Thankfully it didn't succeed in reaching my arms or hands. I quickly put it on the sheet, and folded the sheet over the back legs. The dog stayed there and didn't make another move while we carried it out. I think the poor girl was exhausted. I'm pretty sure it was a girl, I didn't want to lift the leg too much. The lady who was helping was a home owner who was right up the bank, and said she could hear the dog all night, but didn't want to go out in the dark, in the creek by herself. She put food and water out, but I found the dog collapsed a few feet from it. Pretty dramatic, eh?
So getting to the dog was a bit of a challenge, and even with 3 people it was a bigger challenge carrying it out with the sheet. First of all, I had rocks that went in my open shoes, and no time to get them out. Second of all, we were transporting a wet, awkward possibly wiggling and biting weight up a bank while using tree roots for footholds. Thank goodness the dog didn't resist at all. Up the bank, yay! The next step (literally) was to get the dog through a narrow space, about 3 feet wide. With barbed wire on top, and underneath. The lady went through first, and then we didn't know how to get the dog through, it was a logistical problem. One side was a big fence, the other side was a big tree and the drop-off of the creek.
The lady brought a towel, so I had her put it across the bottom barbed wire, and I had to get through this small space, where the dog was already hanging on one side, over the wires. I was getting snagged in the barbed wire on top, and I was trying very hard to not bang the poor thing. I got through, and we carried the dog just a bit further through the fence to the lady's back yard, in some shade. Whew. The dog didn't move, we uncovered it, and it just licked it's paws a bit.
I left after that , but I will keep you posted. I still had work to do back home. It was nice to meet my neighbor on a successful rescue mission. She has 3 dogs herself, and said she would post on good old Facebook to try and find the owners. The dog had one other strange thing... It had a small patch on the left side, and big hand sized patch on the right side. I mostly got to see the left side. It looked like the dog had previously been injured and the fur was shaved off. Who knows? At least there wasn't any blood, and the wounds looked good and healed, and the dog wasn't foaming at the mouth or mangy.
So that's my Life in Paradise. Here's the thing. All the toughest parts of life have given me the training and experience to get involved, and jump in to take action. Not sit back and bite my nails, or get all flustered and panic. You know what I mean? Paradise isn't about living in a beautiful little town in the jungle. Paradise is feeling prepared. I guess I need a new dictionary? Because Mirriam-Webster says it's: a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight. But I think it's more than that. Those things weren't involved with a poor pup. I like my definition better, because it means I don't have to go anywhere for Paradise. I take it with me everywhere! Pobrecito perro. But man, it felt so good to help save someone's pet. I couldn't do anything for the last dog that needed saving.
P.S. I can hear the dog now, it's a few hours later, but it's howling. Maybe I will go check with the neighbor.
I found the post on Facebook, so I have pictures. And as of 17 minutes ago the owner of the dog was asking for the address, to pick up the dog. The dog was in treatment (for what?) and ran away, and they've been looking for her. Her name is Silva. Aw.
This is the first barbed wire fence. There is a dark patch in the middle of the picture, that's the creek.
One of the long term guests at my Mom's mini hotel came to ask if Ron was here. He is out helping pick up someone from the airport, so I got to step in and do some hero work instead. There was an injured dog in the creek across the street from us. The poor thing was laying in the water, which wasn't very deep, but I'm not sure how long it had been there.
I grabbed an old sheet, put on a long sleeved shirt, some sturdy-ish shoes, and big work gloves. I had to go through a barbed wire fence to get to the creek bed. I had to go through more barbed wire to find a place to go down the 10 foot bank, trying not to fall - there was nothing that resembled a path. Then I saw the dog, just whimpering, and not looking at me. I got there first, and just talked to the dog, and started edging closer. Then the other 2 people came, and we spread out the sheet a bit, and the dog got nervous and tried with great effort and pain to take a few steps. I kept talking to it, it was a medium sized dog. So I came beside it, stepped into the water, and grabbed it by the shoulders while still talking. The dog was trying to bite me a bit, but you could tell it was because it was in pain. Thankfully it didn't succeed in reaching my arms or hands. I quickly put it on the sheet, and folded the sheet over the back legs. The dog stayed there and didn't make another move while we carried it out. I think the poor girl was exhausted. I'm pretty sure it was a girl, I didn't want to lift the leg too much. The lady who was helping was a home owner who was right up the bank, and said she could hear the dog all night, but didn't want to go out in the dark, in the creek by herself. She put food and water out, but I found the dog collapsed a few feet from it. Pretty dramatic, eh?
So getting to the dog was a bit of a challenge, and even with 3 people it was a bigger challenge carrying it out with the sheet. First of all, I had rocks that went in my open shoes, and no time to get them out. Second of all, we were transporting a wet, awkward possibly wiggling and biting weight up a bank while using tree roots for footholds. Thank goodness the dog didn't resist at all. Up the bank, yay! The next step (literally) was to get the dog through a narrow space, about 3 feet wide. With barbed wire on top, and underneath. The lady went through first, and then we didn't know how to get the dog through, it was a logistical problem. One side was a big fence, the other side was a big tree and the drop-off of the creek.
The lady brought a towel, so I had her put it across the bottom barbed wire, and I had to get through this small space, where the dog was already hanging on one side, over the wires. I was getting snagged in the barbed wire on top, and I was trying very hard to not bang the poor thing. I got through, and we carried the dog just a bit further through the fence to the lady's back yard, in some shade. Whew. The dog didn't move, we uncovered it, and it just licked it's paws a bit.
I left after that , but I will keep you posted. I still had work to do back home. It was nice to meet my neighbor on a successful rescue mission. She has 3 dogs herself, and said she would post on good old Facebook to try and find the owners. The dog had one other strange thing... It had a small patch on the left side, and big hand sized patch on the right side. I mostly got to see the left side. It looked like the dog had previously been injured and the fur was shaved off. Who knows? At least there wasn't any blood, and the wounds looked good and healed, and the dog wasn't foaming at the mouth or mangy.
So that's my Life in Paradise. Here's the thing. All the toughest parts of life have given me the training and experience to get involved, and jump in to take action. Not sit back and bite my nails, or get all flustered and panic. You know what I mean? Paradise isn't about living in a beautiful little town in the jungle. Paradise is feeling prepared. I guess I need a new dictionary? Because Mirriam-Webster says it's: a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight. But I think it's more than that. Those things weren't involved with a poor pup. I like my definition better, because it means I don't have to go anywhere for Paradise. I take it with me everywhere! Pobrecito perro. But man, it felt so good to help save someone's pet. I couldn't do anything for the last dog that needed saving.
P.S. I can hear the dog now, it's a few hours later, but it's howling. Maybe I will go check with the neighbor.
I found the post on Facebook, so I have pictures. And as of 17 minutes ago the owner of the dog was asking for the address, to pick up the dog. The dog was in treatment (for what?) and ran away, and they've been looking for her. Her name is Silva. Aw.
This is the first barbed wire fence. There is a dark patch in the middle of the picture, that's the creek.
This is the second barbed wire space we had to go through to get to the dog, and get the dog through on her way back to safety. You can almost see some of the barbed wire on the bottom, from the fence to the tree. The second line of wire was at my thighs, and there was a wire pulled back, but more wire at face level.
This is the picture that was posted on Facebook. See the missing fur? I wonder what happened previously to Miss Silva?
My heroine, daughter of my angel. What a lovely story.
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