Lady's story: Part I

About two years ago I decided a very hyper six-month-old Sophia needed a friend. I didn't want another puppy, because two Sophias would have been overwhelming, so I started checking the classifieds for an older cocker spaniel.

(A little side note here that today, I would only get dogs from a shelter or rescue, but my knowledge of backyard breeders and puppy mills was limited at this point.)

Then one day I found an ad for a two-year-old rust cocker spaniel. The breeder said the dog, Maggie, had been the only dog in the litter so she wanted to keep her. Maggie had lived in the house for one year and then was put out in the horse barn, which had been converted into a kennel. Maggie hadn't been bred, was potty trained and was up to date on all her shots and medications. The breeder did say that Maggie was a little shy at first, which I thought would be a good balance with Sophia's outgoing personality.

I drove an hour and a half each way to a rural Iowa town to meet Maggie. I could tell that she was indeed shy, but she seemed to get along with Sophia. She also had a cowlick on top of her head that gave her a Mohawk, which I found adorable.

Long story short, my parents and Adam talked me out of getting her. But when the breeder called me back to ask if I was still interested because she got another call about the dog, something inside me knew that Maggie needed me. I tried to call Adam, but he didn't pick up, and ended up calling the breeder back and saying I'd take her. Today I would never bring home a dog without consulting Adam first, but at the time we had only been dating for four months, and I figured if he broke up with me because I got a dog, then he wasn't worth dating.


When I brought Lady home I realized that pretty much everything the breeder told me were lies. Lady wasn't just shy, she was crippled by fear. The first night she refused to leave Sophia's crate. The next day she decided my bed was a safe place and wouldn't leave it. Then when Adam and I were watching a movie in the living room, she cried from the bed because she wanted to be with us, but was too scared to get down. I carried her to the couch, which became her new safe spot and for months she scurried from my bed to the couch, like someone was going to kill her while she was on the floor.

Lady was afraid of EVERYTHING, doors, all people except me, the sound of plates being put away, any slight noise, obedience class and the list goes on. A trip to the vet revealed that she was not up to date on all her medicine as she had fleas and had never been given heartworm medication. Thankfully she was heartworm negative. But the trip also revealed that her muscles were underdeveloped from lack of exercise, she was underweight, her teeth were in horrible shape from eating poor quality food and her third eyelid had been torn and because it was never treated she had an eye infection.

It was around then that I decided to change her name in an effort to take away any reminders of her previous home. I chose Lady Fortunada. Fortunada is close to the Italian word for luck, and I figured Lady was pretty lucky to get out of the barn and into a place that would love her and care for her properly.


Lady hadn't been spayed so she went into heat right after I got her and spent two weeks in diapers, which she pooped and peed in because she wasn't anywhere near potty trained. Then the worst discovery of her mistreatment came when I had her spayed. Judging by the condition of her uterus and development of her nipples, Lady had given birth to one to two litters, and I brought her home days before her second birthday. For those of you who don't know, responsible breeders won't breed dogs until after they turn two because they are not physically or mentally mature enough to handle it.

I was furious and laid in bed with Lady, holding her for the entire day after her surgery, because she was going to have a much harder recovery than most dogs because of the previous pregnancies. It was around then, that I started to call Lady a rescue dog. Because although she came from a breeder, Lady was neglected and abused, and it was my job to bring her out of her shell.

To be continued...