Daisy

Those who say that cats have 9 lives haven't heard the story of Daisy, the little "mutt" who cheated death on more than one occasion.

Daisy was born 2 years ago into this world unwanted; her family of humans had no use for her. Instead of attempting to find her a loving home, they were simply going to destroy this bright-eyed, innocent puppy. Before they could "dispose" of her, however, a friend of the family offered to adopt Daisy. This friend already had a German Shepard at home, and although he had no use for a mutt, decided that perhaps this beagle-mix would be the family dog that he was looking for. His German Shepard had contracted Parvo, a deadly disease, and though she miraculously survived, had become extremely aggressive. Having two small children at home, this friend didn't want his children to grow up thinking that all dogs were aggressive, so he believed that Daisy could show his children that a dog could be a loving pet. And so it seemed that Daisy had been given a second chance at life.

But happiness was short-lived. Within the first month, the German Shepard's aggressiveness towards Daisy became out-of-control. To remedy this, Daisy was locked into a small cage-one fitting for a Shih Tzu, but much too small for her. Day and night, Daisy spent all of her time in this cage. During this time, her owner decided to get a Pit Bull puppy. Making an already bad situation worse, the Pit Bull and German Shepard ganged up together to terrorize Daisy on the few occasions she was allowed out of her cage. Meanwhile, Daisy's owner became increasingly annoyed with Daisy's inability to wait 8-10 hours to relieve herself, and tired of hearing her lonely whimpers from her cage at night. He took his frustrations out on Daisy, beating on her cage to scare her into silence and raising both his voice and his hand to her. For the first year of her life, Daisy endured this abuse.

However, Daisy's abuse did not go unnoticed. Her owner's sister, who volunteered at SOAR, had witnessed the poor living conditions when taking care of the animals while the family was away. She saw how Daisy became increasingly skittish and withdrawn. Knowing the abuse had to be stopped, she warned her brother on several occasions that she would take Daisy away from him. However, the threats did nothing.

After a year of living in a cage inside the house, Daisy's owner decided that he could no longer tolerate her. There was a small fenced-in area behind the house, muddy and with a small doghouse located within it. He felt that was more than enough for a dog to live in. And so Daisy was suddenly outside, at the mercy of the elements--heat, cold, rain, and snow. Her owner also decided that he would leave the responsibility of feeding Daisy to his 2 sons-who were 6 and 4 years old. For this reason, on most days Daisy went without food or water. Her already small body wasted away as she was forced to sleep in her own urine and feces, and the fleas and mosquitoes ate away at her legs. Daisy suffered like this for the next 6 months.

Out-of-sight, Daisy's owner forgot about the poor pup, but his sister did not. She could no longer watch the dog suffer, and asked once again to take Daisy. When her brother threatened to shoot Daisy, she decided she could not wait any longer. Finally gaining the consent she needed from her brother's wife, she placed a tearful call to SOAR asking for them to come and rescue Daisy. They accepted, and came the next morning to gather up this scared, abused, and emaciated puppy.

When Daisy arrived at SOAR, she received prompt vet attention. Her previous owner had not believed in vaccinations or veterinary care, so Daisy desperately needed an exam. It was discovered that she had contracted heartworms, a deadly condition spread by infected mosquitoes, while living outside in the elements. SOAR began a costly and dangerous treatment of shots containing a solution equivalent to arsenic. The treatment is difficult but Daisy, fighter that she is, handled it well. SOAR concentrated on getting her back to a healthy weight, and spent time working with Daisy trying to undo the abuse that she had endured for her entire life up to that point. Daisy responded well to both the heartworm treatment, and the loving attention from the SOAR volunteers. Had her owner's sister not called SOAR when she did, Daisy would have certainly died a slow, painful death from the heartworms, starvation, exposure to the elements, or who knows what else. Or maybe a very fast death if her owner's threat to shoot her turned real. Looking into Daisy's big-brown eyes, this animal seemed to realize that she had been given another chance at a good life-and she was very grateful.

It was at this time that a young couple living 4 hours away in Concord, North Carolina were searching shelters on the Internet looking for their first dog. Knowing that they would rather save a life instead of purchasing a puppy, they filtered through the thousands of pictures of animals in need of a loving home. Suddenly, they came across a face that immediately stole their heart. Her name was Daisy, and she was the most beautiful beagle-mix-with the most expressive brown eyes and the cutest freckles on her nose. Even though it would be a long drive to the shelter, they knew that they must meet her. They quickly contacted SOAR and arranged for a visit. On a brisk, but sunny, winter day the couple met Daisy face-to-face. She was everything they'd hoped for, and signed the adoption papers on the very same day.

Daisy was a very frightened girl on the night she came home from SOAR. However, she adjusted quicker than anyone could have imagined. It was amazing how a dog whom had only known neglect and abuse could ever trust another human being again. But Daisy seemed to soak up the love and attention like a sponge. Never having had a toy in her life, Daisy's owners showered her with gifts and taught her how to play with them. Now she carries her stuffed "yellow fox" everywhere, squeaking it proudly through the house. Aiming to please, she always behaves perfectly. Her latest vet visit ended in wonderful news for Daisy and her new family-her heart sounded great and it seems that the heartworm treatments were successful. Through Daisy's eyes, the heartaches of her past are still visible, but every day trust and love are pushing them further and further away.

At home, Daisy's favorite game to play with her new family is hide-and-seek. One day, when she was playing with her owners, she disappeared in the house. Concerned that something happened, her owner searched the house, inspecting each room as she went. With no sign of Daisy anywhere, she began to worry, and decided to check the den. As she stepped around an office chair, she yelled with surprise as Daisy burst out from behind the chair-proud as could be. Her owner quickly realized with amazement that Daisy had simply gone to hide-and she had won the game!

Every night when Daisy jumps happily up on her family's bed, she rests her head on their laps and lets out a sleepy sigh-a sigh of relief, contentment, and as if to simply say "thank you". After all, Daisy has already lived 4 lives, and her new family is truly honored knowing that she will spend all the rest at home, with them.