Dutch...
anne nixon-ellery
There are dogs… & then there are dogs.
We were asked to give Dutch & his brother, Turk, a temporary home August 2018. It was really bad timing because I had just had foot surgery so even though I am a sucker for most things animal I was no help & it fell on my husband Mike. But Mike being Mike was all for it & that is one of the many reasons I married him.
Dutch & Turk were outdoor working dogs but could not be contained & hated each other. Fights had to be broken up… (& I’m not talking a scuffle here) calls from local places to come get these dogs were received very often. My friend was at a local pool when Dutch bounded through… she called me saying I don’t know this dog but it’s got your name all over it!!
Belinda from animal control ended up taking Turk away & that’s when Dutch very very slowly started coming out of his shell. He loved following Mike around the farm. Then we had a major breakthrough of him sleeping on the porch, prior to that he couldn’t be contained in a room without trashing it & I mean trashing it.
Mike did the porch up for Dutch :) & it became his room, he did chew the heck out of the new window sill because of thunder, but that was ok.
We began feeding him proper dog food & he started gaining weight & then it just happened ~ we all fell in love with him… this huge dog with an even bigger heart & eyes that just suck in your soul. We couldn’t imagine our lives without the goofball & he became part of our family.
Everyone that meets Dutch falls for him, he is the true definition of to know him is to love him.
Dutch is the kindest, most patient, gentle dog you’ll meet.
He started to come into the house (this took about 6months of coaxing) ! & can open the door on his own, letting all the other dogs out which can be a bit annoying, but if my arms are full he’ll open the door for me!!
& now we are here… the Hopewell Vet Group have been amazing as always & Dr Stults sent me to VSEC to get Dutch looked at by an oncologist…
My friend Dr McPeek has been translating the medical language & giving me support ~ I have a ton of positivity.
I called VSEC last night to make sure Dutch had settled in ok & the receptionist said let me get a nurse to check… then ended up having to go herself because everyone was petting him!! That’s the power of the Dutch!
