Katingad-an nga iro Rex

Rex is perhaps the strangest dog I have ever known (and believe me, there are quite a few of them!). There are a lot of unusual things in him: a foggy origin, strange habits, the very appearance … And there is one more thing that distinguishes this dog from others. You can almost always tell about an animal whether it is lucky or not. I can’t say the same for Rex. I don’t know if he’s lucky or a fatal loser. Why? Judge for yourself… 

The first time I saw Rex was long before he arrived at the stable. And our meeting was also kind of strange. That day, my horse Ryzhulin and I went to the lake. When we were returning back, a strange dog crossed the road. Strange – because I was somehow immediately frightened by her appearance. A hunched back, a tail almost pressed against his stomach, a lowered head and a completely hunted look. And instead of a collar – a bale string, the long end of which dragged along the ground. The sight made me feel uneasy, and I called out to the dog in the hope of at least removing the rope from him, but he shied away and disappeared into the alley. It was not possible to catch up with him, but I did not forget the meeting. But when he once appeared at the stable, I immediately recognized him.

By the time of our second meeting, he had not changed, only the dragging piece of twine had disappeared somewhere, although the rope remained around his neck. And so – all the same tail between his legs and a wild look. The dog was crawling around the garbage barrel, hoping to find something to eat. I took a bag out of my pocket and tossed it to him. The dog darted to the side, then stole up to the handout and swallowed. The next drying fell closer, then another, another and another … In the end, he agreed to take the treat from his hands, however, very carefully, he was all tense and, grabbing the prey, immediately jumped to the side.

“Okay,” I said. If you’re so hungry, wait here.

It seemed to me, or did the dog really wag its tail slightly in response? In any case, when I took out the cottage cheese reserved for the cats, he was still sitting near the house, looking expectantly at the door. And when she offered to come up, he (and this time it definitely didn’t seem to me!) suddenly squealed with joy, wagged his tail and ran up. And having refreshed himself, he licked his hand and somehow instantly changed.

All wildness disappeared in an instant. In front of me was a dog, even almost a puppy, cheerful, good-natured and unusually affectionate. He, like a kitten, began to rub against his hands, fall on his back, exposing his chest and stomach for scratching, licking … In general, it already began to seem to me that that completely wild dog that was here a few minutes ago existed only in my imagination. It was such a strange and unexpected transformation that I was even a little confused. Moreover, the dog clearly did not intend to go anywhere …

On the same day, he helped show the horses to the vet, and later went for a walk with us. So the dog found a home. The determination with which he determined that this was exactly where his home would be was amazing. And he got it…

I silently called him “unfinished husk”. I was tormented by vague suspicions that one of the representatives of the glorious family of northern huskies still ran nearby. Because a massive head, thick paws, a tail lying on the back in a ring, and a characteristic mask on the muzzle favorably distinguished him from ordinary village Shariks. And I’m almost sure that he was at home, even “sofa”. Because in the house all the time he tried to settle down on an armchair and constantly demanded communication. Somehow, having nothing to do, I decided to teach our inseparable trinity of stable dogs the basic commands. And it suddenly turned out that this science was not new for Rex, and he not only knows how to sit on command, but also gives his paw quite professionally. The more mysterious twists of his fate. How did this dog, almost a puppy yet, get into the village in such a state? Why, if it is clear that he was caressed and loved, nevertheless, no one was looking for him?

And even more strange that the dog suddenly found shelter with … grooms! The very ones that 2 other dogs were afraid of half to death, those who absolutely did not care about the well-being of horses. For some reason, they liked Rex, they even began to feed him and warm him in their little room. Actually, they also came up with the name “Rex” for him, and they also put a wide khaki collar on the dog, which, admittedly, gave this comrade an additional charm. How he conquered them is a mystery. But the fact is there.

We did not learn anything about the fate of Rex before getting to the stable. Dogs, alas, cannot tell anything. But to say that after his appearance there, troubles left him would be to sin against the truth. Because Rex was constantly finding adventure. And, unfortunately, far from harmless …

For starters, he got poisoned somewhere. I must say, the quality is good enough. But since this stage of his life passed without my participation due to another business trip, I know the situation only from the stories of other horse owners. And in response to questions at that time, I heard that the dog “felt bad, he was stabbed with something, but the dog is already better.”

As it turned out later, he was not just very bad. Rex was quite seriously about to die, and almost succeeded in this, if not for the intervention of people who literally pulled him out of the other world. So what I found was actually better. But without preparation, it turned out to be hard to see IT. He survived, yes. But not only was only skin and bones left of the dog (without any figurative meaning), he was also blind.

Both eyes were covered with a whitish film. Rex sniffed the air, walked in circles, could not even find food until it was practically stuffed into his mouth, tried to play, but ran into people and objects, and once almost got under the hooves. And it was creepy.

The veterinarian I called said harshly and unequivocally: the dog is not a tenant. If we were talking about a pet that is guaranteed to be provided with treatment and care, medical supervision, then we could fight. But a practically homeless dog, completely blind, is a sentence. “He’ll just die of hunger, think for yourself! How will he get food? Then he nevertheless said: well, try blowing glucose powder into your eyes. “It’s powdered sugar, isn’t it?” I clarified. “Yes, she is the one. It definitely won’t get worse … ”There really was, in general, nothing to lose. And the next day, powdered sugar went to the stable.

Rex took the procedure quite favorably. And already in the evening they noticed that, it seems, the film in front of the dog’s eyes became a little more transparent. A day later, it turned out that one eye was already quite good, and cloudiness remained on the second, but “just a little bit.” And a day later, new prescriptions for treatment appeared. Rex was given an antibiotic in his eyes, injected with all sorts of medicinal rubbish … And the dog recovered. At all. He got lucky again…

However, the joy over his well-being was short-lived. Nothing happened to him for probably a month. And then…

The dogs volunteered to escort me to the train. Rex pulled ahead, merrily jumping along the side of the road, when suddenly the car overtaking us swerved to the side and … a thud, Rex flies off to the side, rolls over and remains motionless lying. Running up, I see that he is alive. He even tries to get up, but his hind legs give way, and Rex falls awkwardly on his side. “Broken spine,” I think with horror, feeling the dog with trembling hands.

After dragging him to the house, I call someone who can help. Rex does not even whine: he just lies and looks at one point with unseeing eyes. And I once again try to determine whether the bones are intact, and each time I come to different conclusions.

When the dog was examined, it turned out that there were no fractures, but the mucous membranes were pale, which means, most likely, there is internal bleeding.

Rex is treated courageously. Moreover, well done, not only injections, but even a dropper the next day endures without resistance. A few days later he (hooray!) began to eat.

And the dog is recovering again! And at a record pace. Two days later he runs away from the injections, and on the third day he tries to walk with us on three legs. And after a couple of weeks, he behaves as if nothing had happened. By the way, this incident did not at all instill in him a fear of cars and the road. But I vowed to let the dogs accompany me even to the minibus.

Rex was fine for a long time. And then he… disappeared. Just as unexpected as it appeared. During the search, they said that they saw him in the company of people whom he joyfully accompanied. I would like to hope that this time he was finally lucky to meet his people. And the limit of trials that fell to his lot is over.