POOR PITIFUL PEARL!

Pearl is a black cocker spaniel.  She belongs to Sandy, my Afton BFF.   Sandy attracts animals.   No really. . . they come to her.  Her ability to attract animals has been responsible for her having 3 cats:  Sippy, Menina, and Topsy.  Topsy arrived as the world's tiniest kitten in the top of a very tall tree.  Only Sandy was able to call to her and get her to "go out on a limb" and drop into Sandy's hands. . . almost literally.  Then there are the two dogs: Winnie and Pearl.   Pearly arrived three years ago into the back property of Sandy's mountain retreat.  At first they didn't know if she was even a dog.  She was a pile of black fur, full of such severe matting and neglect that when Sandy stumbled upon her, she was not even sure what she had.   General anesthesia later, with all the mats cut out of her coat, what was left was an adorable little black cocker spaniel, whose owner had died and who had wandered the woods for weeks, maybe months.  But she found Sandy.  Under those circumstances, it seemed only logical that she should be named Pearl. . . . as in Poor Pitiful Pearl.

A matted coat was not the only problem little Pearly had. . . she had one eye so severely glazed over  that removal of the eye was the only solution.  Which left her with very limited vision in the second eye. . .which was clearly going the way of the first.   Winnie, the resident pug in Sandy's life, immediately became the caretaker of "Poor Pitiful Pearl."  A couple of groomings later, and some time for her hair to grow in, and she turned into a gorgeous, sweet, affectionate cocker spaniel.  A worthy companion to the  other dog and three cats in the house.   

Over the last three years Pear has thrived in Sandy's care.  Although she has also lost her hearing.  But that little girl has bravely carried on.  Like all dogs. . .she is the most unaware of her shortcomings.

When I left for Chautauqua, Sandy and Bill were becoming more concerned about Pearl's quality of life.  She was bumping into furniture in the house, and if she got out without her leash, could become lost in the woods.  It was impossible to call her back since she could not see nor hear.  About half way through the summer Sandy and I talked on the phone and she said that they would be confronting the "hard decision" about Pearl in the near future.

But low and behold, Pearly Girl rallied and was still holding strong in the family when I returned at the end of the summer.  Bill and Sandy were making sure she got outside before the accidents on the floor, and they watched as it seemed that Pearl was enjoying life even given her disabilities.  Isn't it wonderful how dogs live in the moment with no knowledge of their own mortality?

So this past week when Sandy threw a tea-party (the old fashioned kind, not linked in ANY WAY to a political movement!!!!), and 16 of us turned up in hats ( I only owned a cowboy hat so I wore that.  I won the prize for Most Bizarre Hat), I was anxious to get reacquainted with Sandy's menagerie.

When I arrived, out came Winnie the Pug, as he always does, to greet me.   Then came the perilous parking of the car given that it's hard to see where Winnie actually is.  Eventually I got parked and greeted my little canine friend with all the affection he gives me.  My first thought was,  "Where's Pearl?"

I went into the house where Sandy was in full pre-tea-party preparations and I asked about Pearly.  "Oh she's outside with Winnie," came the reply.   I said I had not seen her.  And the tea-party preparations became tainted with the worry that always accompanied  a disappearance of this precious dog who can not see or hear.  And all through a lovely party with a lot of women in hats who ate cucumber sandwiches, drank tea, and reveled in being alive and well and together, was the dark awareness by all of us that Pearl was missing.  We took turns combing the surrounding woods.  Calling her name even though we knew she could not hear us.  Sandy was a trooper playing hostess, all the while knowing her heart was breaking with worry about her little black fuzzy charge.

As the party was cranking down, the hat prizes awarded and people getting ready to head for their cars, one woman called out,  "Oh there she is off in the woods!"  And sure enough, we caught glimpses of that little black body as she tried vainly to return home.  She was close, but heading in the wrong direction. Sandy got the leash had headed out in her white tea-party dress.  We watched breathlessly as she intercepted Pearly who was clearly worn out from her adventure in the woods.  We clapped wildly as Sandy led her little cocker across the back yard.

This little dog who was left for dead three years ago when her owner died and no one was taking care of her, who found her way through those same woods, virtually unrecognizable as a dog to the home of Sandy, and then had somehow found her way back again that day, showed her spirit and determination.

Sandy leaves for a trip to Italy soon, and she and Bill again have to consider what to do about her.  It's likely that this time the decision will be made to let her go.  But what a banner three years at the end of her life she has had thanks to my wonderful, animal-attracting friend.

Here's to Poor Pitiful Pearl. . . who in my book is really Precious, Perfect Pearl.  And here's to Sandy. . . who gave her such a wonderful last chapter of her life.