Sheba and Bebe Are Happy Dogs Tonight!

Sheba and Bebe Are Happy Dogs Tonight!

Sheba is a young white pit bull whose story was one that I deleted last fall in a fit of madness. I’ll write a short review.

My daughter Jane noticed a white pit bull roaming around the little community of Live Oak Springs, hunting for food. The dog obviously had puppies somewhere, and Jane worried she was a dog that had been dumped by the side of the road. She saw her again a week later where the dog was living with other miscellaneous dogs under an abandoned trailer just inside the Indian reservation. Jane started bringing them food every day.

One day she found the white pit bull we later named Sheba, had been hit by a vehicle, probably a sand truck that was passing every hour. Sheba’s leg was mangled, and she had lost a lot of blood. It was almost dark, and Jane couldn’t get to her that day, but came next morning and by that time Sheba seemed to have resigned herself to die. Jane crawled way under the trailer and pulled Sheba out on a towel, and we took her straight to a vet in town. All the way in she lay as if she were already dead, but when we arrived and we opened the tailgate, she raised her head when the doctor and helpers looked in dismay at the extent of her injuries. They thought the leg should be amputated, but we couldn’t possibly afford that so asked them to leave it on, and do the best they could. She had a break near the ankle as well as a long two-inch wide gash up her whole leg.

They operated for hours cleaning it and sewing up the wound – more than 81 inches I think. They put a plastic brace on it, and kept her there a few days. When we took her home, we still had to bring her back in for cleaning the wound and changing the dressing every other day for about two weeks.  We told them we couldn’t afford that any more, and they let Jane and me change the dressing at home. The leg kept healing., and the need for dressing changes became fewer until finally we discontinued them when the brace broke and we couldn’t keep a dressing on her.

The accident happened last July and now, Jan. 3^rd, although there is a spot the size of a quarter still not quite healed, Sheba actually walks on the slightly shorter leg. She and her female puppy are two of the eight dogs Jane rescued with a little help from me. They are two of five that include two male puppies that we still have. Pam the dog-lady took three dogs. We talk about finding them homes, and we know Pam would help us, but we have grown so fond of all of them; I guess they are ours forever. I hope the Indians keep liking us so we can stay here, because I can’t think of another landlord who would accept 10 dogs and 18 cats. 

Jane has taken Sheba and Bebe for short walks on leashes, but they are about 40 or 50 pounds of muscle, and very hard to handle. They like people, but Sheba will attack another dog if she takes the notion. The dogs are housed in a 8x12 ft chain-link kennel with a roof on top, a long wooden dog-house with a flat top on it inside the kennel, and heavy silver tarps wrapped around outside on the windward sides. The temperature here goes down into the twenties Fahrenheit at night sometimes, and when the wind is blowing, as it usually is, that is cold for a shorthaired dog. They also get very bored in such small space, especially the puppy. She chews up everything she can get her teeth on – her plastic dish, the broom handle, the tarp that she is able to pull through the chain link sides - everything!. Also, they are both too fat, and need more exercise. They are so strong, I know I can’t hold them. and Jane doesn’t have time.

Today I asked Jane if I could just turn them loose, and I would monitor them and catch them later. I thought they would come to me when I called them. I put my two dogs and all my cats inside before I put leashes on the pit bulls and turned them loose. They were out of sight before I could grab my cane and hobble after them. I got in the truck and found them by the gate, eating something a camper had left from the holiday weekend. They did not come when I called, but I was able to grab Sheba’s leash, and by holding it out the window of the truck, and me driving very slowly, I got Sheba back home, leading her and stopping often to let her rest. Bebe just followed close to her mommy.

As I watched Sheba, I couldn’t help but notice how much she was using her bad leg. She is actually walking and bearing a lot of weight on it now! Until recently she hopped along in a three-legged gait. I think it must still give her pain; but she is alive, has kept her leg, and uses it almost as if it had never been injured! She is one brave little dog! We will never be able to part with her no matter how much trouble she is about attacking other dogs and cats.