All about Ginger
(Natasha's little red-haired kenine daughter)
"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."
Roger Caras
"You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us."
Robert Louis Stevenson
"There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
Ben Williams
"To err is human, to forgive, canine."
Anonymous
Ginger is a rescue dog and the most affectionate creature I’ve ever met, which is amazing considering that she spent her ‘puppyhood’ without much human interaction. Ginger was saved by a wonderful woman who changed her plans to move to another state, so that she can find a good home for Ginger. Until she was rescued Ginger was an outside dog tied to a backyard porch on a short leash. As a result she acquired a strange habit of putting her front legs down first whenever she wants to lay down, as oppose to most dogs who put their butts down first. It took me a while to realize that she does it because as a puppy she became accustomed to testing if her leash was long enough for her to lay down in a particular spot. Nowadays, I get happy every time Ginger gets down butt first, because it means that she's gradually forgetting how bad her life used to be.
Ginger's life is very different now. She constantly smiles and jumps at every opportunity to be petted or to sit next to people. Granted, it takes her a while to trust a person, but once she does she'll be all over you. Ginger is also a contortionist. If there is as little as an inch of empty space next to me she'll curl her seventy-pound body into the tiniest ball to squeeze into it. I suspect that she fancies herself a lapdog, because she often tries to get in my lap. Since it's physically impossible she just ends up sitting on top of me. Not that I mind. She already takes up most of my bed... Apparently Ginger feels more comfortable sleeping diagonally across the bed, as opposed to having to sleep in one corner. She kicks me in her sleep whenever I try moving her to make some space for myself. Every night Ginger goes to bed around midnight and she doesn't mind going by herself if I'm not ready.
What warms my heart the most is the fact that Ginger became best friends with my cat Tihon. They even sleep next to each other holding paws. They are so inseparable that Tihon started walking on a leash, so that he can be with Ginger at all times. Nobody has ever taught him how to walk on a leash, but he does it better than most dogs. He never swerves. He walks right on the path, happy to be with his friend. Ginger and Tisha are almost like celebrities in our town. I get a lot of comments from people who've never seen a cat and a dog walking together, paw in paw. Whenever I’m sad I look at the two of them and everything becomes better. I feel that I live in some wonderland where magic creatures dwell and for some inexplicable reason love each other and love me.
