[Dailydrool] What the Drool means to me

[Menzie Campbell]

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What the drool means to me:  I found the drool in early 2001, thanks
to another long-time Drooler, who I don't know if she's still on here
anymore.  Her basset was named Cleo, and she was blind (the basset).
Um.. her name... gawd, I'm getting old... Jeanne West, I think?  (You
old-timers help me out here.)  Anyway,  At the time, I was on a list
called BLINDDOGS.com.  This was a list I found while frantically
searching the Internet for information after Pw. Annabelle, our first
basset, had been diagnosed with glaucoma and lost her sight at the
tender age of 20 months.

One of my first mentors on the Drool was a long-timer that someone
else mentioned today - Karen Fetter, Jake's mom.  I hope Karen is
still lurking around here, too.  And Nancy G. was great to me in those
early months, and many other people were very patient with my newbie
questions and dumb ideas.....   Here's what finding the Drool brought
me:

1.  Comfort,consolation, help, encouragement, and advice from other
folks who had blind bassets, and knew exactly how amazing they are.
2.  The existence of Basset Rescue.  Before I found the Drool, I
didn't know "rescue" existed.  I knew it was bad to buy puppies from
pet stores, but we got Annabelle from an BYB in the newspaper, and I
didn't know the reasons why that wasn't good - until she got glaucoma,
anway!
3.  RELIEF that our basset's bad, bad, bad behavior was NORMAL -at
least for bassets.  We had owned dachshunds for years, and they have
their own little quirks, but Annabelle - wow.  She escaped the fence,
chewed through the screens on the patio, chewed the stair bainsters,
ate the gas line to our BBQ grill, crunched and swallowed glass
ornaments, pulled over the tree... it was like Marley and Me.  I used
to cry and beg Noel to give her to the pound.......  today, when I
have fosters who do this sort of thing, I only laugh.  And THAT"S
Thanks to the Drool.
4.  Inotrduced me to folks from Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia, where
we lived at the time.  Because of that, I ended up being a foster home
for them, and later, a trustee in charge of the yearly Bash
fundraiser.  I found years of "inner fulfillment" working with rescue,
at BHRg then later, at OMBR.  (Oh, and from BHRG, I fostered/adopted
Hector, for which I am (usually!) very grateful.)
5.  Fostering.  This taught me a million things.  Not only practical
things; what is a medical emergency and what isn't, first aid care,
how to teach "bad dogs" trust, manners and not to poop on the carpet,
but how astonishing it is to help a dog whelp tiny puppies, and see
her instincts take over, how amazing it is when you look up one day
and realize the sad, sick, skinny trembling foster you brought from
the filthy, stinking shelter 2 months ago is suddenly, somehow, a
happy, healthy, wagging, shiny, gleaming-eyed noisy little bundle of
mischief, ... well, I could go on and on about fostering.  Anyone
who's never done it is missing out on an amazing opportunity.
6.  A wealth of knowledge about dog behavior.  Training, trusting,
loving, rehabilitating.  How to help fear-aggressive dogs,
dominant-aggressive dogs, shy dogs, abused dogs, dogs who are just
victims of their own energy levels.  How to help puppies get a halthy
start, why bassets do what they do, and why we should love them anyway
(or because...).
6.  How much people can and will do for strangers, just because they
(or their basset) needs help.  Think about the money we've raised for
specific dogs and rescues in general, and even, somemtimes, individual
people who need help desperately.
7.  Meeting Miriam, the breeder of Soundtrack Bassets, from whom I got
my 3rd and 4th bassets, Barney and Bozlee.  Without meeting her here,
I never would have had them, and they bring me joy everyday.
8.  Laughter.
9.  Belonging.  Can't say it enough.  This is the place I go where I
know the people here will understand me.  My folks don't get the "dog
obsession", neither do most of my friends, or other relatives.  They
all think we're odd.  But here - I can talk poop, and disgust no one.
I can talk about sniffing Frito feet, and get the electronic
equivalent of understanding smiles.  I can say why I love my dogs, in
spite of (as my mother would say) "all the smell, and dog hair
everywhere, and, oh, yuck, the slobber"- and know that you people
think I'm normal.

I've loved the Drool for the last nine years, and hope to love it for
at least the next nine.
-- 
Menzie Campbell
Save a Life - Don't Shop, ADOPT!
www.ombr.org
Owned by Pw. Annabelle, Hector TVL, Barney TPP, and Bozlee TOS