In June of 2002, our Tibetan Terrier, Carrie, passed away. Her passing left Duman, a five-year-old Maltese, all alone for the first time in his life. He went into a deep depression. I thought that after a while he would recover, but a year went by and he did not. That's when I turned to the Northcentral Maltese Rescue and found Blossom. Her story touched my heart immediately, but I was sure she had already been adopted. It turned out she was still in foster care - about five minutes from my house!!
We had a "get to know you" day as part of the screening process, and Duman and Blossom took to each other right away. Poor Blossom: prisoner of a puppy mill for all of her life, she was terrified of people. Luckily for us, she was not afraid other dogs. Over the ensuing months, Duman taught Blossom that I was not poisoning her food and how to eat politely from her bowl, how to use the dog door to go outside, and, most importantly, how not to be afraid. Today, she is brave, self confident, and full of joy. She bounces in such a way that makes it look as if she is laughing. When she and Duman wake each morning, they kiss each other by touching tongues (I know, I didn't believe it either the first time I saw it!) and then have their morning tussle. I swear they talk to each other and plot against me!
The physical damage done to her in the puppy mill still remains, but she has overcome the psychological damage - amazingly so. In the beginning, Blossom would run from me in terror. Today, she jumps into my lap for a snuggle - it's taken more than a year, but it was well worth the wait. She initiates play with both me and Duman. She lets her needs be known, whatever they may be - and loudly, I might add! She would not step on grass or leave the house when she first came into our lives. Now she does both, running across the lawn to a neighbor's house for treats and to play with Auntie Carolyn's toy Poodle and Maltese. Rather than cringing in fear and having an accident as she did in the beginning, she greets visitors with enthusiasm and lets strangers pet her.
Her foster mother, Fay, gave her the name Blossom, because she believed this little, abused dog would blossom. Well, I'm here to tell you that she did - and continues to do so every day. I'm so very happy Blossom decided to make our home her forever home.
Do you have a Maltese that you rescued from Northcentral Maltese Rescue, Inc.? Send us a paragraph
about your Malt and your family with a current picture to add to our Happily Ever After pages.
