The story of Moses

Well for lack of anything else to do and because someone told me I should write this stuff down, every few days I’m going to write the story of one of the furry deviants. That way when I’m old and senile, someone can read me the stories and remind me of how I went crazy.

In July 2007 I was still working as rescue, foster & adoption coordinator at Animal Control. The place was in fairly bad shape, severely overcrowded, rampant w/ pest & disease and being destroyed by politics, but we all still plugged on. I was also personally have a very hard time as my beloved Doberman Dog was slipping further into heart failure from dilated cardiomyopathy. I felt as if my soul was dying, but that is another story. A few months before this we had rescued an older Mastiff in poor shape. I fostered her for a bit and we were able to get her into rescue. I had fallen in love with her but the situation wasn’t right for me to keep her.

I was in my office one day when one of the officers came and got me to show me this big brown dog they had picked up just a block from where the female had come from. There in the run was this skinny, scared, unfriendly, broken mangy looking dog. He had apparently been wandering the streets for a very long time and due to having been hit by a car they were able to tranquilize & catch him. He wanted nothing to do with anyone so I signed him up for pain meds and held out that 1/2 % chance someone would come looking for him.

A few days passed & I got busy with other things. Then while making my rounds I came across that brown dog again. No more friendly, he laid staring in the back of his cage. I noticed he only had 2 days left. I went to work networking but with rescues overcrowded and the dog being a mix, even if it was part mastiff, no one had room, especially for a broken mutt.

I thought maybe I could take him for just a few days, find out what was wrong with his leg then perhaps someone would be more willing to take him in. At a mere 88lbs, he was also suffering from several severe lacerations, a skin infection and heartworms. I brought him home to begin rehab (if you’re bored there is a video down there…) Dog could have cared less but I think he was too sick at that point to mind much. The name Moses just came to me on his car trip home, so it stuck. His fun loving, goofy personality came out as soon as he was out of the shelter. He was kind of like the big special kid in class, quite a bit smarter than anyone realized but never really quite sure how to show it.

During all this, Dog suffered a heart attack and died. I was devastated. Yet there was Moses, big goofy Moses was just kind of there, a clam, quiet presence. It was then I realized I didn’t want him to go when he was better… so here he stayed.

He has since healed his broken leg and gained 50lbs. DNA test revealed he wasn’t a mastiff mix but a St Bernard, Irish setter, German shepherd, Rottweiler cross. He’s like the kid my mother always wanted me to have so I could see what it was like. He is super smart and can open pretty much any door or gate, yet he only seems to remember what sit is about ½ the time. He waits until the very last minute to come when he is called, in just enough time so you can’t fuss at him for not listening. He can find a pill hidden in any type of food, yet he has figured out how to get into the pantry, into the garbage and pick out anything resembling food. He wipes out tables and shelves with one wag of his tail, yet he can carry a to go container all over the house without spilling a drop of food. I’ve been able to trim his nails once in 2 years, but he sat on a table for 2 hours so M & I could paint him like a tiger. He has taken down grown men while playing in the park, yet he will lie still on the floor for hours just so Jelly Legs can play with him and not get hurt. I couldn’t ask for a better dog