Happy Hunting Lovely Madge

Yesterday we said goodbye to our lovely Madge. She went to her new owner and we know she will be well loved. This whole experience was very challenging and I hope to never have to rehome another dog in my life. There are a lot of reasons why we decided to rehome Madge. But when it comes down to it, we were not able to give her the attention, training, exercise, and stability that she needed for her to feel confident in herself. So we really believe it was the best decision for her. After contacting all the shelters that I knew of on the north island, running ads on several different websites, contacting random people, and coming up with the crazy plan to ship her to the U.S. where my sister and step mom offered to foster her until they found a home for her, I finally found the perfect person to take her. Through this experience I learned that dogs are bred for a purpose. There are dogs bred to be companions, to be comic relief, to run, and to work. Some dogs need jobs. If you don't give them one, then they will find one for themselves. They can become over protective, aggressive, neurotic, barky, gluttonous,and so on. Shortly after adopting Madge we learned that she is the kind of dog that people use in New Zealand for pig hunting. Mix whippet, retriever, and some kind of bull breed, and you have got yourself a good pig dog. After really thinking things through, we decided that a hunting dog would be the best life for her. There were so many qualities about her that in the context of being a house pet, were seen negatively. She loved to hunt. She caught rabbits and birds. She was very fast, and she was loyal to her family to a fault. I thought long and hard and realized that instead of punishing her for being who she was, why not allow someone to nurture and develop those qualities into something great. I am not a hunter. I don't like hunting and pigs are one of my favorite animals. But I love my dog, and I know she would live a much more fulfilled and happy life if she could do what she was made to do. So I began posting on some pig hunting pages. As it turned out, people really liked the look of her and several people were interested. I have never known a pig hunter, so this experience was a bit daunting. I even had someone private message me to tell me not to give my dog to someone who wanted her because he shoots his dogs for no good reason. So I would say I was a little bit in over my head. But I really believe God was in all of this because Hone is the one who stood out and caught me at just the perfect time. On the phone he seemed like an even tempered, calm person who sincerely loved dogs. He was disabled so he did not work, which meant he had lots time for his dogs. And that is exactly what I believe Madge needs that we have not been able to give her. So, yesterday Pearl, Orion, and I drove Madge up to Whangarei where we met Hone. I was so anxious about this experience because sometimes Madge can be weirded out about strange things. I worried that she might be afraid of his wheelchair. But actually it was a good thing. She didn't feel threatened by him because he was sitting down. So she walked right up to him, put her head down right on his lap and he began to pet her exactly how she liked to be pet. I was amazed. Madge loves us and usually only cares about her family. But she liked him immediately. He couldn't get over how beautiful she was. He kept thanking me and telling me that he would keep her forever. He was fixated on her and loved everything about her. I just couldn't believe it. Madge fell in love with him. Eventually she rolled over on to her back so he would pet her belly. I think that after having a baby and realizing that we could not give her what she needed, we lost our confidence with her. But Hone was very confident, and I believe Madge found security in that. It was amazing. I took a picture of the two of them together and look at it often. I know Madge is going to be totally and completely loved for who she is by this man, and he is going to give her everything she needs. In that, I feel a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I can say that I did right by Madge.