Redemption

I am a poodle lady. A Standard Poodle lady. Since 1989 I've had a total of nine. I adore them. No dog I've ever known has burrowed into my heart like my Poodles.

Each in a unique way is beautiful, funny, affectionate and very smart. Always deeply connected. Annoying when not given sufficient attention. Puck had a big sense of humor and equally big smile. Luke was my Big Baboo - kindly, gentle, melted when caressed. Joe had a passion for his Frisbee or ball or anything that flew through the air. Sam dances and is a dapper polite gentleman. All snuggle. All communicate.

Except for Ivy.

As our first female Standard she was white and beautiful. And she confirmed all my preconceptions about female dogs being Bitches.

Bossy, demanding, unfriendly and aloof, Ivy ran the house. She was the alpha dog replacing older Puck and forming an exclusive duo with Rex. She never listened - it was like we were invisible. Thus we had no bond with her. Her continuous barking was shrill.

I tolerated her because I wanted Rex's puppies. However, Ivy didn't come fully into heat. It was enough to frustrate Rex to distraction. Admittedly at puberty he became a Strutting Stud acting as God's gift to all Poodledom. This identity, his frustration with Ivy's half heats, and her nasty influence created a jealous rage against the most unlikely foe. Puck.

Elderly, neutered, fun Puck. Until Ivy's arrival Puck was Rex's best friend. His playmate. Rex would nestle with Puck and while they slept become a big white fluffy mound. But he and Ivy established a pair which excluded Puck who became the imagined Enemy. War was declared in our household. After a bloody battle Rex and Ivy were sent back to their breeder Robin's home.

There Ivy continued to be a Bitch in all senses of the word except fertile. She was sequestered with a very sweet, old, un-neutered dog. He loved how she would lick his blind eyes. I think he liked her. They lived together for a couple years until this gent somehow, at a venerable age, bred with Ivy and she birthed five beautiful puppies.

And thus she was transformed.

Robin pronounced Ivy the Best Mother ever. And that is saying a lot. Robin has decades of experience with hundreds of puppies. But she said Ivy was fully attentive, kept the puppies spotlessly clean and well fed. Moreover they were sweet, "magical" babies.

Ivy with sweet babies? Yes. Her whole attention focused on the well-being and best development of these delightful puppies. Astonishing. She was a fabulous mother to her fabulous puppies. And best of all - her bad habits disappeared.

I see a lesson here. Or maybe two or three. Some about hope and love and patience and acceptance. Of change.

Above all I see Miracle, Magic, and sacred Redemption, even for the most irritating of dogs.