meet the dogs: Casha

It is so important to tell this story the right way, because Casha is so deserving of having people know what she is really like.  Being a big, black, 3 legged pit bull with cropped ears and scars...well, lets just say that sometimes that leads to being feared and misunderstood.  Casha's story starts before any of us know, but we can piece together that she had pups, and probably a lot.  She'd been in fights, scars tell us that.  And, we know for sure, her leg was very badly injured but never received vet care.  How long Casha lived with her injury, we don't know.  But then, on one very fateful day for this special dog, she found herself at the SPCA.

Probably for most dogs, this is a very terrible thing.  Most dogs are leaving their families due to break ups, new babies or moving.  This must be very stressful for the dogs, but for Casha, this is her salvation.  She is at the Victoria SPCA, and the staff there see something very, very special.  She finally receives the vet care she's needed for so long, and although it means loosing her back leg, she must have felt so much better.  She also receives love, and plenty of it.

Of course, the SPCA spayed her, too.  No more babies for this girl!  And then, Casha waits for a home.  She waits and waits and waits.  Everyone LOVES her, but she isn't adopted.  Still, she waits.  For 6 months.  During this time, everyone who meets her falls in love, and the SPCA staff develop a deep, strong bond with this rock-loving dog.  But they know that she deserves more than shelter life, and they wish for her to have her own home.

When she first came into our house as a foster dog,  I was in awe of this stoic creature.  What is it that the SPCA staff saw in her that makes her so special?  In the first few weeks she was with us, she reminds me more of a primate than a canine.  She's smart, almost to the point where you think that perhaps she can understand English fluently.  She's gentle and she's oh so happy!  Every few minutes, she howls with her zest for life and her tail does not stop wagging.  Whatever it is that makes this dog special, I still cannot put my finger on it.  But I feel it, she is just so wonderful.

She has many nicknames, my favorite being Koko, because she looks like the world's most favorite gorilla but is gentle like her too.  She is also commonly called Rashy Roo and Nana.  Koko spends her days sleeping on her fleecy dog bed, chewing bones and howling around the house.  She loves to go to work with Adam (and will literally pout if she can't ) but don't expect her to go out in the rain or the cold.  Casha spent far to long in a backyard in the past, and she's had quite enough of that, thank you very much.  

Here is the important part, and please, even if you don't like the breed and Casha just isn't your thing, listen to this carefully.  First, take a long look at this girl, scars and all.  Look at her cropped ears, her saggy nipples, her scars and the spot where her leg once was....

*photo by Unleashed pet photography*

And now, seeing her physical appearance for all that it is, please remember and truly understand that Casha never once asked to have this life.  She never wanted to look this way or be treated like that.  She was born a soft, warm, wriggly pup just like every other dog out there.  She has been used and abused, neglected and forgotten, and there was nothing that she could do about it.  She followed the only people she had at the time and luckily they led her to the SPCA.

She's the most gentle, sweet girl.  She loves people so much, despite what they've done to her.  Since humans became humans, we've lived with canines and molded them into faithful, trusting companions.  It is a shame when we manipulate that and don't care for our friends.  And Casha is a very, very good friend indeed.