Bambi's Story: A tell of neglect and rescue.
Bambi then May 2002
Updated:
05/25/2006
John Bunton: I try to stay out of Dog Bytes since technically it's Rocky's site but this
section needs an
introduction: On May 19'th, 2002 I found an abandoned dog while in East Texas
where my wife was holding a Motorcycle Rally.
It refused to let me leave it after I stopped and I had to take it back to the
rally (and my truck) in my tank bag ... one of the ladies with us at the rally
wrote an email "to" Bambi as I decided to call her and Bambi apparently snuck
into the computer room and responded because I found the following exchange in
my sent items, for ease of understanding I've put Wanda's (Wa's) email to Bambi
in first:
-----Original
Message-----
From: wa
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 12:55 PM
To: John Bunton
Subject: Attn: Bambi
Bambi Now October 2002
Hi, new girlfriend!
Just wanted to send a quick note and ask how you're doing. I'm sure your new
folks have taken you to the doctor by now to make sure you're alright and have
gotten all the vitamins and things you'll need to get your strength back up. You
hang in there, girl! You're in good hands now!
You seemed a little tired when we met at the 2002 Rusk Rally so I didn't get
to spend much time with you, but I hope we see each other often in the future.
You certainly have traveled many miles looking for a new group of friends to be
with and become a part of a family. I heard more than a few people mention how
your eyes reveal an "old soul" kind of spirit.
Well, you can get off your sore pads for a while and enjoy being looked
after. And if you're a bit too tired to drive-run along with us, I think we can
find you a side car to relax in! How did it go meeting your new big
brother, Rocky? He's a really nice guy but a bit insecure about some things like
most of us are. But, I've found that when you're with friends, things aren't so
scary. I hope you'll have fun barking at the neighbors, guarding the house, and
chasing Rocky around. I've been to your new home before and I know there are
lots of nice places to lie back and relax, enjoy life, and plan your next
adventure!
By the way, girlfriend, your new mom mentioned how cute you were when you
sat up on your back legs Sunday morning after having a good meal, lots of
massages, and sleeping warm and safe. She was saying how you were getting much
stronger already and she and your dad were hoping you'd grow up to be really
happy with them and want to stay around and go on the adventures that they do.
This whole traveling around thing is soooo much fun and so much better when you
have friends-family with you!
I have a suggestion for you. When they have something that you want, like a
treat, or going for a ride (don't forget that sidecar!) or just getting to go
out in the front yard and smelling the trees, try that sitting up and begging
thing again. It might pay off!!! You can get so much more out of life by keeping
a positive attitude, (which you have), keep moving ahead (which you have), and
asking for a little help from your friends (which you have)!
Drop me a line when you can and let me know how you're doing. If you need
anything, just give me a howl. Thanks again for joining us on our great weekend
and give your mom and dad big hugs from me.
Keep in touch!!!
love ya wa
Bambi's response:
WANDA! SHHH: I'm not supposed to be on the computer since it belongs to
that big scary dog who I keep trying to kill. I snuck in though and as soon as I
saw your message I decided to send you this email. You say his name is "ROCKY?"
That explains why they keep saying that to him then ... is he really my brother?
He seems so BIG and unlike my other brothers he doesn't back down when I try to
bite him ... maybe an older brother then?
BTW thank you SO much for being kind enough to write! The big guy and the
pretty-smelling sweet lady have been pretty nice to me; except for dousing me in
water, messing with my nails and sticking oily rags down my ears. Are ALL
city folk like this? They also keep me on a long cloth lead that I'm not
supposed to chew on and it keeps getting tangled up when I walk and run.
Weird. Oh yeah - they also are trying to force me to be kind to "Rocky" who I
still am convinced is Darth Vader in fur ... That big bad dog scares
me. Of course because of that I keep trying to bite him which he doesn't appear
to like very much! Strangely enough although at first he really wanted to bite
back (which I'm sure would have been very bad if he'd connected, after all his
mouth is as big as "I" am) what's happening now seems even worse in a way.
They keep petting and feeding HIM in front of me! They even chastise me when I
yell obscenities at him if he pokes his old big nose into my room. I'm
starting to think that this is HIS house not mine and that for the first time in
my short life I'm going to be forced to back down from a fight and play second
fiddle!
Oh well, as long as we're kept apart I still have it pretty good with a room
all my own and back-yard and walk privileges. The big guy even brought in a nice
airy cave that I can see out of and that Rocky can't come in ... last night I
slept ALL night in it and was let out early this morning to do some more
business in the back yard. Strange how they keep checking on that and
saying it's good there's no worms ... as if I'd eat worms with good Bil Jack
available! And speaking of Bil Jack, the best part of all this is that I can
have all the food I can eat! They've even started letting me have more
then a handful at a time now. Last night I went to bed with a full tummy for the
first time in a while ... And here's something I haven't even told
the big guy (I don't know if he's named Daddy or John) yet: the story of my
life. In case you're interested I thought I'd share it with
you:
Bambi's Life Story (as told by her):
I was born small with the
rest of my litter, my mom was in pretty good shape but hungry all the time and
not too interested in feeding all of us. My mates all fought long and hard
to get the food that WAS available; especially after mom quit feeding us and we
had to made do with leftovers from her bowl. I was the strongest and fought
them all off to get what I needed, but it never seemed to be enough. Then the
people who cared for us begin to come and take several of us away at a time.
They always were talking about how good a fighter I was and how much trouble I
was to the other dogs. Finally the last few toughest remnants of my litter were
all that remained. I kept having to fight for my food
and safety, but the people who had us were becoming angry with me because I kept
winning. They wanted me to let those other pups hurt me! NO WAY that
was going to happen!
They seemed to get the message and took me along with them on a trip to the
country. I was having a great time licking their faces and sticking my
head out the window. They must have decided I liked to fly because they picked
me up by the neck and held me out the window. They weren't driving TOO
fast so it didn't hurt my eyes much - not near as much as fighting for dinner,
which already seemed to be a long time ago ... but then they slipped and I fell
to the ground. I did my best to catch myself, but the rough roadway burned
my pads, peeling back the skin on my back pads and leaving me in agony. I
yelped and rolled, injuring my ear and a small place on my chest but not
getting hurt too badly - then I ran on my bleeding pads after the car as it
disappeared.
They must not have known they had dropped me because they just kept driving.
I finally had to stop running because the pain in my pads was so bad and because
I was starting to get REALLY hungry and had no idea where the bowl of food was.
I hadn't seen ANY houses or people for most of my trip here so I didn't know
which direction to run. For the next few days I had a miserable time scrounging
for food, fighting off other animals and getting bitten by fleas and ticks.
Every vehicle that came by I would run after - I assumed if I ran fast enough on
my poor pads I could catch up, since they obviously couldn't stop. The big
storm came and cleaned my dirty coat but it also beat me down pretty badly and
sapped the last of my strength making it difficult for me to stay close to the
road. I didn't want to stray too far, because then I might not be there
when they came back for me ...
I chased countless cars hoping to be noticed or fast enough throughout the
day. The pads on my paws had been healing but were still bleeding and had
pieces of flesh hanging off that hurt when I walked on them ... I was about to
give up and then the big guy (Daddy? John?) came roaring up on that strange
two-wheeled transport he rides. I ran towards him and he slowed and
swerved but again just like all the others he couldn't stop. I was so
tired and weak that I just sat in the middle of the road and cried. At
that time I had given up all hope and was ready to just lay there.
Then I heard him slow even more and I looked in the direction he had
disappeared: he appeared around the corner headed towards me! I cautiously
approached him as he stopped in the middle of the road, peeing the last bit of
my bodily fluids to show him I was no threat and really wanted to be his friend
He seemed to understand because he was nice to me and petted my head..
He dug around in his tank bag and held out a piece of candy saying something
about how sorry he was that was all he had. I was hungry but the candy
didn't smell like food and I was MUCH more interested in getting in this weird
vehicle that didn't have a door and was missing two wheels. He petted me
and I whined and wagged my tail - he was nice! I was sure he'd take me
with him back to food and the others. Then he pulled over to the side of
the road and came got me and put ME there. And started to leave ... I ran
up to him crying for him to stop! He did, but again only to pet me then he
took off again, a little faster this time. I knew this was it ... they
COULD stop but apparently they could only pick me up while they were moving ...
off on my sore pads I ran as fast as I could. The pain was so bad I begin
to yelp as each pad hit the pavement, but I was gaining! Then something
miraculous happened: daddy stopped again. This time he picked me up and
held me ... I saw him looking around and another vehicle pull up. They
made sounds and the other vehicle left. Daddy put me in a strange
soft bag on top of his vehicle and closed part of it down so only my head was
sticking out. Then he hopped on the bike (motorcycle? FZ1?) and it started
to move ... after a few seconds I tried to get out assuming that it was time for
me to go but daddy held on to me, pulled over and put me back in the bag.
It was then I first began to realize that maybe my hard run had been all that
was necessary - maybe he was going to let me go home with him!
The
pain in my paws felt like vindication and the warm feel of his arm cradling my
head as the wind rushed across me face was comforting. This was like
flying too - only I wasn't in danger of being dropped like before! After
all too short a while daddy turned and approached you and rest of the wonderful
gang at the Rendezvous 2002 Motorcycle Rally. You all acted like you had
never seen a puppy before, and I felt SO happy to be with you. Every so
often I would assume it was time to leave and sadly wander off only to be
brought back by daddy or one of you ... despite everything I began to hope that
I had found a pack that would keep me. THEN the fast biker
(Bryan?) came back with an odd piece of cloth they put on my neck and FOOD!
They wouldn't let me eat as much as I wanted, and restricted my water for a
while too but even so it was the most I'd eaten in a long while. Teresa
said probably "4-7 days" whatever that is - all I knew was that I was almost
starved and VERY thirsty. Daddy and the sweet-smelling lady (Gail? Mommy?) did
some mean things to my poor paws and scabs but they also got a nasty tick that
was feeding on me off so I didn't mind. Then daddy and all of you left for
a while, but I was left on a soft cloth on the floor with water in a bowl so I
didn't mind. CLEAN water!
I slept, the food I had devoured already beginning to restore me - I even had
a bowel movement only 13 hours after meeting daddy for the first time!
Teresa said that was about right since I'd not eaten for a while. I then got to
sleep on a bed for the first time, got another ride (this time with Aunt
Camille) and arrived at a new place that daddy and the sweet-smelling lady
called "home." The rest you know - Rocky and I didn't much like each other
and I tried to bite; he wasn't much better, but as I mentioned above he seems to
be getting better as he is convinced that he is still top dog ... I STILL hope
to change that but it's starting to look like if I'm going to stay here I have
to step down. Being Beta isn't so bad with a big Alpha
like the Rock ... and I can even trick him into doing things for me if I think
about it! Love for now, Bambi
UPDATE(s): May 21, 2002
Rocky, daddy and mommy spent several hours yesterday forcing me not to bite
at Rocky while he was played with, fed and coddled in front of me. I still
don't like it but it's definitely HIS house so I guess I'm the beta in this
pack. I still snap at him now and again, after all he's SO big and he
scares me! Most of the time now when I do that he spins around and bumps
me with his butt or head butts me - I know he's not trying to hurt me but that's
scary! Daddy also occasionally makes_small.gif)
me lay on my back and lets Rocky
sniff me ... I don't like that much but I'm starting to trust both daddy and
Rocky since I haven't been hurt yet ... today I'm getting to go for a ride again
with Mommy to see "The Vet" I wonder if that's anything like the Wizard of Oz?
I'm sure I'll have fun!
The food is great, I have a nice large cage all my own that they don't even
allow Rocky in and a big back yard to play in. So far so good! ...
July 13, 2002
Big brother and I have things worked out pretty well now. He and I play
a lot but he seems tired most of the time so I just look for things to get into
or chew on his ear until he decides to play with me again. I've even been
allowed to sleep with them on the bed once or twice - I HAVE to figure out how
to make that happen more often!
I've gained weight and am very frisky now, and since John has
gone to class with me to learn how to talk with me he finally knows how to get
me to sit and stay, heel and come. I even retrieve for him sometimes -
he's getting better but still has a long way to go. Gotta go now, Rocky needs
his ear bit again ...
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May 24, 2003
Mom and pop seem to call me "Bamzilla" a lot now - not sure why but it sure
is fun dominating new dogs I find! All that working out with Rocky has
really 'pumped me up'! Got to go to my 3rd lure coursing event today and ran
against a whippet. I think a diet and some more working out may be in
order cause I'm not the fastest dog there anymore ...
Lure_Coursing.WMV
July 4, 2003
Shush! Don't tell mom-n-pop I'm home and on the computer - they left on
vacation and I'm supposed to be in daycare. They don't know I get online
anytime I want (G) life is good but my parents have been fostering a lot
of dogs lately. It's a lot of work to put them in their place and dominate them
... lord knows ROCKY won't do it! He acts like he doesn't care. If it was
up to him I'll bet the whole house would be overrun and all the good spots on
the bed taken by any dog that came along. Opps, mom and pop are back early
from vacation - gotta go!
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