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| Spike's Christmas dream list |
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| Kobi: learning to fly without wings |
Kobi had been very badly treated before he came into our
lives. Underweight, flea ridden and
absolutely petrified of all human beings he had clearly been traumatised by
what he experienced as a very young puppy.
I felt a connection to him the first time I looked into his eyes and
believed that I could help him…..
During our short time together I taught him how to love and trust
a human being and in return he helped show me that the seemingly impossible can
be made possible.
Sadly Kobi is no longer with us as the damage done to him
before he was rescued was too severe. As
he fell asleep in my arms for the last time I promised him that our experience
together would leave a lasting legacy. I
have remained true to that promise.....
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| Spike when he was first found |
We became his foster family on 22nd April and our
objective was to help him gain weight, grow fur and then find him a family that
would adopt him and give him happiness for the rest of his life.
Spike rapidly gained weight and soon grew a luxurious husky
fur coat. His eyes shone with health and
happiness and his great character and personality shone through. However we became more and more concerned
about certain aspects of his behaviour and his conformation. He loved to run and bounce around but he
struggled to do it and frequently appeared to be in extreme pain. As time passed we feared the worst.
Sadly our worst fears were confirmed. Spike has hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, a
deformed jaw plus other little issues that we keep discovering as time passes.
However, Spike refuses to accept that any of his
“disabilities” should restrain him. He
has an amazing personality and determination to succeed in all that he
does. He loves to run and when we watch
him run freely we can easily forget that he has any disabilities. But then we watch him try to rise from a
sleeping position or hobble around the house and are harshly reminded of his
daily struggle with pain. He accepts all
that life harshly throws at him and does all that he can to live a normal life
each and every day.
We do not know what the future holds for Spike, but if he
could write a Christmas wish list I believe I know what it would be. And this year with the help of a very special
Christmas Angel his dreams are about the come true….
The Christmas Angel
It was the night before Christmas. The last gift had been lovingly wrapped and
placed beneath the tree, the lights dimmed and sleepy huskies ushered from the
room. The mince pie and carrot were
placed beside the fireplace along with the glass of milk. A visitor was expected, but no one had
foreseen who would visit and what was about to happen….
As the humans climbed the stairs to bed, the huskies settled
in their bedroom, but one little husky puppy felt restless and struggled to
settle. All day he had sensed something
different in the house. He did not understand
what it meant and sleep did not provide the answers….
As the husky puppy wandered around the kitchen, there was
suddenly a bright flash which startled him and he scampered into the
corner. When he turned around, he
realised that he was not alone. In front
of him stood a husky with fur the colour of the sun and eyes that sparkled
brightly. The husky with fur the colour
of the sun carried something upon his back, something that looked a lot like
the bird fur that the husky puppy frequently played with…..
The husky puppy was not scared as there was something about
this husky that made him instantly feel at ease. “Who are you?” he asked of the stranger.
“I am the Christmas Angel” replied the husky with fur the
colour of the sun. “I travelled from
afar because someone very special called for me. She needs my help because she wants to give
you an amazing gift, but she is scared and knows she needs the help of others”
The husky puppy was confused, but he wanted to know more as
he sensed that the stranger was good and that he spoke the truth. “What is the gift that you speak of and why
does she want me to have it?”
The Christmas Angel smiled and as he did, his eyes
sparkled….. “All your questions will be answered this night, but first you must
come on a journey with me”
“I cannot run far
without stopping and sometimes I have to lie down as my legs hurt” said the
puppy with a forlorn look upon his face.
“I will help you” replied the Christmas Angel. And with that he did a little twirl and the
husky puppy was suddenly on top of his back, between the bird fur, which was
warm and snuggly. “Hold on” he said and
suddenly the bird fur grew very big and moved swiftly back and forth.
“Wow” said the husky puppy “you have wings like a bird!”
And with that, the Christmas Angel leapt high into the night
sky and soon they were soaring above the twinkling Christmas lights of the
sleeping village.
They flew across the world as the husky puppy gazed in
wonder at everything on the ground far below and in the sky around him. The stars twinkled in the night sky and the
city lights below them cast light and shadows that were fascinating to
watch.
“We cannot go in there” said the Christmas Angel “you are
looking at a vision from the past. Many
people in the modern world have long forgotten about the birth of this special
baby and they celebrate something they either fear or do not understand. I bring you here so that you know why
tomorrow is a special day – it is a celebration of this child’s birth day. It can also be a day of magic if you believe…”
The Christmas Angel once again took to the skies as the
people below continued to smile sweetly upon the child asleep in the manger.
There was darkness beneath them as they flew across the sea and
then bright whiteness. The Christmas
Angel suddenly dropped from the sky and landed on the whiteness. It was cold but very beautiful and the husky
puppy was entranced by the sight and smell of it. He wanted to leap into it and dig deep
beneath the surface, but the Christmas Angel stopped him.
“No, you are not yet ready to run here. We are where everyone aspires to be and one
must be ready before they are allowed this privilege”
“Where are we?” asked the husky puppy, “What is so special
about this place?”
“We are on top of the world” replied the Christmas
Angel. “Imagine what it would feel like
to run on top of the world…” And with
that, he flapped his wings and they were flying across the world once again.
They arrived in front of a house with a very big garden and
inside the house were a little family playing with their little pack of
dogs. All of them were smiling and
laughing at the youngest dog that was rapidly dashing from room to room with a
big fluffy toy in his mouth.
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| Spike with his forever pack |
“Can I play with them?
Please.” asked the husky puppy.
“They look so happy and friendly and it would be great to be part of a
family and fun to play with a fluffy toy”
The Christmas Angel smiled and swiftly flapped his
wings. “Not yet” was the reply. “I have more to show you”….
They travelled to many places and saw a great many
things. There was a glistening silver
trophy, a harness with the puppy’s name upon it and bits of paper that also had
the puppy’s name on them.
They flew above a big building where lots of un-well dogs
were being treated by special vets. The
poorly dogs went in one end of the building unhappy and in pain and came out
the other end of the building all bouncy and happy.
Finally they returned to the house where all the other
huskies slept and the Christmas Angel gently folded his wings as the husky
puppy jumped onto the ground.
“Thank you” said the husky puppy as he was a very polite dog
and was grateful for the experience he has just had with the Christmas Angel.
The Christmas Angel smiled at him and looked towards the
little bit of paper that the husky puppy had lovingly carried throughout their
journey. It was his dream list….
Dear Father Christmas,
Please, for Christmas
may I ask for…
1. A family all of my own that I can live with
forever
2. Big strong legs that don’t hurt so I can run
like the big boy huskies
3. My own fluffy toy that big boy huskies don’t
steal from me
Spike
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| Dreaming of fluffy toys... |
The husky puppy was speechless (for once) and gazed in
wonder at the Christmas Angel.
“I only ask for one thing in return” said the Christmas
Angel “your dreams will be realised if you can make me one promise?”
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| He and I refuse to accept that we should not run... |
The Christmas Angel smiled and echoing the “woo, woo” noise
he said to the husky puppy “just be yourself, that is all I ask you to
promise. Always be yourself and that
alone will provide an amazing gift to the one that wants to help you. She will share your story and together you
will inspire others to believe that the impossible is possible…. but maybe just
tone down the barking a little as well as huskies are not supposed to
bark!” And with that there was a bright
flash and the Christmas Angel was gone.
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| Tomorrow is another special day |
The husky puppy was suddenly very sleepy. He closed his eyes and fell fast asleep
knowing that tomorrow was going to be a very special day…..
