Bijou’s Story by Lauren
Jun 11th, 2007 by Lynne
I still remember when I was three years old my parents telling me we were going to get a dog. We saw her on TV. Ed McMahon was showing her, trying to get her adopted. Her name was Bijou, a beautiful basenji-greyhound mix. She had been tied up in an abandoned apartment where her owners left her. She was just a puppy, so lack of food made her right front foot grow crooked. We picked her up from the SPCALA and she was very shy at first but warmed up quickly. Her foot straightened out with proper nutrition. Bijou was the perfect dog in every way.
Three years later, my mom, who is a belly dancer, was dancing at a park in Gardena when a cute little white puppy was wandering around inside part of a building. We were looking for a companion for Bijou so it seemed this was fate. Somebody called animal control but my mom brought him home at the end of the day because they never came. In the front of our house was a tree and we tied him up there. I remember he sat on my foot and peed on it. When Bijou and he met it was love at first sight. My mom wanted to name him Casper because he was so white but I didn’t like it so I decided to name him Sparky. Over the years they fell in love. Sparky always licked Bijou’s ears and they slept with their heads on each other.
Within five years we moved to Arizona from California and then back to California. While we were searching for a house the dogs stayed in a kennel. We would visit them every day and take them for walks. We noticed Bijou getting really skinny but thought it was just anxiety from being stuck in a kennel all day. A few days later we asked the people if she was eating and they said no. The vet took x-rays of her stomach and found a large tumor that was preventing her from eating. He said it was most likely cancer so we decided to put her to sleep the following day just weeks before my birthday. Bijou was just nine years old. I remember we took her to our car to say goodbye and my whole family was crying. After about an hour we took her back inside and they took her away. I remember so vividly the look on her face. It was a mix of terror, sadness, and a ‘why am I going back here’ look. That morning was the last time Sparky saw her. It was the worst day of my life and the worst birthday present I ever got.
We moved in to our new house shortly after, the house Bijou never got to see. 6 months later after we had moved on and not particularly looking for a new dog, my mom and I went to Petco and it happened to be Dog Adoption Day. We always just look at the dogs but a certain cute little black dog caught my eye. She was sitting in her cage wagging her tail. Every other dog there was barking except her. We went home and tried to forget about her. A month later it was very close to my birthday so I went to Noah’s Bark’s website, the name of the rescue at Petco, and looked for her picture. She was still there and we found out her name was Pork Chop. She was a two year old black lab mix who’d been adopted out as a puppy but chewed so they left her on the street in Big Bear. She had been hit by a car and lost her right front leg, which she doesn’t miss at all now. Luckily she had a microchip so the rescue was able to find her days before a fire broke out. So now she had been sitting in a cage for one year. We called the rescue and the very next day they brought her over to meet Sparky. We took them on a walk together and they got along great. It was Sparky’s second love at first sight and Porkie’s first. She is the best birthday present I ever got.
It’s now four years later, Sparky is eleven and Pork Chop is six, and she still brings out the puppy in him. Sparky licks her and he lays his head on her. I like to think that Pork Chop is a reincarnation of Bijou. Sometimes when I’m with Pork I feel Bijou is present. They have the same face, to me anyway.
My name is Lauren and I’m now sixteen years old. I’m going to college this year with the intention of becoming a vet. I’ve always loved dogs and am a huge advocate for rescuing an animal. Too many animals lose their lives because there aren’t enough homes for them. I met Lynne, founder of Whiskers N’ Tails, through a friend. I volunteer at her house almost every week and we walk her three rescue dogs as well. Through her I found Pal Rescue which is where my mom and I used to walk dogs awaiting loving homes. Fortunately, all the dogs we walked have found homes now so we don’t have that job anymore.
Recently, Pork Chop passed her therapy dog test so she can visit hospitals and nursing homes. She was absolutely perfect during the test which we took at the SPCALA. They petted her roughly, yelled at her to see her reaction, did basic obedience, and when one tester got in a wheelchair she sat in between his legs.
To everyone who is reading this, please rescue an animal instead of buying. They’re healthier, more loving because you’ve saved them, and incredibly cheaper for the same love and affection. Also please spay and neuter. This is important to prevent pet overpopulation and it makes your dog healthier.
Dear Lauren,
You are truly a special young lady. I am so glad you want to become a vet. May I put in my pitch to you to become a holistic vet? On the other hand, don’t listen to me - but I do wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Martin Goldstein’s book “The Nature of Animal Healing”. If you haven’t already read it, I will give you my copy when I see you at the yard sale. He believes, and I agree, that our wonderful furry friends are sometimes actually harmed by the onslaught of western pharmaceuticals we subject them to (innoculations, antibiotics, etc). He offers advice on how to treat the disease without harming the host in a natural alternative approach.
Be well,
Vicki