Sunday, October 19, 2008

From Rags to Riches - Prince's update!

Prince came as a package along with his mother, Lady – the dog with the badly injured maggot infested ear. When Prince was first rescued, all of two and a half months of age, his ears were chockfull of ticks and was absolutely grimy and filthy. Rescued from an industrial area, he grew up with his fosterer and the fosterer's 2 dogs for almost 2 months. As if life for Prince was not hard enough, he was attacked by a Rottweiler while out on a walk with his fosterer. To read about the attack, please click here (http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/06/rottie-attacks-puppy-prince.html). For all previous stories on Prince, please click on the Prince label on the right bar.

I faithfully followed Prince's and Lady's story on the blog, and as a volunteer with Noah's Ark, I came into contact with Prince and Lady on a few occasions. Lady's rejection of her son broke my heart, and was made worse when I saw Prince's numerous futile attempts to gain his mommy's attention, love and affection again. I was touched by little Andreana's love for Prince and the other dogs at Noah's Ark and her noble attempts to fund raise for Noah's Ark and to help sterilize strays in industrial estates (http://noahsarkcares.blogspot.com/2008/09/project-industrial-dogs-importance-of.html). It impressed and amazed me that Andreana, all of nine years old, seemed wise beyond her years.

From a young child, I had always loved animals and I wanted very much to adopt Prince, to take him home, to shower him with all the love, care and attention he deserved, and to give him all the joy and love he could not get from his mommy. However, there was one obstacle I had to overcome, my own mommy! My mom is terrified of dogs and would faint if she ever came close to anything with 4 legs.

I spoke with other volunteers from Noah's Ark and arranged for a trial meeting between Prince and my mother sometime in July. I relayed stories of Prince, the attack by the Rottweiler and the rejection from his own mother, Lady. Through some twist of fate, my mom somehow agreed to allow me to adopt Prince, on a few conditions. One of it was that I had to lose weight every month if she were to allow Prince into our home. That day he visited, she was so impressed by him and his quiet nature. He didn't bark, was obedient to commands and followed his fosterer silently around. What really won my mother over were his extremely sad eyes. It seemed to relay the pain and hardship he had to go through alone as a stray even though he was only so young.



Can you resist me?


The day he finally physically arrived in my house was 08.08.08. It was the day the Beijing Olympics started and a day that many Chinese couples got married as it was thought to be auspicious. It too, was a day I had been eagerly waiting for and a special milestone in my life – the arrival of MY very own Prince into my home and heart, where he would remain for the rest of his life.That night when he first arrived, he whined for his fosterer. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before he realized that we were his new forever home. Time has flown since.


Surrounded by his favourite toys in his little doggy bed


Looking back, I've had prince for almost 2 months now. Every morning at 6am without fail, he would shove his nose onto my bed and force it to my face because he knows it's his feeding time. When he finds my face, he would start licking to try and make me wake up. If I ignore him, he would do the same thing to my feet, only problem that it tickles! I usually end up nudging him away before rolling deeper inside my bed to stay out of his reach. Regardless, I eventually have to wake up about 7am to walk him before I rush off to work. He knows whenever I say goodbye and would walk away if I tried to pat his head one last time before I left. Like a child throwing a tantrum don't you think?


Smile for the camera!

He has grown rather attached to me and follows me around the house, to the kitchen and even to the bathroom. He sleeps at the foot of my bed on his own little doggie bed, surrounded by his favourite yellow ball, frisbee and chew-bones. Going home was never this joyous till there was Prince! Ahh . . .the pleasures of owning a dog, coming home from a long day at work to find him waiting by the door, tail wagging hard and ready to jump on me to lick my face. How loyal dogs are, and how lucky I am to have him in my life! :-)


On his way to being an excellent soccer player!


On hindsight, if his mother not had an injured ear which initially caught the eye of a stray-feeder, he would perhaps never have been rescued and gone on living life as a stray. Today, he is indeed a Prince, having his own bed, toys and best of all – a loving home to call his own.

Article contributed by Rachel*

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