It started out good...

Yesterday started off really great. I got an order for two dresses (dog). I was very excited. Then had to drive to Savannah to get some extra material. I spent the better part of the afternoon creating the two dresses.

My husband took the kids to the pool and "Kid Fit", which is a kid's exercise program at the Y. Lander wasn't feeling well, so he stayed home with me. Around 5 in the afternoon, my dogs started going crazy and barking out the door. I had heard a car drive down the road in front of our house, but didn't think much of it since there are two houses for rent down the way from us. However, my dogs don't bark unless there is someone outside.

I checked and didn't see anyone, told they dogs they were crazy, and went back to working. They kept running to the door and barking, though. They'd get very agitated, then relax and lay down. I just kept shaking my head at them. When Bernie came home with the kids about an hour and a half later, he came up on the porch by himself and knocked on the door. (Strange, since he has keys). I opened the door and he said, "What're you going to do with this?" I looked past him to where he was pointing and there in the driveway was what looked to be a dog. I was hard to tell, though, since all I could see was bones and fur. She was so emaciated that every bone in her body stood out like a skeleton. Her fur and skin just hung from her. She was a lab/hound mix, small with green eyes and a brown nose. She had ticks on her that were about the size of a dime. She just looked at me and hobbled around the best she could. She was so weak she could hardly walk.

After fighting down the sickness and the tears, I decided to give her a little food and coax her into the van so I could take her to the shelter. We rent, so I could not keep her here. I also could not provide her with the medical care I knew she would need. After about 15 mins. I was able to get her into the car. As we were driving out, I seen her friend watching us from across the road. She was a little more robust, just her hips were showing and some ribcage. She was brown, black, and cream like a beagle, with big ears, but tall like a hound. I had a partial cup of cappuccino in my van, which I used to coax her into the van.

So with two dogs in the back seat, I drove them down to the shelter which was closed by this time. I put them in the holding pens and left a note with my contact information and where they were found. I also gave them some fresh water, then drove away in tears.
On the way home, my husband called to ask where I was since I'd been gone a little longer trying to coax the second dog. I told him and he informed me there had been an accident right in front of our house. A lady had taken the corner too fast, flipped her car, and knocked down the power lines. (I don't know who she is or what condition she's in, sorry.) So I could not get to my house and I was only a few hundred feet away.
I was running low on gas, and my "short cut" around the accident did not take me where I had planned. So I parked my car down the road from my house and took off on foot through the woods. I had to go through a swamp, where I ran into spiders the size of my hand. Then across a field of goats, where I was watching for rattlesnakes. After jumping three fences I finally made it back to the house. I went in to take a shower and the power went down as they prepared to replace the pole and lines. So with a little water left, I rinsed off. We ate dinner than sat with candles lit in a very warm house until about 2 am.

So I've been asking myself all day - where did they day go so wrong??? However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the provisions of that day outweighed what had happened. I had worn jeans, which I don't usually wear since it's hot out. That provided for protection against the spiders, ticks, and thorns in the swamp. I had left before the accident occurred. I had only been gone a few minutes before it happened. I had also gotten the two dogs out of there, which may have been killed, since the one was right where the lady had flipped. I had been upset about leaving the dogs to possible euthanization, but was relieved when I went up this morning to take them food. The director told me that they would nurse them back to health and put them up for adoption. If they weren't adopted, they'd be sent to a rescue group. I was very happy to hear that, (but will be checking to make sure this happens!)

My dresses were finished and sent today, and they turned out beautifully. I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned somewhere, and provisions I haven't even thought of yet. But even when we're at our lowest, there's a plan in the making. I'm just really excited to see where THIS ends up. As bad as it all was, there's gotta be something really good due to come along!

And I'm thinking, there's a story to these dogs, too. I'm going to keep up with them, and let you know about their progress. I'm hoping to help find them a family. They are the sweetest dogs I've ever met, just needing some food and medical attention. In 3 days I'll be able to get pictures, so I'll post them on here.