God is so good!!!!

by Beth Welford
(Lucedale, Ms)

Late one cold rainy night my husband thought he heard something outside. He opened the back door and something flew off the deck. "Some animal, maybe a dog, is out here". I assured him I had not aquired any new critters, but I went to look anyway. I also went to the front where we have a large covered porch....and there was a pitiful, cold, wet, nasty, skinny, flea bitten, tick covered mess that seemed scared but glad to see somebody. Of course....I mean could I do anything else?????.....I brought it in and took it immediately to the bathtub. A good bath and scissors to the worst mats. Wow, it was a little curly haired dog. I fed it and my hubby....who tells stories about not liking animals, yeah, right....said "We're keeping it aren't we?" I gotta put it in lost and found first, but it sure looks abandoned. (When you live out in the country, the neighbors don't lose animals that you don't know who they belong to). I named him Gus. He slept in a box by my bed for about a week....and my Cardigan Welch Corgi slept in his spot on the bed. One night Gus hopped up on the bed and because nobody claimed him, he has been there ever since. My brother-in-law, who is a vet, said it is a schnoodle......schnauzer body, poodle hair....its gotta be. I got lucky that night because Gus is so precious, and crazy. I love him. He is sometimes a velcro dog and other times he won't come when you call. My best Gus story has to do with my rescue cat, Danny. He is a huge cat, found stuffed in a box beside the road by men picking up trash. He was very hurt, both physically and emotionally. Nobody wanted to adopt this huge vicious cat, so my daughter said she would foster him. She did for a while and then gave him to me. He was still not a nice kitty.....then along came Gus. He took it as a challenge, that the big, mean kitty didn't want to play.....so he nipped and chased and barked at this grouchy living toy. They play all the time. Danny doesn't use claws or bite him and will start the game if Gus doesn't. The best thing,...Danny now is alot nicer to people. He will come and seek affection from people. He has even started purring....something he didn't ever do in the first five years we had him. Gus loves children, which is weird for a small dog. And he loves mudholes.....and me. God knew I needed this little clown, and he needed me. So blessed.

NOTE FROM LINDA AND MAX: What a brilliant story, thank you for sharing. Gus must be the luckiest Schnoodle alive!