Peggy T.: A Raven-Haired Beauty
Peggy T.
Peggy T. is a senior black German Shepherd that came to us from the Sacramento Shelter. She was a bit shy at first, but quickly learned that her life had changed for the better, and the people around her were gentle and loving. She also found out that other dogs were not that scary.
So she settled into her foster home, becoming more and more confident by the day. While she was relaxing in the Sacramento, in the Monterey Bay area Ann-Lining was looking for her ideal black German Shepherd. The power of the website brought the two together, and Peggy went to live with Ann-Lining in Capitola.
Looking to the future
Although Peggy has developed some serious health issues, she continues to be the hit of the neighborhood, with her friends always carrying treats for her, and strangers calling out greetings and wishing her well.
My photographs of Peggy tend to show a dog-shaped silhouette of what’s not there. How black is Peggy? She’s soooo black. And, I’m soooo partial to black dogs. If you’ve ever seen the ‘Chet and Bernie’ books, she looks exactly like the dog in the cover art. How nice to discover these pictures in her bio. Finally, pictures where she’s more than a black hole in the landscape. Thanks, Bob!
Black Peggy is a talker, a schmoozer with most people, both friends and strangers, allows children in ones and crowds to pet her, is so soft to the touch, and hasn’t met a crumb or food wrapper with or without dirt that isn’t the best she’s ever had. She walks very slowly, falls frequently, has to be lifted into the car and helped up steps, gets stuck sniffing in corners, and can’t back up. Her lady’s maid, me, is always there to give an assist.
What a gorgeous dog Peggy is, and it’s not just me saying so. She has fans wherever we walk. The new acquaintances start with, ‘what a gorgeous dog.’ The regulars say, ‘how’s peggy?’ or ‘it looks like peggy’s doing better today.’ (But then, they weren’t there when she was up half the night with a seizure and the aftermath thereof.) When I walk her on the church property, where homeless folk often lounge, she interacts gently. Recently, she licked one man thoroughly, hands, face, arms, and head, and he said it was the best therapy he had ever had. Then he told me a rarely spoken story about an incident from his time in Viet Nam. Peggy doesn’t warm to eveybody, but she seems to know when she’s needed. She may be increasingly limited physically, but she’s downright athletic in her ability to empathize.
Peggy’s not just any dog. She’s a mighty fine black dog.