Puppy Dog Tales - February 2017

What a Ride!

A tribute to a remarkable rescue dog and Shoofly columnist, Daisy Mae, who passed away in January.  Daisy Mae, we won't forget you. 
​- by Christiana Richardson, PhD

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Service dog, columnist and life-long friend, Daisy Mae

This is the face of a dog of many accomplishments. The first was in just staying alive. In February of 2002 Daisy was born into Shetland Sheepdog royalty. Her grandfather Jade Mist Beyond Tradition was one of the top winning Shetlands of all time. Her father Jet Stream Cove Wave was a grand champion.

A breeder in Stafford County Virginia owned Daisy’s mother. Daisy was destined to be a show dog but there was a glitch in the plan. Ms. Daisy did not like being a kennel dog and was miserable. When she was nine months old she was sold to a family to be a pet. These folks were busy and kept her in a crate in the garage. After three months they turned her in to the Stafford County Animal Shelter. 

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In addition to being a management consultant, I am also a grief counselor. Many a client has been helped by having Daisy sit next to them while we talk. Daisy worked with me at the American Red Cross – responding to emergencies where she would sit with the children to be a calming force - a mannequin as we taught pet first aid. Sometimes the participants had her so bandaged that only her nose was sticking out.

Together we wrote about and talked about issues that matter – not just to animal people but to everyone. Taking care of and loving and being loved is a gift not to be taken lightly. We are who we are because of the love in our lives. Make room for love and love in return.

This morning my constant companion of 15 years died in my arms. I will love her forever. I hope that you have had and will have the gift of unconditional love. I will cry with my friends and I know how lucky I have been. As Daisy said – dear gentle readers keep your tail high and your feet dry!

Puppy Dog Tales will go on – Daisy’s brother Robbie will be writing. I expect a rougher edge as he is a dominate male.  Here is a photo of him last year with Daisy in her Micky Evans bustier. Mikey is not one who dresses up.  Too frivolous!

​The sign on her cage read: 13 months old, excessive barker, not housetrained. Her chances of survival were slim until Lost Dog and Cat Rescue saw her. She was spayed and then taken to the PetSmart in Alexandria, VA.

I just happened to be there getting cat food and this dog walked over to me. She was up for adoption and it took about 20 minutes until she was mine. Two days after joining our family she got very agitated, tugging at me and whining. Shortly thereafter I had a seizure. She had alerted me. After doing this twice more my doctor said she had the gift and she became my registered seizure alert dog.

From this day forward she has been my constant companion and a game changer in my life. I was a management consultant and Daisy went with me. We stayed in hotels and ate in their restaurants. Daisy liked the tables with tablecloths to the floor and we wrote an article for the hotel magazine about that.

Soon we were writing for numerous papers on all things animal. Daisy got such a good reputation that I was asked to also do some writing. I became a journalist writing on many topics and Daisy and I have been on the masthead of three newspapers and a columnist for the Shoofly Magazine.
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Daisy Mae dressed up in a Mardi Gras costume, with her more cynical brother, Mikey.