I admit, today's post is a bit off-topic; however, as most of us horse-obsessed people are also suckers for smaller four-legged fur-balls, I'm sure you can relate! As some of you know, way back in late March when Salem was still with me, an underweight Husky stray meandered through our barn gate and trotted herself straight down to the stable. Sometimes I swear I emit some kind of high-pitched frequency that only animals in distress can hear, because they sure do have a way of finding me! Sasha worked her sad-eyes puppy voodoo magic on me, so of course I brought her home and she has been with me ever since.
How could anyone resist that face?!
It constantly amazes me how many animals are on the street here in Miami. I grew up in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Illinois and I literally never saw strays. Down here, it is a daily occurrence. It's truly heart-breaking. I do what I can, but I certainly can't take in every stray that I see. The solution is for people to educate themselves about animal care and actually spay and neuter their pets -- unfortunately, there are a lot of people from third-world countries where such things don't exist, so it's going to take a while. I always joke that you don't need to buy a dog in Miami -- just go drive around for a while and you're sure to find one. Heck, I picked up a gorgeous, sweet, well-behaved 5-year-old pure-bred Siberian Husky for free!
Life on the street was obviously hard on Sasha -- she was underweight, dehydrated, infested with mange and hookworms, and had infections in both ears. I kind of wish I had some "before" photos to compare to the current ones, but the good news is that she is now perfectly healthy and happy and getting spoiled to her heart's content.
Check out those stunning eyes:
In these pics, Sasha is sporting her gorgeous new leather collar that I had custom-made made by LDS Leather. They did such an amazing job! Seriously, the leather is incredibly soft and supple, and the craftsmanship is absolutely top-notch. I just ordered a matching leash, so Sahsa will be quite the stylish puppy. The owners told me that they used to make Western saddles and are perfectly willing to make other horsey-related items, so I'm keeping them in mind (turquoise-lined havana halter, maybe? *drool*). If you order from them, note that the website says custom orders can sometimes take up to 120 days to complete, depending on the orders ahead of yours. My collar took around two months, but I see that the leash that I ordered a few weeks ago has already shipped.
It looks tight, but I promise that's just because Sasha
has a ton of very thick fur
I have to say, if it wasn't for Salem, I probably wouldn't have been out at the barn that day, which means I wouldn't have my little Sashi-girl. I swear, that horse has brought so many good things in to my life. Thank you, Salem!
(And since my other straight-off-the-streets-of-Miami rescue, Phoebe, would be quite miffed if she knew I posted pics of Sasha and none of her...)
