This is Onyx. She is a Chow mix that came to us a week or so back for her first grooming at Digger Dogs.  She may look like a young puppy in this photo, but she's actually more around 8 years of age.  As a rescue dog, the owners were unsure of how she would behave in our shop. Well, I guess after all she's been through, getting groomed was no big deal, in fact this lady seemed to really enjoy her day at the spa; away from it all.  I mean, just look how happy that face is: 

You'd be happy too if you'd hit the lottery like she did. Onyx has only been with her current owners since the beginning of 2012. Previously, she was living a life, (if I remember this correctly) filled with stress, and lacking love and attention. She had lived with a pack of unfriendly dogs that bothered her, picked on her, and the guess is that they beat her up a bit too. Bunch of bullies! 

This is what prompted her new owners to suggest removing her from that situation and they generously offered her a new life with them.

Now - this alone is a sweet rescue story, but there is more. What the new owners didn't realize right away, was that Onyx was pregnant. They had no idea who or what the "dad" was so they didn't know what to expect. They nurtured Onyx through her pregnancy and she eventually gave birth to 6 puppies!! But Onyx was just newly rescued, not in the best of health and certainly not emotionally strong. She lost 4 of her pups pretty much right away. The two remaining puppies (black fuzz-balls) still had a battle ahead of them as their mother  wasn't doing well feeding them.  They had to be bottle fed. 
Can you imagine rescuing one dog only to find out you have 2 more and that those two extras need to be bottle fed if they are to survive! I can't. That's a lot of work. 

Well thank goodness Onyx's path brought her to such wonderful people. They did all they could and ended up saving those two pups. Now they have three chow mixes!  The boys are only about 6 months old at this point, but they too came in to Digger Dog's with their mother for their very first grooming.  I won't lie:  as a groomer, it was a challenging day having a family of new chow mixes come into our shop for the first time. They were scared, unsure, protective, and the boys clung to their mom like glue!  But as I said, Onyx seemed to be in Heaven, and seemed to enjoy a few moments alone without her sons. If Calgon sold dog shampoo, Onyx would have been a great commercial for them! We purposely groomed her first hoping her boys would watch and learn, and be a bit  less frightened.  She seemed to understand our tactic because she pranced around all proud and pretty when she was done! 

Her sons, Little Bit and Biggins, weren't so sure about this whole grooming business. And just like a couple of brothers, we had to separate them in order for them to behave.  (we hear this is common at home as well - haha)  
First up was Biggins who did his best to behave but couldn't help expressing just how nervous and afraid he really was (but don't tell his little brother that!). He never did sit still long enough for us to grab a snap shot of his gorgeous face, but we snuck this one before he left. 

Little Bit was like night and day. He came in our shop making the most fuss, acting the most upset, barking the most and loudest, and we honestly weren't sure if he was going to make it through the grooming. But we gave it a try and I don't want to jinx anything, but he did really darn good for his first time. Maybe having his brother out of sight, and his mom in sight helped, I don't know. But to look at this photo you'd think he was a regular! 

But don't let that face fool you, he was super scared, poor guy. We were so proud of him and his brother!! And after all his fussing and barking before his grooming and bath, Little Bit was so happy to be back with his mom that he settled down for a little nap. 

So that is the story of Onyx times three! Not one dog rescued, but all three.  They're getting the love and attention they need and deserve with their wonderful new owners, and we are so very happy to have meet the entire family!!  
As for Onyx, well that pretty lady really did hit the jackpot didn't she. These stories make our hearts sing! 

Donna once said that her shop is much like a Barber's shop in that the clients come in and share stories, and it is so very true for her dogs.  If you are reading this, chances are you're a dog person so you understand completely how every dog has his or her own story.  These stories, are possibly one of my favorite parts of working at Digger Dogs. I absolutely love hearing owners talk about the adventures, quirks, dramas, and habits of their dogs. We'd like to start sharing some of these stories with our readers and to start off, here is our first dog story. 

I will openly admit that my favorite stories are rescue stories.  This particular story is probably my all-time favorite, and maybe that's because she's a family dog. However, she wouldn't be a family dog if I hadn't been for Donna and her love of her dogs. 

I can't even tell you how many dogs Donna has helped place, rescue, relocate, re-home, ect. So when one of her favorite pit-bulls needed a new home back in 1999, she pushed that girl on me. (which turned out to be the best turn of events in my life ever) From then on, I advocated for the breed and learned all I could.  This is why, when my parents' neighbors found a stray pit-bull just a few years after I acquired my pit, I ended up being involved. 

The husband found her on the streets of N.E. Philadelphia all battered and filthy. He was a delivery man at the time and this street dog ran out in front of  his truck and proceeded to follow him around with her little limp.  After knocking on a few doors, he brought her home. Already owning two large rescue dogs, they weren't keen on owning another.  They searched all over for the owners to no avail, and "rescues" at the time, (because of her breed) were only offering to euthanize the dog for them.  When they had no where to turn, they knocked on my parents' front door hoping to get my contact information knowing I loved the breed.  My mother wanted nothing to do with a stray dog of any kind and was happy with her lovely pure-bred yellow lab puppy.  She admits that she had no plans on telling me about this stray figuring I had "enough to deal with at the time." As fate would have it, I just so happened to be stopping by unannounced that very moment, literally pulling into the driveway as the woman was turning to go home.  And so I had a peek at the little dog, and my mother begrudgingly went with me. 

The neighbors had her in a kennel on their back porch. When we peeked inside, the little pup exploded with happiness and sprayed us with the blood, urine, and fecal matter she was covered in. (so gross).  I HAD to bathe her. When we removed her from the kennel what we saw brought us all to tears. 

A busted back leg that was deformed and not grown as the other legs, a busted shoulder, a broken bleeding tail, she was covered in briars and ticks, five 2inch scars around her neck, and an entire side of her body covered in cigarette and cigar burns. Well, at that point it was obvious her previous "owners" were no good.  So we knew she'd need a new home, but  we had to get her fixed up first. No one would take a dog in this condition and with major pending vet bills. But who would keep her for now? 

I was living in an apartment with a 1 dog rule so my parents agreed to be temporary care-givers. We tested out her temperament, we slowly introduced her to my pit and my parents young lab.  (she did great) And the neighbors all pitched in to help with vet bills which would make her an adoptable dog. Throughout this process, Donna and all at Digger Dogs kept an ear to the ground for possible new homes for this girl. 

That was over 9 years ago.  Needless to say that my stubborn mother and father, after all their fuss about not wanting another dog, caved in to her cuteness and never let her go. They figured it was fate that her path led her to them and it was just meant to be.  "Sometimes we choose our dogs, sometimes they choose us." 

She won their hearts and the hearts of their entire neighborhood. She was fixed up just fine, both her shoulder and leg looking healthy as ever. Her 5 scars are mostly covered with hair at this point but she does suffer some rather unsightly skin conditions seasonally.  She took years to overcome her fear of lighters and matches, and even longer to overcome her fear of bathtubs. (the most likely place to "bleed" a fighting dog in order to "prep" them for "pain tolerance" - sick, I know)
For the past 10 years she has enjoyed numerous trips to the beach, loads of camping trips, countless numbers of belly rubs, 1 skunk as a meal, the destruction of 3 expensive dog beds, countless pounds of table scraps, and a few  escapes from her yard to romp around the neighborhood.  

Briar Rose, as she was named, has an extreme fondness of  the neighbors who found her and will often sit at the fence for hours waiting for them to come over and say hello. She seems to never have forgotten they were the ones who brought her to this great new home.  She loves everyone and loves to be loved.  

As for my mother's precious yellow lab, well, who do you think taught Briar Rose everything she knows?  This oddball pair are about the funniest pair I've ever seen.  The LOVE each other.

Their ten years together has produced countless new stories and adventures. That's because dogs really are individuals. They have their own personalities, their own friendships, relationships, they have their likes and dislikes, they have strengths and weaknesses, and they are just as affected by their environment as any human.  So when they come into Digger Dogs for their grooming, yeah, they have a lot to share with us and the other dogs. It's always a good time! 

Thanks for reading, and thanks for sharing all your dogs' stories - keep 'em coming! 

-ingrid