Smokey of Rolling Dog Ranch
Your eyes are instantly drawn to Smokey. His thin, Whippet-like body is in constant, jerky, spastic motion. You want to look away, to avoid the pain of watching him struggle so mightily to walk, but you don’t. You can’t. His own eyes – rich, deep chocolate surrounded by deep black lashes and fur – implore you to notice him, to acknowledge him. To love him.
His eyes never leave yours. His ears lay back in a perpetual smile position. He wants so badly to connect with you. To reach you. To have you touch and hold him.
His movements remind you more of swimming than walking. His front legs high-step as if he’s paddling through deep water. His hind legs work to support him, to propel him toward you, but refuse to listen to his brain’s desire. He zig zags in an impossible trajectory that has you as its goal. He has little ability to control his limbs. He stumbles and falls to the ground repeatedly, yet every time he quickly bounces back up. His face is a vision of pure determination and joy at the thought that yes, yes, if he just keeps trying, he will reach his reward: you.
Like the smoke of a campfire for which he was named, he follows you wherever you walk. You can’t shake him. If you turn your back and walk way, he follows, in his non-linear way, lurching and toppling, a wisp of smoke buffeted by the wind.
He’s bursting with determination. He never gives up, despite the constant falls that leave him with a chronically scraped chin. He craves something so simple for any of us to give: human contact.
People almost gave up on him. A shelter was ready to put him down, because no one would adopt him.
Smokey found the one place where his disability – cerebellar hypoplasia – makes him normal.
Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary, in
A special place for me, to visit. Smokey is just one of the many wonderful, happy, joyful dogs there. My spirit is lifted every time I get to see and touch them.
I can't wait to start writing about these dogs, to create a book about this wonderful place for animals and the people - Steve Smith and Alayne Marker and their employees and volunteers - who make it happen. Again, see what they do at: Rolling Dog Ranch