Meet Medea

This submission is by Terry Glasco, whose everyday Hero Dog is Medea, a American Eskimo Dog.

My Dog is My Hero Because…

Medea was born at a puppy mill and kept as a breeding bitch, along with 63 other American Eskimo Dogs, aka Eskies. Their health, teeth and parasites were ignored and they were regularly kicked and beaten.

The Monterey County SPCA rescued them all at once. They were all terrified and 16 had to be euthanized because of fear biting.

My brain shut down when I saw the local news story and my heart led me to the SPCA. There was a room of more than 40 Eskies, all with their faces pressed against the wall. How could I pick one from all of those fluffy white backs and tails?

Then one brave little girl stood up and looked at us before quickly trying to hide again.

I asked to meet her and learned the SPCA called her Medea because she was the girl I had seen on the media. She was at least six years old and had recently been nursing puppies, probably the four the SPCA had also rescued.

I picked her up and she was so scared she peed all over me.

She spent her first two days at home with her face against the wall; not eating, drinking or relieving herself. On the third day she apparently decided she had to trust someone so she velcroed herself to me.

It was a year before she would let anyone near me or was house broken.

But she was so very brave and kept me inspired about overcoming adversity with courage. She finally learned to play and no vet could ever scare her.

We lost Medea to metastasized bone cancer six years later. She was back in pain and agony, but when the vet and her assistant came to our house for her final release she gave us all a kiss. I have never known a braver soul. She was and is my hero.

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