Spicy
is a Swedish Clumber and was born with a wonderful future in store for her. Her breeder sold her
with great expectations. Unfortunately, the same person bought
Spicy who bought Andy and sold both of them at the same time to
the US to be sold at auction.
Spicy
is a beautiful Clumber with a great personality and even though
she came in with a broken spirit, she always knew what she would
do or would not do. Spicy never lost her will or her
determination but she had almost given up hope.
I
could not put a leash on Spicy as she wanted nothing to do with
being pulled and would plop down and regardless of what I tried,
she would not move. There was nothing I could do that would
change her mind. After several weeks of getting nowhere, I
decided to take her out by herself, off leash to see if she
would do any better. Off leash she not only did everything I
told her but she would stay right with me. She was overjoyed in
her new freedom and seemed to know that I “trusted” her to
listen to me. Letting her “off leash” was her “coming
alive” moment. She started smiling, running and swishing like
she was a puppy again. I’ve never seen such enjoyment at being
“off leash” as I did in her.
Spicy’s
life in the puppy mill left her spirit broken and made her older
than what she really is. She limps often and her shoulder gives
her trouble but giving her a soft bed to sleep on has helped her
body mend.
Spicy
was the first out of Suzy and Andy to be left out among my
personal clumbers and the reason was she would not go back in
her crate when it was time. She fought me every step of the way
and even when inside, all I had to do was look in her eyes and I
could see the heartache. I knew right away that something had to
be done or her healing would never begin. It didn’t take me
long to figure out what it was I had to do or what was best for
her. At first I left her out with Dudley and when that worked
out, I introduced Roofus, then Lucy and eventually Dottie. All
welcomed her and acted like it was no big deal that she started
hanging around. I automatically knew that Spicy would never
leave and she would become one of mine.
Spicy
is like a cool breeze on a summer day. She blows in like the
wind and with her comes a wonderful feeling of ease. Her
personality is the perfect example of the Clumber breed and she
is a beauty. I often refer to her as our “Swedish beauty” as
everyone knows Sweden is full of them. She gets along with
everyone and likes the resident cats a little bit too much as
I’m afraid given the chance, she would like to have one for
her very own.
Like
I said earlier, Spicy has always known what she will do or
won’t do and when it is time for her to get her “petting’,
she lets me know it. She will knock you down with her Clumber
wiggle as she has a massive one. If she were to enter a Clumber
wiggle contest, she would surely win.
Spicy’s
future was put on hold for many years and during those years she
lived a life that she never should have been forced to live, but
now I am happy to make up for some of the wasted ones. She
repays me every day by greeting me at the door, smiling that big
smile she shares so often. For a Clumber who came in with a void
in her heart, she has proven that anything is possible and that
given a chance, trust can be regained.
I
love Spicy with all my heart and I made a promise to her breeder
that she would never be mistreated again and I intend to keep
that promise. She will never know anything but kindness and
gentleness for the rest of her days.
Update
(10/2008)
Spicy has brought nothing but joy to McLendon Land, and when I
say that I mean it in every sense of the word. She is the calm
before the storm, she is the breeze before the rain, and she is
the lightning before the thunder. Spicy is absolutely a
wonderful gal that never gets enough attention. She thrives on
attention and love and goes out of her way to show her
appreciation. Once she gets the clumber wiggle going those in
her path better watch out for she has been known to knock a few
over. Seeing her dance is better than watching Fred Astaire
glide across the floor.
Spicy
is without a doubt one of my “heart” clumbers and she greets
each day with a gusto that makes all the other clumbers come
alive. She leads by example and has an excellent temperament
that never faltered during her years in the puppy mill.
She
loves the woods and that is where she will be if you can’t
find her. She loves to tree squirrels and will spend hours
hoping they will come down. I love to watch her enjoy herself
tracking through the trails and doing all the things that a
Clumber loves to do.
Spicy
also has an admirer at McLendon Land and that is Nicky. Nicky
came in after Spicy did but Nicky gets so excited when she sees
Spicy. I can’t help but wonder if they spent time together in
a puppy mill. It takes a lot to get Nicky excited but Spicy can
do it. It is so refreshing to see Nicky get a bounce in her step
and all because of a big, wonderful Swedish gal.
If
I were to name one major task that Spicy has accomplished since
becoming a “personal clumber” that would have to be sleeping
in the bed. She loves sleeping in the bed with me, Dudley, Cindy
the shorthaired pointer, and Maggie my blind gal. She still does
not know how to put her paws up to help boost her up but she
will at least walk over to the side of the bed and look up with
those big beautiful eyes and plead.
My
most favorite thing about her is her “walk” – she swishes
from side to side and walks with such a grace that I could watch
her for hours. This girl’s spirit could have been easily
broken but she managed to keep it in tact and she has shown that
no one could take away her soul.
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