Now is that a face to make you smile? I named her Fuzzbit because that’s all she was was a bit of fuzz. When her brother Jellyroll and her first found my room, they drove me crazy, well mostly she did. She was very hyper and was always stealing my shoes and hiding them. One day my runners disappeared and I could not find them. She had taken them quite far away, something I didn’t expect, but eventually I did find them. Her and Scott would chew anything including my power cords – one time my computer cord was chewed into about 12 pieces in a matter of seconds right at my feet. Thankfully Javier was able to splice it together, although it was indeed much shorter!!
But in the end this little girl stole my heart, her and her brother both.
Jellyroll got his name because of his barrel shaped body and his ability to roll at the slightest touch. Talk about total opposites! I just adored him, he was the gentle giant, very calm and easy going. We were buddies right from the start, he followed me everywhere and curled up at my feet whenever I was sitting. He had the stop, drop and roll thing down pat whenever they were playing – just the breeze from one of the other dogs running past made him roll. He rarely knew what hit him, but up he got and off he went trying to catch up. Fuzzbit had long spindly legs and if she weighed 5 lbs I’d be surprised; so she could run circles around Jellyroll. She also had this habit of sliding into home plate whenever she stopped. It was as if her legs were to long to just sit, she had to slide. Made me laugh to see it. The two of them together were great fun – well actually Scott was usually part of the the group also, and they stayed close to me most of the time – The Three Musketeers, mi amigos.
Jellyroll was sent to a new home first, and I was really sad about that, we had become quite close in a very short time; he just seemed to bond with me right away. After he left, I felt pretty bad for Fuzzbit, she really missed him, and so her and I made our peace and became the best of friends. When I would open the door in the morning, she would come flying out of nowhere and if she had had any weight to her she would have knocked me over. Oh that face, just wiry hair sticking out all over on such a tiny face. I had to watch her like a hawk, so my power cords and shoes, sock and items of clothing did not disappear, but my goodness she was just a bundle of joy.
At night time I would hear this crashing, body slamming my door and Mali’s kennel, and I’d be wondering what the heck was going on out there. It was little Fuzzbit trying to catch beetles and moths, like a jack in the box, boing, boing. And then there was feeding time. I did not intend to feed all 6 dogs living here, but if Mali was to get fed, I had to also share with the other 5 dogs. They could sense when it was dinner time and show up from wherever they were to help her eat. If I didn’t close the door to my room locking them out, they would barge in and help themselves. Mali being the very polite soul she is would back up and let them eat her meal without a fight.
Well I felt a bit guilty, didn’t I as they all sat outside the door while Mali ate. I could see Scrappy’s ribs, he has no extra weight on him and Chiripa (Cheereepa) was nursing still. These dogs do not know what a regular meal is and they fight for every scrap they get. So the puppies of course usually loose out. This was apparent watching little Fuzzbit eat, like a Hoover picking up the pieces as fast as she could before anyone else took them. So I tried to set up an orderly feeding station, but it was hopeless. Chiripa learned the fastest, but the puppies were hopeless. I had to feed them separately, which took forever and if I brought them into my room to do so, they wouldn’t leave for the next one to come in. I would pick them up, take them outside only to find them back in the room before I turned around. Fuzzbit was the worst for this because she moved so fast, I didn’t even see her get past me.
So then I tried to do it in groups without being knocked over by Scrappy and Scott. What a circus!! It took several weeks after Jellyroll was gone, to get some order to the process, and in the end I had to lock Fuzzbit in Mali’s kennel and feed her little bits at a time. Otherwise she bounced from one dogs pile to the other trying to get as much from each one as possible. Mali and Scrappy would eat together in my room which worked as long as I kept an eye on Scrappy. Then I would shoe them out and feed Scott in my room alone. Chiripa would eat outside with Fuzzbit locked in the cage. Once she understood she would get food in the kennel it was no problem getting her in there, and I fed her little bits so she would maybe calm down and eat slower. But she never did.
The other problem I had with Scott and Fuzzbit was getting them to stay home when I went for my run or walked to town. Scrappy and Chiripa would charge down the driveway, totally excited about having this great adventure with me, something they had never experienced before – exercise. They are a mile down the road before Mali and I get to the gate. They race back to me, then tear off again and again, thrilled to have the adventure.
But the puppies were too small and too young to come along. Sometimes I had to turn back several times with Fuzzbit carrying her back to the owners as she was determined to join me. In the end I chased her, yelling at her and trying to scare her – this was on a day when no one was here to TRY and hold onto her. This seemed to do the trick, because previously even if someone was there to watch her, she always managed to escape. In the end she learned to stay put faster than Scott, but I could see them peeking around the corner of the driveway as I walked up the hill, as I looked back to make sure they were not following. As soon as they saw me turn around and take a step towards them, they would high tail it back to my room. You’re thinking Disney right?? Always they were waiting for me when I got back, charging towards me with great gusto. Now Scott waits alone for our return, sitting not far from my room, knowing he must stay and wait. He is learning…….
Then one morning when I opened the door, there was no Fuzzbit to greet me, and I knew she had been taken to her new home the night before, wherever that was. I was so sad, my little bundle of joy was no longer under my feet, and I felt a little empty. I wonder if she misses me too…..
I had a dream about Fuzzbit a few weeks later. It was a Thursday night. In the dream I woke up to find her curled up under my bed sleeping. I picked her up and she stayed very calm and quiet. This was very unlike her, normally she squirmed and licked and wiggled, unable to sit still for a second. Even in the dream I felt something was wrong, but didn’t understand what it was. I put her back down and once again she curled up under my bed going back to sleep. The next day at lunch time I told Maria about my dream and asked if she knew if Fuzzbit was ok, thinking it was her that had a problem. She thought she was fine, so I let it go, but I could not help but wonder.
A week or so later I was visiting Nathaly, the owner of the hostel at her home. I went with Javier (Nathaly’s brother) and Maria. When I went inside the house I saw one of Nathaly’s daughters was injured. All of a sudden I got a flash about my dream and asked when the accident happened. It was the same Thursday night I had the dream (well the dream would have more accurately been Friday morning). She had fallen off her bike, doing much injury to her face with broken bones in her nose. I felt I understood now why Fuzzbit came to me that night. I also was reminded we must never under estimate our connection to our animal friends. There are invisible ties connecting us in ways we do not always understand.
I do miss that little bit of fuzz…….
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