Rusty was hit by a car and her back legs and lower back were badly injured, so she couldn’t walk on all four legs and had to crawl using the strength of her front legs. The woman in the family she lived with called my friend Gail, a pet taxi service, to come and pick Rusty up, ordering Gail to take her to a shelter. Gail was so touched by Rusty’s energetic spirit that she spent the entire night in her taxi cleaning Rusty’s fleas and combing out her knots before taking the dog into her apartment.
Rusty had originally been a stray and apparently was neglected and/or abused. Her new human family, even though they took her in from the streets, didn’t much bother about her. They just let her run on the street by herself. So she ran into traffic. What were they thinking!
That’s when I came into the picture. Gail said “This is too much for me, with my own big dog, two cats, a bird and my ailing mom, I just couldn’t cope.” Gail was frustrated and I wanted to help. I had just lost sweet Ginger, my canine companion of twelve years. I didn’t know if I was ready to take on such a responsibility. But Gail had her hands and heart full and she said “Ill help as much as I can.”
So I took Rusty. Since she couldn’t use her back legs, Gail got her a back harness for handicapped pets.
(http://www.handicappedpets.com/mobilitybackharness.htm)
Id seen a young man in the neighborhood walking his dog with this kind of harness and was inspired. The harness wraps around the body of the dog so you carry the weight as if you were holding a suitcase or carpetbag. This was grueling and back breaking for me, a small 51″ woman. My neighbors were so touched by Rusty’s brave spirit. They spontaneously pooled their resources and purchased a canine cart for Rusty! There are many good carts available for our back-leg challenged pets. Here are a few of them:
(http://www.k9carts.com/)
(http://www.doggon.com/)
(http://www.eddieswheels.com/)
This wonderful wheeled cart gave my back a rest and Rusty had a new reason to celebrate as she dragged me down the street!!
One day, I looked at her and felt she needed a name more befitting of her spirit. I was always attracted to the musical sound of the Sanskrit language. So I made a list of all kinds of poetic Sanskrit words that had meanings like beautiful, wise, patient, etc. but a friend and scholar of Sanskrit said to me, “Sharon, Rusty already had beauty, wisdom and patience. The one thing she did not have was joy, Sukha.” So I named her Sukha; Sanskrit for joy! It sounded like sugar! Everyone loved the name. Her acupuncturist, Dr. Wen, used to say “whenever I see Sukha, I feel joy”
As the years continued, her paralysis progressively crept up her body. We stuck it out with her right up to the end. But after four years, the stress overwhelmed Sukhas now immobilized body causing her pain with every breath she took. So we had to say good-bye to our sweet girl; our brave, independent, joyful spirit. But the impact of Sukhas blessings is a priceless gift, still felt by neighbors, friends, family—indeed, all who have crossed her path.
Sukha singing Sukha posing
Heres Sukha, with my little old poodle, Boo-Boo and myself in tow; full of energy and ready to wheel herself (and drag us!) down the street!!! We lived near the World Trade Center which became Ground Zero–where this photo was taken a few weeks after the attack. One day we met a man who had been walking around looking dazed. He told me he just finished his shift — searching for survivors of the attack. When he saw Sukha, he asked me about her. While I was telling him her story, the man knelt down and hugged Sukha for the longest time. Brave Sukha –the way he hugged her, so tightly, I imagined he was feeling a sense of hope for himself through her good energy.
“Animals cannot speak, but can you and I not speak for them and represent them? Let us all feel their silent cry of agony and let us all help that cry to be heard in the world.”
Rukmini Devi Arundale - Hindhu musician, dancer, theosophist and Sanskrit scholar.
–
Sharon Azar
WOOF! (Wagging On and On Forever!)
