The Feral One

Fiona’s story:

My husband got a text from a dog trainer asking “3 corgis?” We had just added Gemma (bella Gemma) to our household – She was 9 months old and bonded well with our older corgi (Owain). We used to have three corgis but after Gwennie passed we decided never again. Three corgis and two adults means the humans are outnumbered. We sold the Odyssey and bought a Suburu. There was only room for 2 corgis in our slimmed down household.

But this was a dog in need of a home. I was between jobs and home full time and my husband looked at me with pleading eyes and begged me to foster this corgi in need. How could I say no?

I drove up to Newhall the next day and met the kind neighbor who had orchestrated the rescue.

This corgi was kept in a small chain link gulag on a cement patio (Newhall regularly experiences triple digit temperatures in the summer). When not in the gulag, she was chained to the gulag. The neighbor had rescued her from a hungry coyote who literally had the dog’s head in its mouth and was trying to drag it away. After this incident, the neighbors called animal control every time the dog started barking until finally the owners finally gave up.

Apparently this dog was untrainable and the wife didn’t want her peeing in the house.

The dog let me put on a leash and a seatbelt and I collected her papers and box of dog biscuits. The neighbor and I exchanged thanks and I drove her back to the Valley where she got a vet checkup and a bath. She met her new family in a park.

We named her Fiona after a character in “Burn Notice.” She really wasn’t a feral terrorist, but she bounced into our lives with a bang. I had her housebroken in a week to the extent that she would hold her urine until she was trembling with the effort – yes, we learned to read her signals and gave her more frequent bathroom breaks.

She bonded very quickly with Gemma and Owain and the foster became a loyal and true companion.

I’m so grateful for interfering neighbors and the rescue community who reached out. She has enriched us in so many ways. Our feral one, #4.