Marley and We

I couldn’t capture the whole story by posting a picture and writing a short paragraph to Facebook, so I thought I could tell the whole story through my personal blog. 

Bambi has been talking about riding her mountain bike for the last week and we finally both had some free time on Sunday so we loaded up the bikes and went out to Lake Houston Park.  Lake Houston Park is located in New Caney, my hometown by the way, and is about a 15 minute drive from where we live.  There is a 10 mile mtb loop trail around the park which 6 miles of it is a mixture of jeep road and single track while the last 4 miles is a gravel/concrete road.  Most of the trail follows Peach Creek which always has water and looks more like a river. 

I’ve ridden out there a few times and you hardly ever see anyone on the trails after you get about 2 miles in.  I take that back, I saw some wild hogs on the trail the last time I was out there probably 5 miles out and almost hit a baby hog.  The thing was nested on the ground and I thought it was stump and as I approached the little thing went scurrying off like a bottle rocket. Anyhow, so we were clipping along on our mountain bikes and around 4 miles out I looked up and saw a big yellow lab darting off into the woods.  We would never see the dog again (mom) when we were there.  As Bambi and I got closer there sat a little puppy (we are calling him Marley), all bones wagging his tail and he was very happy to see us.  There were no questions to ask, we quickly surveyed the situation and knew these dogs were abandoned out in the woods to make it on their own.  I knew Marley wasn’t dehydrated because they were right next to the river and he had muddy paws, but he sure was starving.  Poor thing was covered in fleas, ticks, several wounds, a limp leg, and boney as could be.

Marley the day we found him.

So, there we were 4 miles out with 2 mountain bikes and only one small camel back (definitely not big enough to hold the puppy).  The only way we were going to get the puppy back safely was carrying him back in our hands.  Bambi had the duty of carrying Marley while I was pushing the 2 bikes by hand.  The trails are way too narrow, sandy, and bumpy to ride one and push the other.  As we are walking back you could hear Marley grunting/moaning & his stomach turning over and it was very worrisome.  My only concern at this point was to keep the little guy alive until we could get him home & cared for. 

As I said before I never see anyone on the trails and then by chance there was a fellow mountain biker who comes up on us only after a half of mile walking back and he is wearing a backpack.  He was using the backpack for his hydration; it was perfect for carrying a small puppy.  We asked if we could use it and he said no problem, so we loaded Marley up, zipped the pack up with his head poking out, and I put him on my back.  I got to ride 3.5 miles of trails back with Bambi & the mountain biker following me making sure everything was okay.  Marley got tired of the enclosure once and climbed out.  He also got sick on the way back and threw up mud down my back and on the guy’s backpack.  I didn’t care and neither did he.  The sad part was that obviously Marley had resorted to eating mud & weeds just to have something in his belly.  L

Marley day #2, a different puppy.

We finally made it back to the truck and quickly loaded the bikes.  The fellow mountain biker told the park ranger about the yellow lab further out on the trails.  We hauled ass home and stopped to get some soft dog food along the way.  Marley was starving and would have eaten anything we put down.  We only gave him small portions every couple of hours to get his stomach lined with some food.  After a few hours we saw him pee and poop and we were relieved.  He was definitely a sad site to see on Sunday, he barely had enough energy to stand up and the soft moans were heartbreaking.  The next big task was to figure out how we were going to rid of the 500 something fleas he was covered in.  That required two long flea baths on Sunday & Bambi pulling a few ticks out of his ears.   Maybe one more flea bath should do the trick, but definitely a lot better.  Bambi did most of the bathing and cleaning up and has been doing a great job; I think she should work at a Vet’s office. 

On Monday you could see him getting stronger and being able to walk around the yard some.  He is starting to look more like a normal puppy being playful and getting a sense of his personality.  He definitely misses his mom; he always wants to be right next to someone.  We have two dogs that are spoiled rotten so it has been weird for them seeing the new dog around.  But they can sense something is wrong and they are very timid around Marley.  Stormy has been watching over him at night at times and it points out that Mother Nature is in full force. 

Marley chilling on the deck.

The plan is to take him to his vet appt on Friday to get vaccinations and a full examination.  We are going to foster Marley until we can find him a great home.  Please pass this story along to any of your friends who could use a loving & very grateful male Yellow Lab.  He would really be great with other dogs as well, as he keeps trying to lay up next to or on our dogs & follows them around.  On Tuesday after work I’m going to make my journey back in the woods, get in a little trail run, and see if I can find the mom.  Wish me luck!