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| Name: |
Nadya
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Age: |
Eighteen months old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Borzoi |
| Home: |
Benton, Pennsylvania, USA |
Waiting...
She was miserable. She lived in a house with 28 others just
like her. They were barely fed and lived in two to three feet of their
own filth. In the kitchen, there was a makeshift kennel built towards
the back wall where nine of her housemates had to scratch out an
existence. They weren't "living". They merely "were". She shouldn't
have to live like this. She was a Borzoi. A wonderful, beautiful
animal with regal bearing. Centuries ago her kind were bred to chase
and hunt down the huge wolves that terrorized Russia. These beautiful
Russian Wolfhounds were only allowed to be owned by the royalty of
Russia. The hound of the Czars! But not this girl. She was filthy,
matted with her own feces. Caked with dirt and filth and had never
seen the outside of this house of hell. Not yet a year and a half old,
she had never seen grass or trees or the birds soaring overhead.
Then one day, by the grace of God, some people came to the house.
People who cared. People who would rescue her and all of her
housemates. It was scary, but such a relief to be scrubbed clean. To
have the painful, smelly mats clipped off of her body and to hear the
soft, soothing voices of her rescuers. To see the outdoors and play in
a grassy yard with her friends. To smell flowers for the first time.
These are the things that made life real. That made it what it should
be. She had finally gained the status that was her birthright. She was
finally a Borzoi.
For the first time, she could walk without the hair on her belly
pulling and causing pain. For the first time, she saw the blue sky,
the green grass, the butterflies on wing. For the first time, she had
a name. Nadezda is Russian for Hope. She became Nadya and hope is
something that she had for the first time. After a few weeks she left
the place where she had been taken to be cleaned up. The place where
she knew love and dignity and hope. This was scary too, but nothing
could be as bad as it once had been. Nadya was taken to a new home
with new people and many new doggy friends. Her new Greyhound friends
looked somewhat like her, but were smaller and didn't have as much
hair as she did. The people there were calm and quiet and told her
that they loved her so very much.
She learned a lot in those first few weeks and she would never forget
her lessons. She was finally home. When we first heard about Nadya and
her housemates we were shocked and appalled that any human could allow
this to happen to God's own creatures. We also welcomed Nadya into our
home and into our hearts. We are so fortunate to have a friend like
Nadya and to see her blossom into the graceful, regal Borzoi that is
her birthright. Most humans would not be as able to adapt with such
grace and style to a new life after living through such a situation. I
hope that everyone who reads this can learn a lesson from Nadya and
her housemates. Take each day as it comes and perhaps good things
really do come to those who wait... and wait... and wait.
Nadya is a Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound and is somewhere between 15 and
18 months old. We will never know for sure. Her rescuers were the
National Borzoi Rescue Foundation.
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