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The Story of Rhu
From death row to Pack Scout, this little girl has made a huge leap from the prairies of Texas to an island in Washington.
Her story starts in Pottsboro, Texas where she was ditched at a roadside gas station. A young couple on a honeymoon road trip found her hungry and thirsty sitting next to a gas pump and took her along for the ride. Doubts set in somewhere near Durant, Oklahoma where they found a shelter that took her in.
I first saw her face on a website called Dogs in Danger. Next to her photo was a brief description of the little red dog named “Chewie” and a countdown clock ticking rapidly away. Her time was running out and I watched the moments disappearing as I placed the call to save her. “Where is she?” was my first question. “Durant, Oklahoma”, was the reply and “You have eighteen hours to come and get her”. It was 4PM when I raced out of the house to catch the ferry, the first of my travel connections, with the clock ticking in my head. The photo left blazing on the screen of my computer told my family the whole story, no explanations needed. The sun rose in Dallas as I got directions to Durant, OK. Two hours north and little Rhu formerly known as “Chewie” was in my arms and heart for good.
Chewie the name, lives on in Rhu the dog and there isn’t a bird, snake, bee or sock that is safe once caught in her sights. Her southern manners hide the Texas spunk in this pint sized little dynamo and she can out run, out hunt and out smart any of the larger dogs in our pack of six.
Her story follows in paintings that capture her fierce determination to show the world she is a tough little survivor with a heart of pure Texas sunshine. |
