Balto

Many years ago I lived with my husband and 4 small children in a little town outside of Savannah Ga. The place we lived was very rural so it was typical for people to dump out their unwanted pets or other animals instead of going through the correct procedures of turning them over to the Humane Society It usually became my job to turn these animals in and hope they find good homes. I am an animal lover and would have loved to keep everyone of these animals but I knew we could not afford that. We already had a cat and 4 children. I became very familiar with the folks that worked at the animals shelter. In fact I would often call before bring an animal to them to check to see if anyone had requested an animal matching the one I hads description. Sometimes that was successful and the animal was delivered from me into his or her new home. This was true for this particular day. I was bringing in a small breed puppy to meet her new owners that morning. Tim always told me not to bring home any dogs when I left the house. I always laughed and said I wont.
I arrived at the shelter and was greeted by the owner to be. She was very excited to gain this new member of her family. I signed the release papers and she said the acceptance papers and I was about to leave when I spotted the cage in the corner of the waiting area. The cage contained three small odd looking puppies. I never went back to the area where they kept the dogs because I knew I would fall in love with them . Bringing animals up here was hard enough for me. I certainly wasn't going to add to it by looking at all these animals in need of a home. I walked over to the pen and begin questioning the worker about the pups. She said they were 6- 7 wks old, just arrived yesterday and were about to be put back into the holding area.These pups were the most unusual I had ever seen. Multi colored coats and one brown eye and one blue eye. She wasn't sure of their breed. I cant explain it. Something about these pups. Like I said I had come many times to the shelter and left many times without a pet-- and yes even though I generally didn't go look at the pets in the holding area there had been times when cute little animals were in the waiting area. I couldn't explain it then but now I know what was going on then.
I got the pups out of the pen and played with them a little bit. There were 2 girls and a boy. They were so sweet and before I could stop myself I was filling out papers to get one. Yikes I knew Tim was going to have a fit but I couldn't stop myself. The worker asked which one I wanted. I couldn't choose. She sat all three pups on the counter for me to decide. I said "who wants to come home with me" and one pup walked over and licked my face. The worker announced its a boy.
I took my little bundle and went home. I knew Tim was not going to be happy about this- but I knew I was supposed to have this dog. I just couldn't explain why at the time.
We named him Balto- after the dog who had saved the children in the epidemic. He was a sweet little puppy and got lots of attention for the kids. Tim wasn't upset with me. He would just shake his head and laugh. About two days after I brought Balto home he became very sick. He had diarrhea and had no energy. I had already scheduled a vet visit for him the following week but called and they told me to bring him in that day. It turns out he had a bacterial infection that was treatable but could have been deadly. He prescribed medication for him. I asked what breed Balto was and the doctor said catahoula leopard . I had never heard of that breed.
When I returned home I researched the breed and sure enough there were dogs that looked just like Balto. I learned that the Catahoula are herd dogs which explained his herding behavior with the children. He herded them in a circle in the yard when the played outside with him. He was really funny to watch. The eye color and coat color was typical of that breed. I also learned that as adults they can get very big and strong. Especially the males. Oh boy I have a potential big strong dog on my hands.
Fast forward to 2005. We had moved to Ware Shoals SC. The accident occurred. I was sitting on the couch three weeks after the accident, all the visitors had gone back to their normal lives and we were trying to pick up and find our new normal. I looked over at Balto laying on the floor beside me. He got up and laid his head on my lap as I cried. I realized that ever since the accident he had been by my side. Like he knew I needed him. This was going to be my first night alone in the house without visitors just me and the kids. I was a single women with four children alone. Then it occurred to me. I was not afraid to be alone. God had sent this big dog to protect me and to be a visual reminder of his protection for me. I gave Balto a hug and said this was the plan wasn't it. God knew Tim was not going to be here and he knew I needed you.
It has been almost seven years since Tim died and Balto is still my shadow. He is always watching me. If I am in the yard working, he is sitting by the door watching me. He follows me room to room. As I am writing this, he is on the floor at my feet.
For me Balto will always be a reminder of Gods protection for us. God knew Tim wouldn't be here for us and he knew I needed Balto to offer me comfort and protection. We named him Balto after the heroic dog from Alaska and he lives up to his name. That Balto saved the children My Balto gives me a sense of safety. I thank God for sending Balto into our lives.