Xena or Zinnia
Mark who has been fixing things at my daughter's apartment calls Xena Zinnia. Actually, I prefer Zinnia to Xena! I wonder what we would have named Xena had we had the privilege to choose a name for her.
This sweet dog is really doing well. Lauren takes her on long walks in the various parks around here. When there aren't many people around, Lauren lets Xena/Zinnia loose. You should see Xena run! Faster than a greyhound, I think. And her tail is way up. To see her flying among the trees, you would never know that she had ever had a care in the world.
And when Lauren calls, "Xena, c'mon back, girl!" Xena comes running back and right up to Lauren to be praised. "Good job, Xena," Lauren says and pets her. And when Xena is roaming ahead, Xena will look back for reassurance that Lauren is still there.
In the house, Xena doesn't feel quite so safe. Her tail is down, and it may take her five or more tries before she can take food from your hand, if then, and, with a rare exception, she isn't quite brave enough yet to come up to you to be petted.
In the parks, she will go up to people but not yet be petted. Everyone we see on walks is drawn to Xena. Everyone seems to recognize Xena's supreme sweetness and look at her with extra light of tenderness.
I ask myself again and again, how can it be that Xena has so much sweetness when she has come from such terror and abuse? I ask myself too how could anyone mistreat such a sweet angel?
My feeling is that the people must have loved her and been really nice to her sometimes, and that is more terrifying than always being mistreated. I imagine the worst thing was that Xena couldn't know when there would be kindness or when there would be abuse. I suspect that whoever had her was not nice when he or she drank, or was on drugs, or perhaps, Xena's original owner had mental problems. Certainly, no one in his right mind would ever be anything but gentle to Xena who is herself so gentle.
I will remember to take my camera and get some photos for you of Xena running and happy.
Comments
I think terror can bring out gentleness, perhaps more of it than would naturally be displayed; and terror can bring out wariness, much more of it than would be healthy and useful. I agree, Gloria, that terror gets even more terrifying when intermingled with kindness. But there seems to be a chance in this as well because creatures that are (or feel) only abused and never loved tend to get really vicious, developing a need to inflict terror themselves.
Zinnia is a good name for a doggie who is like a flower just starting to poke it's head out of the soil, or in this case couch cushions. A wonderfully gentle singer/musician who left the planet recently was named Blossom Dearie. My guess is that our Zinnia would have felt safe with her too.