Daisy -- rescued many years ago, now she's the picture of sweet slumber

People who live with an ol’ dog know the joys of a grateful personality and graceful behavior.
Our spotlighted companion for this weekend’s Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap is this girl Daisy.
She was nominated by her human, Sherrie Finch. Daisy’s got a lot of miles on her and they are happy miles – didn’t start out that way. But as you read her story you’ll see that things changed so that Daisy the Dog would find a good, relaxed place to sleep.
Here’s the story as told by Sherrie:
“She is 16 1/2 years old, which is remarkable for a dog of her size. We think she is a Border Collie mix.
“You should have seen her herd our cats when she was younger!
"I rescued her 16 years ago, on Easter Sunday, 1995, from downtown [Dallas], near Baylor Hospital. There was a group of old men feeding her fried chicken leftovers. I stopped and asked them who she belonged to, and they said no one. One of them had seen her hit by a car the day before, and had called animal control to come get her. She was going to be picked up the next morning.
“I asked them if I could take her to Operation Kindness (I'm one of the co-founders and was an active volunteer at the time). They were delighted to know she would not be taken to the city shelter, where she would almost certainly be euthanized.
“I took her home and took her in to my vet, Dr. Kathleen Sohner, the next day. She was checked out from nose tip to tail tip, and x-rays showed no injuries from the run-in with the car. She had a big gash that had become infected on her head from blunt force -- someone probably hit her on the head with a baseball bat, or something like it. She had fleas, ticks, hook, round and whip worms. Dr. Sohner said she was probably between 6-8 months old.
“After agreeing to have surgery done to repair her head wound, get her spayed and treated for all the parasites, she ended up staying at the vet hospital for 2 weeks. Dr. Sohner took an immediate liking to Daisy and discounted the huge bill to help convince me to keep her.
“We discovered Daisy didn't know what dog food was. While she was at the clinic, I boiled chicken breasts and rice and brought over her home-cooked meals every couple of days. We eventually worked dog food in to it. After I got her home, I became attached to her and eventually decided to keep her. This was a huge step for me and my husband Gordon as neither of us had ever had a dog and we had a house full of cats."
We’re going to take time-out for a second for a cat story that will explain that cat picture. Sherrie says, “This was taken four years ago, in June. Daisy was checking out the newest addition to our family -- 8 week old Madison. I rescued Madison from the middle of Main Street in Madisonville. The cars in front of me had slowed down and were going around something in the middle of the road. When it was my turn, I froze at the sight. I stopped the car in the middle of the 4 lane street, jumped out and ushered the little kitten to the side of the road.
“Miraculously, everyone stopped and waited patiently for me to get her safely out of the way. An elderly lady did pull over to admonish me that my car could have been wrecked, and I replied that it was just a car - the kitten's life was more important. She laughed and said she had a crazy daughter that would have done the same thing.
“We played ring around the rosie in some bushes (with thorns) before I was able to grab her. I was on my way to a business appointment, but I stopped off and bought a carrier, small litter box, bottled water, a collar, canned and dry kitten food and bowls and set her inside her new makeshift home. I carried her in to the appointment with me as it was too hot to leave her in the car. She was the hit of the day! I then learned that the business owner was an animal lover, too, and was on the board of her local rescue group. Talk about serendipity! 
“Madison was the spitting image of a Blue Mink Tonkinese as a kitten, but doesn't look like one now. But she is gorgeous, and she and Daisy are very close.”
Now, back to the Daisy. Sherrie continues, “She has been wonderful - she has raised all the cats we currently have, and sleeps curled up with several all around her. They take turns grooming her and one is always by her side. She is slowing down now, but still looks forward to her daily walks, although they are shorter and she moves more slowly. She lost her voice about a year ago due to a paralyzed larynx. I took early retirement last Fall and now devote full time to her care. She knows she is loved and adored. She couldn't have a better life.”
(To nominate your slumbering critter for the spotlight in the world-wide read Readlarrypowell.com weekend feature Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, send photo and info to [email protected].  At Readlarrypowell.com, where insomnia is a lifestyle, we hope someday to be regarded as highly as a loving ol’ dog. Worrying about how far I am from that goal  is one of the things that keeps me awake nights.)
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