He will always be my hero – Stacey and Mousse

My name is Stacey, I live in Florida , and I’m 19 years old.

Mousse

I have always wanted a dog of my own. Ever since I could talk, I was consistently asking and begging my parents to adopt a dog. I would use the classic sad faces, the melodramatic tears, and the phrases such as “I’ll even pay for it!” I grew up riding and bonding with horses, but I wanted a buddy who could fit in the house, and better yet…sleep in my room! One night, about a year ago, when I was driving home from work I got a call. It was my mom asking me if I would be home for dinner. I replied “Yes, I’m on my way home now. I’ll be home in 5 minutes.” She said “Okay cool, see you in a minute.”

It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary and I didn’t suspect anything. I was happy to be home after a stressful night at work and as I walked to the front door I rummaged through my purse to find my keys. When I opened the door, I stepped in and took my shoes off. The house was unusually quiet and I didn’t smell the home cooked dinner my mom had promised me on the phone. I walked into the living room to find my entire family sitting on the couch. My first thoughts were “Oh my gosh, I hope no one died.” Why else would my normally chaotic household be so quite? I started to say “What’s wro–” but before I could finish my sentence, my jaw dropped and suddenly my mouth turned into an ear to ear smile. I had just set my eyes on the most gorgeous dog…ever.

He was a reddish-brown color with a white blaze down his front side and a bushy, curled tail. He had the face of a Golden Retriever and the coat of a German Sheppard. The first thing that crossed my mind (for some strange reason that I will never understand) was chocolate mousse. I pictured a cup of the fluffy chocolate mousse in a sundae cup with whipped cream piled high and a cherry on the top. His name had to be Mousse. I was so excited, I could hardly sleep. The next morning at the crack of DAWN, I set out to the local pet shop to buy him a bed, treats, special dog food, toys, the best of the best shampoos and brushes, and a brand new collar with a shiny golden tag with his name and his new address engraved on it.

He has the funniest, goofiest personality ever. He makes me laugh everyday. He is a bit of a trouble maker, but I will always forgive him for getting into the garbage, chewing up my slippers, and slobbering all over the toilet seat. I would take him everywhere with me. In the mornings we would run the beach and he would play with the other dogs while I cooled off in the salty ocean. I took him to the Dog Park , friend’s houses, restaurants with outside seating, camp fires, horse shows and even to my boyfriend’s house when I would stay the night. He became my best friend.

One evening after a long day of play time at the beach and a nice refreshing bath, Mousse and I sprawled out on the couch together while I finished up some homework before the week started. I put my books down and he looked at me like “Can I go outside now?” I closed my recliner and got up. As he stepped off the couch he let out an ear piercing cry that I will never forget. I couldn’t tell what had happened. I mean…yeah he played all day but how can he possibly be that sore? I called a vet, set up an appointment and took him in an hour later. He didn’t complain much in the car but I could tell he wasn’t comfortable. The vet examined him and ran an x-ray on his hips. I waited in total panic in the waiting room. When the man walked out he told me that Mousse was suffering from hip dysplasia, a common problem in Golden Retrievers. And I had known what it was…but how?

Mousse was just short of a year old. We had rescued him out of Broward County . He had been recovered from a flee and tick infested home with no air conditioning, food or water with many others to fend for themselves. He spent 3 months at the shelter in a kennel with little exercise. The vet explained that it’s common for dogs that spend a lot of time in a confined area to develop hip dysplasia at an early age. I decided to do the surgery because putting him down made absolutely no sense to me. $2,000 later he was home and recovering. About a month later, I was walking him up and down the street so he would recover muscle mass in his leg. We reached the stop sign and turned back for home when I saw a cartoon-ish like ball of brown fur and dust with a few paws here and there at my feet. A pit-bull ran out of a driveway and hit my poor Mousse like a train. His collar slipped off and they tumbled into a nearby ditch. I had lost all fear and went for that dog with all of my power to try and get him off of Mousse. Otherwise he didn’t stand a chance. I grabbed the dog by its scruff and shoved him away for a second. It gave Mousse just enough time to recover and save me from being bitten. I looked down the 80 lb dog’s throat and his teeth snapped right in front of my nose, slobber flying everywhere. I picked up Mousse’s collar; leash still attached, and bashed it on the dog’s nose and put my arms in the air screaming “Get out of here!” He ran back into his yard with his tail between his legs. I couldn’t believe I had just fought off a huge, angry dog like that.

I looked to my side and there was Mousse-feet spread out, head hanging low, panting with his hair standing straight up. He had done his job! He protected me and I protected him. I quickly checked him for wounds and to my surprise, he was fine! No bite marks any nicks or scratches…nothing. He will always be my hero and I will give him the same unconditional love he gives me everyday. He has a long, healthy, happy future ahead of him. He will wear that shiny golden tag with his head held high, chase horses, chew on bones, and sink his gigantic paws into the warm beaches of South Florida  for the rest of his days.