Willie's Story (Part Three)

We started looking for dogs. 

We found Willie on a breed-specific rescue site. In the accompanying photo, she was sitting on her haunches in someone's back yard, smiling up at the camera, happy to be alive and outside on a sunny day. Anyone that loves dogs knows that a dog can smile, and this one was smiling like all get-out. 

Boyfriend fell in love at first sight. I think once he took a look at that happy-go-lucky face he was a goner. I still wasn't so sure. I had some bigger dogs growing up, but I'd never had one like a Mal - breed-specific for working and sometimes used for personal protection! I was afraid she would be aggressive, that she would bite, even if she hadn't been trained to do so. After all, when you think about the qualities you expect out of a dog like that, isn't aggressive one of them?

 Still, we set an appointment to meet her.

We made the three-hour drive to her house in a state of constrained happiness. I think I sang along with the radio and made silly conversation. It wasn't the kind of activity you imagine doing before something rockets into your life and changes it forever. 

I arrived not knowing what to expect and feeling a little shy. What do you say to someone whose dog you want to take away? Because I was nervous, my charismatic Ex, known as Boyfriend, did most of the talking. 

Her story emerged throughout the afternoon. The man she was living with had been her handler in Iraq. Willie wasn't just any Mal. Bred in Germany, she had been an explosives detection dog for the infamous private counterterrorism company Blackwater. She was shipped to Iraq when she was two, where she lived until she was about seven or so. Severe allergies to the available food had forced her early retirement at eight. 

While some dogs are killed or wounded, her only injuries were the tips of her ears: they had been clipped due to her food intolerance. Allergies in dogs produce hot spots, which are itchy, sore, red and sometimes, bald patches of skin. The hot spots on her ears distracted Willie from her work, so snip! snip! Off they went. 

She wasn't what I expected, I'll tell you that much. 

She was so excited to see us — two TOTAL strangers — that she was wiggling with excitement. She barked. Willie's bark is loud and frightening, but since her ears were up and her tail was wagging, I wasn't afraid. When she pushed her nose into my hand, I petted her tentatively. 

That was when I fell in love.

After meeting her, we sat and talked with her handler for a few hours. He was returning overseas and, retired, Willie couldn't go with him. Neither could she stay with his family. His wife had just had a baby, and Mals aren't the best dogs to have around small children. Willie is particularly grabby and will take things from your hand without invitation. It scared the baby, they told us. 

After living with Willie all this time, I can see why — I have a few small scars on my knuckles from playing with her. She doesn't mean to nip, but how dextrous can you be when you have such a big mouth and so many teeth? It just doesn't handle as well as, say, a hand with a thumb.  

Despite the fact that her handler couldn't keep her, it was clear he loved Willie. Several prospective adopters had been turned away because of their desire to breed her or inability to care for her properly. He would continue to turn them away until he found someone right for the dog, he said. 

To this day, I thank my lucky stars he picked us, because she is the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm not sure why he did. I don't have the most money, and my apartment is small and without a backyard. But despite all these not-ideal things, something just clicked, and Willie made the trek home with us that very night.  

Out of all of my adventures, she is the best one.