Meet Pearl aka Queen P

After a five-year hiatus, the Farnival is finally fostering again, specifically we’re fostering Pearl aka Queen P. We were thinking about volunteering during quarantine but our work schedule was so fluid we couldn’t make any commitments. Until now. 

I met Queen P a month ago when I visited Amber Reynolds at her Halfway Home for Rescued Animals in Greenfield, TN. Pearl had been dumped on a remote country road surrounded by nothing but thick woods and cotton fields. I’m not sure how long she was fending for herself but it must have been a long time; she was severely emaciated and had the worst case of demodex mange I’ve seen since I visited Cuba. Her mange was so bad that it affected her growth, specifically the ligaments in her wrists, which bend like she’s double-jointed or severely flat-pawed.

When I first saw Queen P, she’d been living at the Halfway Home for less than 24 hours but was already wagging her tail every time anyone showed her affection. Her spirit instantly touched me. Even after all life had dealt her, Queen P greeted people with a tail that waved like a flag bearing the “Life is Good” motto. I don’t know if I’d be that willing to forgive if I’d been as beat-down as Pearl. Like I’m always saying: dogs can teach us a lot. And I started learning from this little gremlin the day I met her. 

So this week, after the 2020 NHRA Drag Racing Season wrapped up, Mason and I drove 2.5 hours to Greenfield, to that rural farming town somewhere between Memphis and Nashville. We picked up Pearl and drove back to the Farnival where Queen P is in for some serious rehabilitation. And she’s going to need it. 

She’s a mess. Seven months old, 12 pounds, a mangy bag of bones who can’t walk on a leash and doesn’t think twice about pooping on the deck. Or in her crate. At two in the morning. And then waking up the whole house screaming about it. Plus, her manners are atrocious. She’ll take a drink of your Arnold Palmer before you even mix it. 

But watch just watch what a little love and a lot of training can do. In my first memoir Catching Dawn, I talk about watching homeless dogs blossom. What I mean is watching them become individuals. I write about how rewarding it is to see their personalities bloom. In the coming weeks, I’m going to blog about Pearl’s physical growth because she will gain weight and strength. And her fur will grow thicker. But, I’ll also write about her emotional blossoming as well because that’s the best part.