I adopted a 'spacey' shelter dog. Year later came the big surprise.
chickpea @chickpeababygirl 5/12 9:00 pm
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00:00 Chickpea was kept outside, chained up, possible backyard breeding.
00:04 They also cropped her ears and her tail.
00:06 I guess someone thwarted it.
00:09 And she was picked up.
00:10 She arrived in pretty rough shape, malnourished and very filthy and had a few infections.
00:15 I saw her picture and I just thought I would go take a look.
00:18 And I brought her into the visitation room and she curled up in my lap and just fell
00:22 asleep.
00:23 I just fell in love with her.
00:24 The adoption agency was like, "She's a little spacey, kind of wonky."
00:32 And they thought it was due to overbreeding.
00:33 I spent the first four whole days just with her.
00:36 I didn't go to work.
00:37 I didn't do anything.
00:38 I had to carry her down the stairs because she couldn't quite get down the stairs herself.
00:42 They said she struggled with stairs because she had been outside and had never encountered
00:47 stairs.
00:48 But we just bonded and spent those days together and got to know each other.
00:50 Hi, wonky.
00:51 And I think she knew right away that she was safe.
00:56 Chickpea is so silly and goofy and loving.
00:59 I swear that she knows what makes me laugh and she does it on purpose.
01:08 First entire year I had her, I didn't hear her bark and I thought that maybe she couldn't
01:12 bark.
01:13 It turns out that she can.
01:15 It sounds like a baby dinosaur screeching.
01:20 It's very bizarre and kind of alarming.
01:24 I don't think her tongue fits in her mouth.
01:26 I think it's just a poor fit.
01:27 It's always sticking out and sometimes I try to kind of shove it back in gently so that
01:31 it doesn't get too dry.
01:35 She loves to hold my hand and when I try to pull my hand away, she kind of grabs onto
01:40 it to say, "No, don't leave."
01:44 She loves to curl up and be held like a baby.
01:47 I think it's a sign of trust because she feels fine having her belly up and just having me
01:52 rock her.
01:53 Chickpea, come.
01:54 I teach dance, which is great, and she just will follow me around while I'm dancing and
01:58 just wants to be right by my side even while I'm trying to dance.
02:04 All my students who I teach, I mean, if I don't bring her to work, they are really mad
02:08 at me and they ask, "Where is Chickpea?
02:10 Why isn't Chickpea here?"
02:11 I've had dogs all my life and I've never experienced this kind of bond.
02:15 I think we met each other at the perfect time when we both really needed something from
02:19 each other and I feel really lost when I'm not with her, even if it's for like a night
02:24 or two.
02:25 I really miss her and I find myself looking at pictures of her.
02:29 She's just the best thing in my life.
02:34 The adoption agency told me that she was spacey and that she was kind of out of it.
02:41 It turns out she's blind.
02:44 I didn't know that until probably almost a year into having her.
02:47 The vet was like, "Oh, she is fully blind."
02:50 [Music]
03:00 you