The Orange Grove Was Crying

The continuation of the girl in the orange grove series. A background on how we ended up in Italy from the USA.

That yellow house was now permanently in the orange grove. It was a reminder every day to the girl in the orange grove that she would never leave. How could she? Her mom and dad were neighbors, her aunt was a neighbor and her grandparents were neighbors. They now had two dogs. Skanky who spent half his time with them and half his time with Granny and Pappy. And now Mr. Scotty.

One day, Mr. Scotty was under her aunt’s trailer. He was looking for food and scared. They tried to get him to come out, but he was hard headed. He also had a very large head. And they could tell he was older.

The next day, they saw him in a Pizza Hut dumpster. And then the day after that, he came walking up thru the orange grove, right to the their house. He had a collar fused to his neck and it was quickly ascertained with him waiting by the road that a neighbor had left him when they moved.

Of course, Mr. Scotty was going to stay. Skanky loved him and Mr. Scotty was quite the gentleman. Short legs and a big head with a big spotted tongue and the loyalty of a true best friend. He followed them around everywhere. But every day at 6 pm, like clockwork, he waited by the road to walk with a neighbor who also had dogs.  He didn’t walk with a leash and he followed a little behind them.  The neighbor laughed and welcomed the extra dog each night.

It’s me now. The girl in the orange grove. To speak of myself removed is an easy thing for me to do. Because I don’t like the me I was then. But now that I’m in Italy, and far removed, I find  I can heal myself now. Admit the flaws I had then, because I have to. I’m cleaning up the mess now of that girl in the orange grove. But i also forgive her and I realize she did her best, even for Mr. Scotty. It never occurred to her even to walk him herself. It never occurred to her that dogs did anything but be free. Why would they need to be walked?

Years went by now with her dogs and the yellow house and then, one day, Mr. Scotty went to sleep on his bed with Skanky on a particularly hot day. She had to work at the bank that day, and Granny and Pappy had no air conditioning so she told them she would be back in a couple hours. Mr. Scotty hadn’t been eating. Not even his favorite…spaghetti. And when she walked thru the door at lunch, he was gone. Not moving.

She dropped the hamburgers she had bought them on the way home and ran thru that orange grove crying and screaming.  Nate was out of town on a business trip as usual. And now, she had to call her dad home from work and Pappy to help her bury him.  Skanky passed away 3 weeks later too. Then, Pappy fell. He was in a home, not in the orange grove. The orange grove was crying and she was too.

-Rachael

To be continued

🚐 Support 2 Traveling Dogs Rescue Oasis! 🐾

We’re so grateful for your continued support, and there are a few easy ways you can help us keep doing what we do best—rescuing and advocating for animals across the country!

🔗 Share Our Website!Every share helps us grow! Spread the word by sharing www.2travelingdogs.com on your Facebook and other social media. We’ve recently started monetizing the blog—earning about $60/month right now, and while it's small, it makes a real differencein keeping our content going!

📺 Watch & Share Our YouTube Channel!We’re working toward monetizing our YouTube channel, and we need more views and subscribers to make it happen. Watch, like, subscribe, and share with your fellow dog lovers:👉 youtube.com/2travelingdogs

📣 Use the Hashtag #2travelingdogsUsing and sharing #2travelingdogs helps us reach more people with our mission. Tag us and join the movement!

💖 Join Us on Patreon – Starting at Just $5/Month!Want to support our work AND get bonus content? Our Patreon has multiple membership levelsstarting at $5 up to $100/month, each offering different rewards.✔️ $5/month gets you exclusive weekly recipes✔️ Higher tiers include behind-the-scenes access, early videos, and more!

🎁 patreon.com/2Travelingdogsrescue

🌙 Explore More with Under The CrowOur second Patreon, Under The Crow, offers unique content and creative projects with different support levels too. Check out all the options here:✨ patreon.com/UnderTheCrow

🎯 Goal: 100 Patreon supporters on each page!It’s easy to sign up, auto-renews monthly, and helps us continue our work rescuing, educating, and inspiring.

Thank you for being part of this journey—we couldn’t do it without you. ❤️🐶🐾