Daisy Mae

Mother’s Day is this weekend and Mom has been on my mind a lot lately. Although Mom passed away twenty-five years ago, not a day goes by that I don’t think of and often talk to her. Many people whose mothers have passed share this same sentiment. Mom was a great lady; the mother of sixteen children: eight boys and eight girls. I’ve written many stories about Mom, and I’m sure I’ll write many more. But this Mother’s Day, I pay tribute to another mom, Daisy Mae Formby.
I suppose she’s around 40 years old now. Daisy Mae is the mother of seven: one son died shortly after birth, and she nearly lost a daughter after abandoning her at just hours old. Daisy’s offspring were all adopted, or in foster care at just 8 weeks old, or less. In her younger days, Daisy was a bit of a wild child, so to speak. She spent a lot of time roaming away from her home – which was a good home, but Daisy opted to stray anyway, spending most of her time at a neighbor’s home. Before you make any judgements about Daisy, I should tell you Daisy Mae is a four-and-a-half-year-old, short-hair border collie – about 40 in human years. Her story:
Timmy Sr., and Timmy Jr., raise cows in Pearl River County, Mississippi. One day while doing chores, tending the livestock, Timmy found a little puppy in the field with the cows. The pup appeared to have been abandoned, so they took her in and gave her a home, naming her Dolly.
Being a short-haired border collie, Dolly should have been thrilled with her new home; a farm with lots of cows and calves to herd. But instead, Dolly became a roamer, spending most of her time down the road at Dave, and Belinda Formby’s house – frequently spending the night. Dave and Belinda wanted to keep the dog, since it was at their house all the time anyway; Timmy and Timmy agreed.
One day, Dave called the dog Daisy. Timmy asked, “Did you change her name?” Apparently, Dave thought the two Timmy’s were calling the dog Daisy, but her name was Dolly. I’m sure they all had a good laugh about that. Anyway, the dog now belongs to Dave and Belinda, and her name is Daisy Mae.
Not long after adopting Daisy, she was seen crawling under the she-shed in the backyard several times. Belinda was curious what was under the structure that had Daisy Mae’s attention? Could it be an opossum, a squirrel, or a raccoon? Pray tell, it wasn’t a skunk! Belinda investigated.
It turned out, Daisy Mae had seven newborn puppies under the she-shed! Apparently, before her adoption, Daisy Mae wasn’t the only one spending nights at the Formby homestead. Daisy Mae was being courted by Boots, a sire who lived down the road with CW Steward.
Boots was a handsome blue heeler; a bachelor and a patriot! He looked simply dashing when wearing his Old Glory Blue kerchief with bright white stars and trimmed in red. How could Daisy Mae resist his charm? Nature is an amazing thing, how it came to be these two would meet. Unfortunately, nature can also seem very cruel.
A few hours after birth, Daisy removed one of the pups from the litter, leaving him in the driveway. Belinda was advised to take the newborn to the Pearl River County SPCA Shelter.
The shelter has volunteers who would tend to, and care for the pup. A lady named Amber took the male puppy, trying to help him. Sadly, the pup died within a few hours. How is it that Daisy Mae, the mother, knew? The following day, Daisy rejected a second puppy the same way. Again, Belinda took the abandoned puppy to Amber, this time with a much happier ending.
Amber bottle fed and cared for the puppy until it was well and strong. She and several others thought the puppy looked like a little panda, so Amber affectionately named the pup Poe, after the Kung Fu Panda. Amber provided Poe with a foster home for a few months, but with two children, three other dogs, and two cats, it would be necessary to find a forever home for Poe.
Eventually, Poe was relocated to another shelter, where she was adopted. Meanwhile, back at the Formby ranch, Dave and Belinda had a lot of puppies that needed to find homes.
Most of the sibling pups remained in the deep south, not too far from Picayune, Mississippi. Tipsy lives in Carriere, MS, with Belinda’s niece Jenny. Josie is in Hot Coffee, MS., with Belinda’s sister, Kathy.
Two of the puppies now live in Louisiana. Bosco, (the only surviving male) was adopted by Belinda’s son, Hayden, in Prairieville. Mia Blue now resides in Chalmette, LA, with Jodi.
The last pup named Diva, moved about as far north possible from Mississippi; Minnesota – quite a difference in climate for Diva, but she adjusted very well. Today, Melissa and I call this special little girl Nova Mae.
When we adopted a dog online, from an animal shelter that was 1,400 miles away, I never dreamed we would ever know Nova Mae’s mother, let alone the sire, or the whereabouts of all her siblings, except one. That is not luck or a coincidence – that is a true blessing, helped to fruition by Tasha, at the PRC-SPCA shelter.
Melissa chose the name Nova Mae, before we drove to Mississippi. We had no idea Nova’s mother also had the middle name Mae.  When we picked up Nova from the Pearl River County SPCA, we wanted to bathe her. I called Belinda to ask where we could find a pet wash. “Bring her to my house,” she said. “You can bathe her in the laundry room sink.” After her bath Nova Mae and Daisy Mae had plenty of time to romp around the yard together. Even though they had only been separated for a couple of weeks, it was a nice reunion between mother and daughter.
Nova Mae clearly remembered her mother and attempted to nurse a couple of times. But Daisy Mae quickly shooed her away, and re-engaged in play with Nova, chasing balls and sticks. I talked to Belinda today and asked if any of the other pups returned to visit Daisy Mae.
Belinda told me “Bosco visits pretty regularly,” she said. “Hayden is coming this weekend for Mother’s Day. Hayden will be bringing Bosco, who gets to spend the day with his mum, too.”  I wish we could be there with Nova, too.
I called Tasha from the shelter. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could locate Poe, and get all the pups together with Daisy Mae and Boots for a family reunion?” That would be quite the Mother’s Day for Daisy Mae. Tasha said it would be very difficult to locate Poe, because she was transported to another shelter, but she would look into it. It’s just a crazy thought of mine.
On behalf of Poe, Bosco, Tipsy, Mia Blue, Josie, Nova Mae, and their sweet brother in heaven, Happy Mother’s Day, Daisy Mae. You’re a great mom! Thank you, all the wonderful puppies!