Page 46 - Demo

Now, the dad in this family wasn’t a dog person. He didn’t dislike dogs; they just weren’t his thing. He set down some early rules, mainly that the dog was not allowed on the furniture. Shiloh was a happy fellow in his new home, and he soon learned to wave bye-bye and go down the slide with his two-and-a-half-year-old boy. They were thrilled with his ability and hunger to learn, and even Dad was getting into him more each day. He took trips every two weeks to the groomer for hot oil treatments to help his coat recover. (They had trimmed his coat back to the length of the new coat coming in on his hindquarters so he didn’t look so “scraggly”.) Mom sewed fancy covers for his collar and made a number of special bandanas for him to wear when they “went out.”
Then one day Mom went out and left Dad to babysit. When she came home, she knew Shiloh was truly a full member of the family. Dad, Shiloh, and her son were cuddled on the bed taking their afternoon nap.
Heidi
I was contacted by a shelter who rarely sought help from rescue. They were concerned that a dog they had recently gotten in had suffered some sort of abuse. They asked if I would evaluate her. When I arrived at the shel- ter they first showed me a letter that had been left in the night drop kennel with the dog. It was a heart-wrench- ing letter begging the shelter personnel to “please take care of my dog and find her a loving home.” The letter went on to say that Heidi was wonderful with women and children but was not always friendly with men. As we read the letter, it was evident she was put there by a woman getting out of a desperate, abusive situation. She’d taken her daughter and Heidi and left in the middle of the night.
Heidi was the epitome of elegance, kindness and love. Her manners were impeccable even as her spirit obvi- ously struggled with the loss of her people. We found she met no man without reserve and understood even more the unspoken abuse that Heidi had obviously met at the hands of the abuser.
We knew we wanted a home with children, particu- larly a little girl for Heidi to love. They soon came, and she became a beloved family member. That was several years ago. Recently I received another update; this time it brought tears of loss. It read:
Hi,
I am Marsh Henderson, and I adopted a dog that was
previously in your care. Her name was Heidi, a smiley, spunky, warm-hearted and cuddly dog. I was seven years old when she came to live with us. Heidi and I bonded immediately and became the best of friends. From day one she and I were said to be inseparable. We were so very close. I lost my best friend, my beautiful girl, my Heidi girl in September. She was so loyal and fought until her last breath.
I am writing you for two reasons. One being that I want to thank you for making the connection that I made with my dog possible and allowing me to wel-
44 The Australian Shepherd Journal May/June 2005
come such a beautiful soul into my life. I love her so much and without you I would’ve never been able to know Heidi... and we would love to take a young Aussie into our care. It would be wonderful to hear from you. Thank you once again!
Sincerely,
Marsha Henderson (17 now)
King Caspar
Christmas was only days away; snow lay heavily on the frozen branches of the trees, and the air was crisp and cold. It was a time when the weather could be dan- gerous for dogs left outside without adequate housing; it was also when I received a call from a breeder. She had pups left from a litter earlier in the year; they just hadn’t sold, and they were living outside. She was going to be taking a trip for the holidays. Would I take them?
There is much controversy about rescue taking pups from irresponsible breeders. Our years of experience have taught us that we have little effect on the irrespon- sible breeder by taking or refusing to take their dogs in need. Rather it can be a devastating effect on the dogs if we do not step up and help them. So we stepped up and helped the dogs.
King Caspar was a little shy boy who decided that house life was quite fine. Having lived in a kennel with a dog house, he crate trained very easily. He also figured out that if he hid in the crate, he didn’t have to go outside—and he liked being in the house! It was only a couple of days until he was playing with all the dogs, going mach twenty in and out the doggie door. He was happy to go out and play, knowing he could come in and check on me anytime he wanted.
A couple of weeks had passed when we got a call from a lady interested in meeting him. She had another little dog who was mourning the loss of his companion, as were they. Did I think Caspar would play? So we bun- dled up and off we went to meet and greet. It was more like meet and howl with laughter as the two dogs raced about the house, Caspar in the lead going out of the room and chasing behind coming back. Over the sofa, around the chairs, stopping only long enough to catch their breath and check in with the family, then back to their antics they’d go.
Word lately has been that they’ve not slowed up yet.