My Story - by Magnolia

I was picked up as a stray on Cloverleaf Circle in Rock Hill, SC on May 4th, 2009, and taken to doggie jail. The jail was really full so I couldn't even go to the adoption floor. On May 9th I was listed as a "rescue only pull" and my picture was sent out to rescue groups in case someone could help me. There were 8 other puppies in the same dire circumstances as me. We only had until May 15th at 5:00PM to be pulled or we would be sent early to the Rainbow Bridge, and never have the chance to fulfill our promise as loving family members.

Fortunately at 3:00PM that day, my foster mom came and got me, and another puppy. She took us home, but I barked and cried all the way home cause I was so scared. I didn't feel well, and I really smelled bad which I didn't like. I had fleas driving me crazy, and a few ticks in my ears. They only gave me one shot at the jail because they weren't going to keep me for long.

When we got home, foster mom gave us baths. That felt good and I sat down in the warm water. She rubbed us dry and talked softly to us and told us she promised to find wonderful homes for us where we'd be safe for the rest of our lives, and that we had to promise to be good girls and love our new families forever because they are the true rescuers.

The first night I was really confused. There was a soft music, but I barked all night long. I was scared, and had never been in a crate before. It seemed big and scarey. The next night I had a smaller crate, and foster mom and put one of her t-shirts in there with me so I knew I wasn't really alone. I also had toys and she hid some little treats in my blanket so I would have to hunt for them. I did better, only cried a few times, and every time mom came out and talked softly to me and I was able to calm down and go back to sleep.

Over the next few days I got good food, medicine, and lots of belly rubs and got to play a lot with my foster sister. Her name was Meadow, and she's a border collie mix like me but we didn't look alike at all. She was younger than me too, which gave me a real advantage when we played! She was adopted about 10 days later and I missed her.

I have two foster aunts, too, named Casey and Noir. They play sometimes, but other times they just wanted to relax and chew their bones.

Every afternoon we go outside on the deck and I get to swim in the puppy pool. I love it! I snorkel for toys on the bottom of the pool, and sometimes just lay down in the water and cool off.
Last week another puppy came to live with us named Mulligan. He had been abused as a puppy and foster mom decided he deserved a "do-over". He was adopted and went to his new home yesterday. He was fun to play with too, and this morning I miss him. But foster mom says today is my "big day" and this afternoon I start living with my "furever" family.

My new sisters have already sent me emails and pictures and I can't wait to meet them. I know we're going to be best friends. It will be so nice to have someone to play with all the time!

I will miss foster mom and dad and aunts Casey and Noir, but I told them I will never forget them for helping me when I needed them most. I will try be a good girl, and fulfill my promise as a loving pet and best friend to my new family. Life is going to be a wonderful adventure and I am so happy to be here and part of it all.

Well..... DAMN!

I met Amy and Brian, a couple that applied for Magnolia, at Petsmart this afternoon and I loved them... Both very nice, genuine people and they fell in love with Magnolia. She said they had made a list of 10 dogs to meet, and said to each other "what if we fall in love with the first one? Oh, we won't." Yeah, right!

I told them she was a very special little dog, and is the one I would keep if I could, and that they would have to almost be God for me to let them adopt her.

Well, then they met Magnolia. And that was all she wrote. The home visit is set for Sunday at 2PM, but I've seen their neighborhood before, and they live on a golf course and at dusk run with their lab/border collie mix down the 5th fairway. I can already picture Magnolia running along with them and loving every minute of it. They also have a keeshond. They go boating and all their dogs have life jackets. The dogs go with them everywhere and sleep with them in the king-sized bed.

My stories of her laying down in her little pool pretty much did them in, then two little girls walked into the store. Magnolia sat down, bowed her head and looked up, smiled at them and lifted her paw, inviting them to pet her. Done. Case closed. Amy and Brian were so smitten they were almost weeping.

Later on I sent the pics of her in her pool, etc, and they loved them, said they're sending them to all their friends. They showed me pics of their dogs on their iphones. So digital pics will be no problem at all, and they said I can visit anytime.

So my days with my wonderful little darling are winding down and I'm already sobbing at the thought of parting with her. But visions of other little faces swim in my head, and I know if I can just get past my selfish desire to keep her and hug her forever, I can help so many more little ones get the start in life that they deserve.

The fact that I liked them instantly from the moment we shook hands helps me a great deal and will see me through this parting. Somehow I must get through this...

I don't know why you say goodby, I say hello

I guess it shows my age to have that old Beatles song running through my mind!

Three weeks ago we said goodbye to little Meadow. We didn't have her for very long before the little cutie was adopted by a great couple in Gastonia. I've received updates and pictures from them and she is doing very well. She landed in a very soft place, and I've had the good fortune to meet two more very nice inhabitants of the planet.

That left little Magnolia here as the only puppy. She has flourished in the past few weeks. SHe's doing well with house training. She's crate trained and behaves in her crate, never messes in it. She knows "sit" and "stay". Her favorite activity is getting toys from the bottom of the puppy pool, or just laying down in it to cool off.

She's sweet, affectionate, and is just as happy to sit on your lap and cuddle as she is to play with our older dogs, her foster "Aunts" Casey and Noir.

Magnolia is one of those special dogs... when you look into her eyes, you can see there is "someone home". She is bright and intelligent.

Her new family will have to provide not only love, but also challenge for her.

It will be difficult to give her up, but I want her to have the best possible life, a safe backyard to play in and other doggie friends to keep her company.

Yesterday a new little puppy came to stay with us. He is 10 weeks old and was removed from an abusive situation. I don't even want to think about what kind of monster could abuse a puppy. Anyway, we felt he deserved a "do-over" so we named him Mulligan.

We're not sure what he is, but so far our guesses are Bernese Mountain Dog, Saint Bernard, rottweiler, and spaniel. :-)

Mulligan is a beauty - black with a tan face and legs, some white on the chest and some of his toes. He's cute and sweet and is loving having a little friend to play with. The first time on the deck he marched right over to the puppy pool and walked right in to get the tennis ball that was floating in it.

He's starting to understand that being in the crate means be quiet and sleep. He hasn't messed in his crate, and only cries for a few minutes when he goes in it. He sleeps all night too. He has not yet messed in the house. He already knows to sit to have his leash taken off when coming in from outside.

All this and puppy breath too!!

It was just tooooo quiet here!

You had to know it wouldn't last. It's been a whole week since Jim and I delivered little Hershey to his furever home. A looooong, quiet week! Two days ago I got the usual weekly emails about the dogs that were scheduled for euthanasia at York Shelter, and there were loads of puppies. :-(

I picked two that would have been killed today. I watched for two days to see if anyone would rescue them. I checked at noon today and they were still there.

So I went and pulled them. I know I left others behind and they are probably gone to the Rainbow Bridge by now. That rips my heart apart, but I can only do what I can do. It was like pulling teeth to get Jim to agree to taking two.

I got them home, gave them each a bath and a capstar (to kill the fleas on them), pulled the ticks out of their ears, fed them, played with them, and now they are snoozing in the dining room in their crates.

They are adorable! One looks like an Australian shepherd mix and she's very mouthy. The other looks like a border collie mix and is quiet and calm. Both are females.

Here they are:

Magnolia...



Meadow...

I have done something...

I looked at all the caged animals in the shelter...the cast-offs of human society. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness, and betrayal. I was angry. "God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?" God was silent for a moment, and then spoke softly, "I have done something," was the reply. "I created you."

~Jim Willis

WARNING: Dangerous Pet Products

Please review this video before even considering buying over the counter flea and tick treatments for your dogs and cats. Always buy these products from your veterinarian!

A Hershey kiss, then goodbye

This was a tough week. Last Sunday I did two home visits. Monday evening my foster puppy Gilligan went to his new furever home, leaving his little friend Hershey behind. On Wednesday Hershey was at the hospital being neutered, and on Friday afternoon he went to his furever home. That's a lot of goodbyes.

Hershey came to stay with us on March 23. He is one of a litter of 7 rottweiler mix puppies. His mom is a pure bred rottie, as calm and sweet as can be. Hershey takes after his mom. We don't know who dad was... apparently some opportunist.

His coloring isn't typical rottie... he must get some of that from his dad. He is a drop-dead gorgeous mix of brown, black, tan, and white.

For the first several weeks of life, he lived in an exercise pen with his 6 brothers and sisters. He didn't get outside much and hadn't had the opportunity to develope his muscles and coordination. When we got him, he couldn't sit and scratch himself without falling over! He didn't know what stairs were, and he tripped over his big paws. He was a big clumsy 10 week old puppy. And I do mean big!

He loved to play with our other foster puppy, Gilligan the hound mix, who would chase Hershey around the yard and play tug of war or wrestle with him. Gradually Hershey developed his coordination.

He got a nutritious diet, including Nussentials MORE and PET RESTORE added to his food. His coat became silky and shiny, and he started to fill out.

I took him to several adoption events, and people loved him, thought he was beautiful, but were scared off by the thought of this cute puppy turning into an 80-100 pound dog. Go figure! Finally last Saturday at a PetSmart adoption event, just when we were starting to get ready to go home, a nice woman stopped to talk and fell in love with him.

Hershey and I visited their home Sunday afternoon and on Monday we got the call: the family adores him and wants him to be a permanent part of their lives starting Friday afternoon.

I was so excited for him - 3 kids, a great mom and dad, a new grandma with a doggie named Mugsy, a super big fenced-in yard to play in, everything I had hoped for him to have. But I was sad for me to be giving him up so quickly. I spent as much time with him as I could over the next few days. He loved to cuddle and nap with me. We played catch and chase and worked on "sit", "shake" and "take it nice".

The week flew by, and before I knew it we were in the car, heading to his new home. He was so excited to get there and see everyone! He ran in, wiggling and wagging, and had to greet everyone with kisses. Such a sweet little boy.

His new mom and I completed the adoption paperwork, and then while he was distracted with his new dad, Jim and I slipped away.

We've heard from his mom that he's doing really well and they are having lots of fun with him. I'm looking forward to hearing how he's doing in months to come. They already have reservations for him to stay at Camp Bark in a few weeks, so I'll get to see him then.

I haven't slept well for a few nights. I keep waking up thinking I hear the puppies, but then realize they're both gone. I feel at loose ends, it seems so strange not to have the two crates in the dining room. They're cloroxed and in in the garage waiting for the next little one, as is the puppy playpen.

Noir and Casey are getting extra doses of attention, but even they seem to wonder where the little guys have gone. Casey will pick up a toy and wander around the house looking for someone to play with.

Hershey was a heart thief. All the things I look for in a dog: beautiful, killer eyes, sweet, calm, funny, and destined to be large.

I long for just one more Hershey kiss.

Gilligan leaves the island

He wasn't voted off the island, survivor style - he could have had immunity forever. But last Saturday we were at a PetSmart adoption event and a young couple fell in love with him. They passed every step of the adoption process; application, vet check, personal reference and my scrutiny at a home visit. We liked them and they obviously loved little Gilligan. So tonight at 6PM I took that awful drive... and left my little buddy with two people I hope will love him like I do, care for him, and give him the very best life they possibly can.

Gilligan had a rough start in life. He was born around November 20th, '08, and on December 29th his owner surrendered him to a Shelter. Happy New Yeah, huh? Usually owner surrenders are euthanized immediately, but they gave these puppies a chance. By early February no one had adopted them and Gilligan had developed a "cherry eye", so he was considered unadoptable and made available as a rescue only pull. That means if no rescue stepped up for him by the "euth date", he would be killed.

The day I saw the email with his listing, I had a recently vacated puppy crate. Jim and I agreed we should take him in as our foster, and on February 11th, a few hours before his euth date, I pulled him.

He was obviously scared in the shelter. Usually they take the dogs out of the kennels before they hose the concrete down, but if the animal is scared or refuses to come out, they leave them in there while they hose it down. Consequently everything that is on the floor is sprayed on the animal. A027007, as he was known in the shelter, was handed to me a sticky mess, with a thick film of urine coating his body. Why would they do this? Because they can. Though I'd like to think differently, I'm convinced that sometimes the workers torment the animals so they can feel power over something. And besides, he had a cherry eye, and they were going to kill him anyway.

But he was now mine. I took him straight to our wonderful vet, Dr Shaw at Indian Land Animal Hospital, and he got a checkup, puppy shots and dewormed. She said she would fix his cherry eye at a rate a rescue could afford. I took my little castaway home, with the new name, Gilligan, and scrubbed the indignity and filth off him and covered him in a warm towel, and lots of hugs and kisses.

Later that night, when looking at the listings on the shelter's website site, I discovered to my horror that Gilligan had a sister... and I had pulled her brother and left her there all alone. The next day I went back and got her. We named her Ginger.

And then we got to work, preparing them both for adoption. We took photos and listed them on Petfinder.com with cute bios. Ginger was adopted after the first PetSmart adoption event she attended. But week after week Gilligan was passed over, and the most frequently asked question was, "What's wrong with his eye?"

Finally he was old enough to be neutered and have his eye surgery. Unfortunately the first attempt to fix the eye failed. It happens sometimes. The cherry eye had become fibrous and was not going to lie down. So we waited a few weeks and he went back to surgery and this time it worked. A week later he was healing nicely and looking beautiful.

So how did I know this was the right couple to adopt him? They saw his puppy picture with the cherry eye and thought he was cute then, too, and the eye didn't bother them at all. They adore him.

It's been a long time, since Feb 11th, and Gilligan has gone through a lot. He grew from 15 pounds to 31 pounds, developed strong muscles and runs like a deer. He's had two surgeries, several urinary tract infections, lots of adoption events, lots of learning, and through it all he was an adorable little wiggle worm who loved to be held and give kisses as much as he loved to play with his foster aunts, Casey and Noir. Every morning he would whimper at 6:30 or 7am to go out, and when I opened his crate door he would stagger out half asleep and flop on the floor wiggling and wagging his tail, begging for a belly rub.

Tomorrow morning will be quiet. Our other foster puppy, Hershey, is sweet and calm, not at all a wiggler like Gilligan. Tonight I'll sleep in fits and starts, knowing that he is in a strange place, confused, and wondering why his world has been turned upside down. I'll sob, as I am now, and hope he knows that I fulfilled my promise to him, I loved him, cared for him, and found him a wonderful home and today he started a great life.

I hope he knows I will always love him. He took a huge chunk of my heart with him, and I will miss him for a very long time. But my work continues and there are other puppies that need our help. It seems the more chunks of my heart that I give away, the more of them I have to give.

Goodbye, little buddy.

I rescued your dog today (a rescuer's poem)

I rescued your Dog today...
The one you left at the pound,
The one you had for five years,
And then no longer wanted around!

I rescued your Dog today...
Do you know that he's lost weight?
Do you know that he's scared and confused
And has lost all of his faith?

I rescued your Dog today...
He had fleas and a terrible cold,
But don't you worry yourself -
You've unburdened YOUR load.

I rescued your Dog today...
Were you having a baby or moving away?
Did he suddenly get too big?
Or was there some other reason he couldn't stay?

I rescued your Dog today...
He doesn't play or eat very much.
He's very wary and depressed right now
But, with time, will learn again to trust.

I rescued your Dog today...
And right here he will stay.
He's found his forever home
And a warm bed on which to lay.

I rescued your Dog today...
I will give him all that he could need -
With patience, love, and understanding.
Hopefully, he forgets your selfish deed!

I rescued your Dog today!

Not enough time

In rescue we see this story played over and over, thousands of times every day. A new baby arrives, or a new job, a new boyfriend or girlfriend, the cute little puppy is now an adult, and suddenly there's "not enough time" for him. So their owners take them to the shelter to be killed. Owner surrenders can be killed before the owners even get back in their car. Here's one dog's perspective of "not enough time".

Dear Mom and Dad,

This is Blackie writing you. Betcha didn't know I could write, huh? Well, I can. Anyways I wanted to write you a quick email to let you know I'm not mad anymore and I understand. I was really mad when you brought me here to the Shelter. You told them you didn't have enough time for me. I was mad because I didn't think I took that much of your time. I mean I know the baby takes a lot of time, but really all you needed to do was give me food and water every day, make sure I get my heartworm medicine every month, and my shots once a year. I mean it was max 5 minutes a day. And when you had a few minutes to pet me and toss a ball for me to play with - well that was great. (You know you spent more time on me the day you took me to the Shelter than any other day I can remember.)

I was really really mad that day. See, I really didn't have a lot of stuff to do and no deadlines to meet so I really had no idea what "not enough time" means.

But I understand now. I have the same problem. See, I have just 24 hours to find a rescue. And I'm really scared that's not "enough time". After all, they don't know how good a dog I am. They don't know that I am a loyal companion - that I listen really great and that I love to walk in the dog park. And that more than anything else I want to have someone who will play with me, and tell me what a good dog I am. Did you know that I really love to have my ears brushed? And that I'm a spaniel? That's ok - I didn't either. I learned that here from a girl named Taryn. She's cool. She's even trying to get me some more time.

Well, I'd better hurry. I don't have "enough time" to really write this well. I have to really pray hard that God finds me a rescue. Because I don't have "a lot of time" left right now. My new friend in the dog run next to me ran out of time yesterday. I hope I'm not next.

Anyways I'm not mad anymore. I know what it means not to have enough time.

High Paws!
Blackie