You don’t have to be perfect to be the perfect dog

This is being re-printed without permission, but I don’t think she will mind.  It was written by one of the best rescue people I’ve ever met.  The story concerns a senior dog that came along with two shepherds that VGSR took in.  One of them was my Jerry, but this is about Kobe, a senior mutt who was abandoned along with the shepherds.  I’m ashamed to say that I declined to take in as a foster myself because I wasn’t at all sure we’d be able to place him.  Once again, I am very happy to be so very wrong. 

This pic makes him look pretty small, but Kobe is actually a pretty big dog.  His fur was so matted when he arrived that he had to be shaved down close. 

Here’s the email (with some editing to remove names):

Several months ago we took in three dogs from SC who had been abandoned by their owner  - Princess (who was pregnant and gave birth to 12 puppies two days after she arrived, her mate and presumed proud papa of the puppies, Jerry, who now lives with a wonderful family in MD, and last but not least, Kobe, the old collie mix who we declared to be an honorary GSD. 

The manager at a retirement home in Reston adopted Kobe and he is the resident dog at the facility.  

I have terrific news - today I was driving through Reston and decided to stop to visit with Kobe. As I walked in through the front doors, I could see a big circle of chairs and wheelchairs to the left of the big open room, and guess who was smack dab in the middle of the circle, working the crowd - our sweet Kobe. He would go from resident to resident, putting his head in their lap and letting them love on him. He was the hit of the party, the absolute center of attention. When someone new rolled up to join in on the fun, he would gently greet them.

Everyone who lives there, and works there, is thrilled with him. He has been declared to be THE PERFECT dog. The manager who arranged things gives him the option of either spending the night at the facility, or going home with her, and he usually chooses to stay at the senior center. She said that when she gets there the next morning, she almost always finds him down with the folks in the Alzheimer's ward down on the first floor.

I left that place with tears running down my face - what a wonderful happy ending for a terrific dog. He is SO happy.  I just wanted to share this little story since it touched my heart so much, I thought that you all would enjoy hearing about it too.