Changes of Fortune

It's not all doggie kisses, wagging tails, and happily-ever-after stories. There's plenty of heart breaking experiences in the rescue world and sometimes you feel like throwing in the towel. But the good stuff keeps us going. Seeing a dog living in a bad situation transition to a new home, a new life with the love and care that they need is what makes this worthwhile. These two dogs came from people who loved them, but in both situations, the prior owners just couldn't provide what the dog needed.

Austin, SuperDog

I took a phone call one day from a young woman in Charlottesville about her dog, Bastian. She had rescued the dog herself from a bad situation a year ago. He had persistent allerigies that were driving everyone in the household insane and the dog was miserable. She had "tried everything" and didn't know what to do.

When I met the dog, he was covered up with socks and a t-shirt to prevent him from biting, scratching, and chewing himself. When I reviewed the vet records it was clear that really nothing had been tried that might have been expected to help the dog. It was also clear that the prior owners lacked the wherewithal to do so.

His skin was red and inflamed, and he reeked of cigarette smoke because both the occupants of the apartment he lived in were smokers. He was obviously an allergic mess so I took him home.

Just being away from the smoke seemed to improve his condition immediately. I got him to the vet and got him started on a course of treatment. He moved to another foster home and he was adopted to a great couple who call him Austin. He has allergies to many things, but the adopters took him on, allergies and all, and are able to give him the care and treatment he needs to make them manageable. His quality of life improved immensely and he is now able to enjoy life as a dog should.

Austin's story came to mind because of the picture of him dressed up for Halloween recently posted by his adopter. The full picture showed her sitting next to him wearing the same shirt and it's a great picture. I cropped her out only because I didn't have her permission to use her picture and I don't assume anyone will want to appear in my blog.

My second change of fortune story is much more recent.

When I picked her up.

I have written recently about Dolly, a rottweiler living on a chain that I took in via the HOWS Project. Dolly was a well loved dog too, and had had a better quality of life at one time, but the owner just wasn't able to provide for her at this point.

Dolly is a sweet girl and her temperament clearly showed she had been well loved. I contacted a former rottweiler adopter, (actually I think she has adopted at least two rotties from me), and she was interested in meeting Dolly. Dolly fit right in, just needing a few days to learn about the three cats that share their home. She and the other dog, Dancer, hit it off and Dolly (now Layla) is providing Dancer with a much needed companion and playmate.

Layla is not a young girl (about 10 years old or so) and she's got some hip displasia and arthritis. But she's doing fine in her new home and she's very happy to be there.

Layla running free in her large, fenced yard.
That's her companion, Dancer, in the background.