A Tail of Christmas Love and New Life for Molly, Maxine and 23 Others

When we last talked about the Parvo Puppies, Molly and Maxine, they were back at the stable with Tom and Peggy, enjoying the freedom of a large stall and great walks on the Horse trails with Tom and Peggy.
These are the two puppies home from the vets and recovering rapidly.

Christmas is closing in on us as it does every year at this time. This year, I am acutely aware there are a lot of dogs that will not make it to enjoy this Christmas or any other unless some miracles happen and in a hurry.

We were down to about a week before the transport to a new life in the North.  As time drew closer for them to leave I suspected that there would be some additions to the transport knowing that Tereasa liked to rescue as many as possible when setting these trips up.

As the fates would have it, on that quiet afternoon I got a phone call.  Low and behold Tereasa is on the other end from Michigan, breathlessly telling me "we have a situation".  I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I am learning that when she calls and says "we have a situation", What it really means is "I have been on the phone for hours talking dog rescue, funding for the transport and vetting".  All of that now translates to a simple list of "things that need doing in an expedited manor and guess who the local expediter is??

The "new situation" started with a hurried call to Tereasa from one of the Angels of Mercy at the local kill shelter.  They had several small dogs whose time had run out and the weather and shelter are getting dangerously cold. If she cannot get them on transport to LDDR, they will be destroyed.  Tereasa had contacted LDDR and they have put plans into action to take 3 more of our local dogs who are freezing at the shelter.  She then put out feelers for funding for the trip while making arrangements for the local shelter to get the dogs vetted and ready for transport.  The last item on the list is to find local fosters for the 3 little dogs that need to come out now or freeze in the shelter in the next two very cold nights.

At this point, Tereasa called me to explain what "the situation was that WE had."  The 3 dogs were small, had short hair, were freezing and needed to come out ASAP.  The smallest was Tiny Tim a tiny Chihuahua who was scared to death and was not fairing well in the freezing cell that he was in.  There was also an adorable Beagle/Terrier mix Tagged Jingles and her cell mate a tiny puppy of the Chihuahua mix called Prancer.  The first priority was to evaluate little Tiny Tim to see if his fear was going to preclude him from being adoptable.

I decided to take the Hamburger Approach.   We stopped at the local Hardees and purchased a hamburger with nothing on it.  Tiny Tim had a cell mate and I figured that a warm hamburger in a cold cell would lift the spirits of both dogs and hopefully win Tiny's confidence.  Tiny's cell mate was a really cute terrier mix who wanted nothing more than to be held and loved.  Tiny on the other hand was so scared he would only cower in the corner by the freezing doorway to the outside.

I slipped into the cell and sat down on the floor Sleigh, as she was later called, bounced right up on my lap and wanted that hamburger.  I unwrapped it and tore it in small pieces feeding Sleigh while Tiny watched very intently.  Finally he could not stand it anymore and eased up to get his bite and then fear be damned he wanted more of that hamburger.  I scooped him up when the hamburger was gone and once on the leash he was ready to go anywhere that was warm and safe. I held him the 20 miles to his foster moms place and within minutes riding on my lap in front of the heater I could feel him relax and start to take interest in what was going past the window.

Once there he walked around the yard for a few  moments, watched their dog in the back yard and decided that this place and person was okay.  When his foster turned to walk into her house he fell in right behind her and went right in like he lived there.  He made a quick inspection of the home, barked once at the cat who promptly ignored him and settled in with these loving folks for a very happy week prior to transport.


While we were in route I placed a call to Tereasa and informed her of the loving dog that was sharing the cell with Tiny and how it would be a real loss not to take her also.  By time we had Tiny settled at his foster we got a call from Tereasa to tell us they would take Sleigh also.  We went back to the shelter to retrieve jingles and her cell mate Prancer as we had another foster set up for the two of them.  They loved the idea of someone taking them out of there and really did not seem to care as long as they did not have to go back.  I was surprised at how quick these dogs accepted the foster homes with great enthusiasm.  Prancer saw the fosters Daughter on the couch covered with a blanket and went flying across the room, leaped into he air and landed right on her lap with Jingles right behind.

With 3 settled and one more to go, I went to our local "Big Box Home Repair Store to talk with some of the people who work there to see if any of these kind souls would share their homes with little Sleigh who was in need of a loving foster.

The first person I ran into was an acquaintance from my years of working there.  I was amazed when she listened to my tail of doggies in need and she told me she would foster Sleigh.  She wanted me to meet her at five when she got off work and she would take Sleigh home and introduce her to her dog.
Sleigh getting some loving while waiting for her new foster to get off work.

The four dogs had warm and loving homes for the week prior to their trip North for a happy doggy Holiday.

We had to round up all the dogs for the trip to their new fosters at LDDR and meet the Transport at Lebanon, Tennessee.  Tereasa did not waste any time either.  LDDR at her urging, took 6 Dogs from Georgia, over 14 emergency rescues from Lebanon, TN and our six dogs from Athens.   Tereasa and all dogs arrived safely in Michigan after a long trip and a lot of hours.

We received some feed back from one of the fosters who is taking care of Tiny Tim and Sleigh.  The foster is really taken with Tiny Tim and may keep him and become his forever mom.  She also informed me that Sleigh had a meet and greet with a prospective new family and by now may already be enjoying her new forever home and family. Hopefully we will hear more on the other wonderful dogs we had sent on their way to a new life. 
Sleigh, with new friend and Tiny on couch at new foster getting a nap.

Dropping our six dogs off was hard as the fosters and I have become very emotionally attached to them.  Knowing that this Christmas transfer means a new and better life with new and loving families makes it easier to see them off.  Especially, knowing that if they stayed here they would never have seen Christmas.  Thanks to the efforts of a lot of folks here and in Michigan and all that Tereasa has done, these dogs & puppies are receiving the most wonderful gift they could receive for Christmas.  Life, Love and a Forever Human Pack of their own.  What more could a dog want other than maybe a hot Hardees Hamburger and hold the onions.
Merry Christmas to you all From the Third Hill
Roy and Gang