This one is just a nice pretty story. So, sit back and kick off those shoes. I am sorry I have been away for a while, but honestly, if I posted on a normal schedule, you would think I paid someone.
This all starts just last Monday. Gary (my roommate) was on his way to work and saw a little puppy on our front porch. He gave it a little food and went went to work. About 7 hours later he came home to find the same dog still there. I came home shortly after and saw it and didn't really know what to do.
My first move was to call my animal wrangler (my girlfriend Stephanie). She came right over. I am not usually someone to take in a stray dog but it was about 35 degrees out. This dog weighed about 6 pounds and was shivering. I told Steph I wanted to bring it inside but didn't know if it was a good idea. She said, "Wouldn't you rather have a stray dog in your basement than a dead dog on your porch?" Good point.
I went outside to get the dog and that wasn't really working. Lots of growling and teeth showing. Stephanie got a box and a blanket and the dog quickly ran for its shelter. After some coaxing, I picked up the box and took it into the basement.
We made a small area into a "cage". A high-top bar table flipped over on its side, some buckets and picture frames and then we lined everything with a recliner and a futon for support.
We put the dog inside its cage and it wouldn't come out of the box.
I give you little description because that is what we had. We couldn't really describe it much. I will tell you it was a girl. We didn't know until later because of all her matting. She weighed 6 or 7 pounds and had tight brown curls like a poodle, but we didn't think that's all she was. She had several different shades of brown and some gray. She was slow and a bit mean at first and now she was in our basement.
We got her to come out a bit but not much. Later that night I figured I should take her out and see if she would go to the bathroom. We didn't know if she was potty trained and thought she was just a puppy.
I "bravely" reached into her box to force her out. I was petrified that she would just bite me. But she seemed to trust me. I wore a heavy winter coat in fear that she had fleas plus she smelled like goat poo.
Once we got outside she became scared and shook as if she thought I was going to leave her out there. After a few minutes she went to the bathroom right away. She was very well potty trained.
I took her back into her bed and went to bed.
The next morning I played with her outside a bit and then put her back in her bed. I didn't want her to play in my house too much because of Stephanie's dog Maddox. If this dog had fleas or anything else, I didn't want to risk her hurting Maddox.
At work, Stephanie called her vet and made an appointment to get the dog a check-up just so we would be comfortable in keeping her.
I made posts on craigslist and called other posts to try and find her owners. Neither were successful. I also put a post in the newspaper the next day. It was sad to get all the calls and have to tell hopeful people that it wasn't their dog.
The vet told us that she was about 6 years old and a toy poodle. She hadn't been spayed yet, which needed to be done. Also, she had Periodontal Disease that was very far along. She would need some teeth extracted. He said that the surgeries would cost about $1100 - $1400. He also said that she had dislocating knee caps but that it was a common thing for those dogs. She may need work on those down the road.
Other than that she was healthy. So, now the problem was what to do with a dog that has such a high price tag. The doctor discussed my options which weren't great. I could find the owners, which wasn't likely that they would want her back with the way she looked. I could keep her but can't afford her surgeries. I could find another home for her but its a lot to ask someone to pay for that. Then there are rescues and the pound. The pound would probably euthanize her sooner than later and rescues aren't taking strays now. They are just rescuing from the pound.
Then he discussed me euthanizing her. He told me that he'd be willing to bet that her last 24 hours were the best she had ever had. What to do??
We kept calling, kept posting, kept looking. Then the good news started rolling in.
We were turned down by several rescue shelters but one wanted to help. They were called One of a Kind Pets. She said since she was so little they could fit her in. All we had to do was foster her for 3 weeks and then they would do all her surgeries and take her in. We loved the idea.
We prepared ourselves for the task and Gary and Steph were in on it. We made all our arrangements and things just sort of worked out. We didn't know what to do with her while we were home over the Christmas weekend. Steph's family has 3 dogs and a cat and I couldn't burden them with another. My parents have 2 psychotic cats that could use a trip to a psychologist. I knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to bring her there. I made some calls and my friend Nick and his fiancee Carrie offered their home for the weekend. People were trying to help any way they could. Everyone was looking for a home and spreading the word.
We gave her a bath and introduced her to Maddox. It took a little bit but they warmed up to each other. After she was cleaned up she was a new dog. She was so loving and playful. She fit right in.
We decided that we would have to name her if we were going to keep her for 3 weeks. Stephanie wanted to call her Lulu. I just couldn't walk her around calling, "come here, Lulu!". So I started calling her Lucy. And it stuck.
Now, you're thinking that this is months later. Nope. We are in about day 3. Things escalated quickly.
Wednesday I got a call from a lady named Julianna. She said that she would be interested in taking Lucy. I had been warned about this, though, so I just requested her to go through the rescue shelter. She agreed that if that would make me feel more comfortable to just do that.
I spoke with the shelter and they actually knew her. She is a police officer and so is her husband. They adopt dogs and foster them. They have 6 already but have the room and finances for more.
I called her back and said we should go ahead and hurry it along so she can get the dog. We decided to do it without the rescue shelter since we would have to wait. She actually requested to pay for the surgeries herself instead of burdening the shelter.
She wanted to pick up Lucy on Christmas Eve and we would keep her until then. Then I started sending pictures and they really fell in love. The date kept moving up until she wanted her Friday. We agreed and set up a time.
We all really started falling in love with Lucy. She was such a great dog. She was obedient and loving. She loved just laying on your lap and following you around. Needless to say, even though it was only 5 days after finding her, we knew it would be tough to give her up. We had just done so much preparing to keep her for a month and now it was going to end before it all even started.
Julianna came over and Lucy did not take to her well. She was here for about 45 minutes before Lucy really relaxed. Julianna was so caring and made me very comfortable. She has a huge fenced in yard and a 3500 Sq ft house. She has the money and care Lucy needed. On Friday, Julianna had already schedule her vet visit, her grooming and all her surgeries.
It was very sad and I was actually surprised how much I thought about it after but Julianna took Lucy home with her.
She has been texting me the last couple of days and said that Lucy slept all night cuddled with her other toy poodle.
I'm not sure why I wrote this whole thing, besides a bunch of people had been asking me what happened with her. But I guess I was just astounded at how much people seemed to care and worry about something or someone that they never even knew existed. It was great. And I thank everyone who helped or tried to.
I know Stephanie will say we will never do that again but her heart is too soft.
On to the next dog!
You can donate or volunteer at the link below.
One of a kind Pets
Happy Holidays!
