Hi – Trish here, while Handsome and his family are enjoying a much deserved vacation, I’d like to introduced you to the latest Handsome Dan’s Rescue dog, Sir Scrappy. As you might imagine, we meet a lot of dogs. I am a regular volunteer at Providence Animal Care and Control where the majority of the dogs are pit bull types. There is an endless stream of hopeful, sad, and excited faces looking out of their kennels whenever I go to the shelter. However, sometimes there is a certain dog that just gets through the barriers it is essential to try and maintain when you do rescue. Sir Scrappy is one of those dogs. Way back in May, he was surrendered by his owner. He is seven years old and had lived his whole life in the same home. As easy as it is to judge and cast stones, please don’t. We learned his family was heartbroken and circumstances beyond their control lead to them having to give up Scrappy. Sometimes life throws curveballs that are devastating for both the humans and animals involved. This was one of those cases. When I first met Sir Scrappy, he simply sat at the very back of his kennel watching people go by. Most of the other dogs would be jumping up and down and barking “look at me” “pay attention to me” Scrappy just sat. It was as if he was saying. “There has been some mistake, I don’t belong here…..really. Pay attention to those other dogs – I am just waiting for the mix up to be fixed so I can go back to my life.” With his quiet dignity, he quickly became a favorite of the folks who work at Animal Control and all the volunteers. When you wanted to take him outside for some play time, you had to slowly coax him into letting you put the leash on. Once outside rather than run around and enjoy the respite from his kennel, Scrappy would just come and sit next to you on the ground and lean in for a hug. When it was time for him to go back to his kennel he easily walked up the aisle past all the other dogs, went back in his kennel and simply sat down. Again, as if to say” I am just waiting, I shouldn’t really be here..…..” As far as adoption prospects, Sir Scrappy had a lot stacked against him: he is a pit bull type dog in a shelter full of pit bull type dogs, he is larger than a lot of dogs there and he is considered old. I know all of us dog people are saying “7! That is not old” but for people looking to bring a new dog into their home, it is often considered ancient. Time and time again we would show Sir Scrappy to potential adopters. He would sit and give his paw and do all his commands but it wasn’t enough. One heartbreaking day a women and her son came to look for a dog to adopt. I had Scrappy out in the play yard and the young boy quickly was enamored…I gave him some treats and told him all the commands Scrappy knew. Scrappy did sit, shake, down, up-pretty and each time waited to take the treat gently from the boy’s hand. It was wonderful. The boy turned to his Mom and said “Let’s take him. He could be my best friend”. His Mom without hesitation said “He is too old to be your best friend, c’mon let’s go look at other dogs”. After they left, I sat down next to Scrappy and he rested his head in my lap. With tears clogging my throat, I told him that I knew he wasn’t too old and that I knew he would make the best friend ever. So he kept waiting…… Yesterday, Sir Scrappy’s wait to leave the shelter was finally over. Hillary Ginsberg one of the dedicated volunteers at Providence Animal Control took Scrappy home to foster. Hillary has come to see Scrappy several times a week during his stay at the shelter and she too loves him as much as I do. She and I were waiting at the doors when the shelter opened yesterday to pick him up. The great people who work at Animal Control were there joining in our celebration that Scrappy was finally leaving. I don’t know who was happiest, the staff, Hillary, myself or Sir Scrappy himself……I think he may have won by a whisker So yesterday, Scrappy went to the vet and other then infections in his ears, he was given a clean bill of health. Hillary will be treating his ears for the next four weeks and then we will bring him back for a re-check. Last night Hillary and I spoke and she said he had already gone for a long walk, taken a nap with her, had a bath and was at that moment up on the couch snuggled against her with his head on her shoulder fast asleep. Thank you, Hillary, for opening your heart and home to this dog. It was a truly a wonderful day. Now, Sir Scrappy is looking for a home to call his own forever. We seem to think with all his charm and all Handsome Dan’s Facebook friends sharing his story, he won’t have to wait too long. If you are interested in adopting Scrappy, please fill out an application. handsomedansrescue.org/#!adoptionapp/cvej
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 13:39:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015