This is the amazing story of Vanessa, who came to be
my foster dog on an urgent basis. I believe that somehow, Millie is living
through Vanessa now, and there are still people who stop me to tell me how
wonderful 'Millie' looks these days.
At the Shelter In Maine
The
end of May, out Intake Coordinator was contacted about an older German
Shepherd that was in a local shelter. Since she and her husband are trained
shelter evaluators, they went over to check her out. The kennel manager told
us that though Vanessa had been there for weeks, no one had expressed an
interest in her. Though the shelter takes very good care of their dogs,
Vanessa was starting to become depressed as she was continually passed by
for the younger dogs.
"If only I were younger. I fear this is the beginning of the end for me."
After our intake coordinator spoke with the shelter, GSRNE decided to send
two trained evaluators to examine her.
"Chris and Tomas checked me out, and fell in love with me despite my age."
We already had a number of seniors in foster care, but Vanessa was such a
nice girl we just had to find room. Our adoption coordinator, Laurie,
thought Vanessa would be good company for Jude, and so agreed to foster her
and we began setting the wheels in motion to get her into the program.
"They told me I was very sweet and perfect in every way, except for a minor
limp in my right rear leg, common for a dog my age."
Vanessa had been a stray (though we later found out that she came from a
home that did not take good care of her). Her nails were very long, and
we're not sure when her last bath was, but from the smell, it had been a
long time. She was patient and sweet through it, letting us clip her nails
and clean her ears, and ran around with joy when it was over.
"Bath....bummer! How much longer?"
On June 7, 2008, Vanessa would be transitioned to become an official GSRNE
dog. Bonnie, the kennel manager began preparing all the paperwork for us.
"Not really the fun part of my job."
"Let's go girl, you're on your way to a new life."
"Now THIS is the FUN part of my job!"
Vanessa relaxed and hung out with the office workers while we went to get
the medication
she was taking for Lyme disease. She'd need it for another week.
"Excuse me, you look like you could use a break. Got any treats up there?"
One final step before her journey across state lines, a trip to the vet.
Because of MA state laws, dogs coming into rescues from Maine need to have a
health certificate. Dr. Perkins at Westside Animal Clinic in Cumberland gave
her a thorough check-up, and she was pronounced healthy.
"Go ahead doc, make my day. Chris just gave me a bath, so my ears are
practically sterile now, hehe."
Then, Vanessa decided to explore while the vet made out his paperwork, and
had no problems traveling the stairs.
"Hmmm. I think I'll pass on that bathtub downstairs!"
"OK, let's get this show on the road. I'm ready for this road trip I've
heard so much about!"
The Transport
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