Tales & Tails of New York

Yesterday was one of those rare and wonderful days where what we work and strive for, finally comes true.

"Sapphire" was rescued more than three months ago from the Manhattan AC&C shelter.

The young Shiba Inu mix had come into the shelter as a Bronx "stray."  She was skin and bones. She had a dry, filthy and matted coat. 

And Sapphire was extremely shy and scared in the shelter.

She sat in the back of her cage with a frozen look on her face. One could not be sure what to make of her.  She did not pass for adoption, mainly because of her emaciated and bedraggled condition, as well as her extreme timidity.

But, when I took Sapphire outside to spend a little time with her, I knew she was a special and gentle creature that deserved to be saved. 

"Sure, we will take her," I told Jesse, one of the New Hope coordinators at AC&C. 

Jesse had specifically pointed Sapphire out to me as a particular dog she wanted to see rescued.

I was extremely fortunate, through the help of a fellow animal lover, to find an exceptional foster home for Sapphire.

From the "get-go," Sapphire was extremeley gentle, housebroken and well behaved in her new foster home.  With good care, she put on weight, thrived and finally was spayed.

I advertised Sapphire on "Petfinders" and other adoption sites, but strangely, no one called on her, despite her appealing pictures and write-up.

I wondered if it was because of her strange looking underbite (like a Shih-Tzu or other small breed dog)?   Unfortunately, the underbite (lower teeth showing) might cause some to think Sapphire wasn't friendly.

Yet, she developed into a very affectionate and devoted dog.

But, sometimes there are no real answers for why some animals generate calls and others don't.

So many people want "small dogs" or certain "purebreeds," that it can be very difficult when rescue groups are dealing with medium sized mixes.  We are a society very into "designer lables," and sadly (and wrongly) that attitude often applies to animals as well as "products."

A few weeks ago, Elaine (the woman responsible for helping me find the foster for Sapphire) called to say she had friends who just had to put their 15-year-old dog to sleep for terminal illness and were heartbroken.

"I told Ruth and her husband about Sapphire and I think they will be ready to adopt in a few weeks. They just need time to grieve right now."

Yesterday, Elaine drove me to meet her friends in Connecticutt, who, immediately, upon seeing Sapphire, loved and adopted her.

No inane and stupid questions like "Does the dog shed?"  "Will she grow bigger?" or "Why do her teeth show?"

Just pure love and desire to share their lives with a warm and devoted new being.

This is indeed, what makes all the tears and the aggravation worthwhile in the end!

To remember this dog as she was, and see how she is now.

Happy, loved and finally cared for!

Sapphire has finally found her forever home!

Special thanks to Elaine Sloane and Julie (Sapphire's foster) for this one!

Without special people like these, what would we do? 

These are the "angels" of animal work.

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