Katie was so NOT the dog I wanted. At the time, my mom had (and still has) a pom mix and was thinking about getting another one. We looked on petfinder, and found a female that looked identical to him and my mom was in love. She had to work on the adoption day that was being held at the local petsmart, so I offered to go and check the dog out in person. I get there right as the adoption day was starting, and no pom. I asked around and they said, oh the volunteer is running late, she'll be here in a few minutes. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, THREE HOURS of standing around Petsmart, I was frustrated and fed up. I asked for the last time and was told, 'oh, forgot to mention, she called and can't make it today.' I was steaming.
So I walked down the dog food aisle and figured I'd grab some treats for the dogs before I left. I get to the end up the aisle and a volunteer had just arrived and was setting up a black kennel with this hound dog in it. At first, I paid no attention. Then, I got bored and started looking thru the cages at the dogs they had just put out. My eye wandered back to that hound dog. She was so scared, huddled in a corner, emaciated with huge sagging titties. She looked horrible. And extremely sad.
I bent down and scratched her nose thru the bars, and she gave a half-hearted tail thump. I looked at the paperwork on top of her kennel, and unlike all the other dogs that had pretty paperworks with things talking about their interests, likes and dislikes, histories, ect., Katie simply had a piece of orange construction paper that listed the name of the foster mom, a phone number, and the words 'call for info'.
I jotted down the number, walked away to the truck, and dialed it while sitting in the parking lot. A lady picks up, and we get into a 45 minute discussion about Katie, and I was in tears at her story by the time we were done. And the woman apparently loved me so much just from talking with me, that she agree'd to adopt Katie to me outright (and I found out later she was the director of the rescue) before even meeting me, and called the store immediately and told them put "ADOPTED" on Katie's kennel. We agreed to meet that next morning in person so I could get Katie, and pay the adoption fee and fill out the paperwork. The rest is history.
I later became a volunteer for that rescue too.
Callie... well, at the time, I had no dachshunds. And I wasn't too entirely set on getting another dog. I'm at the vets one day, and get spotted by a breeder that comes in there often. She goes, "Want a dachshund?"
I go, "Tell me about it." She tells me that the puppymill has skipped the state, and left a bunch of her dachshunds with another breeder that is headed to the pound with the ones that he doesn't want. Callie, her sister, and a 10 month old solid black shorthaired male are headed to the pound that day. I told her I was interested, and I followed her 3 towns away to the puppymill where the dogs were being held.
I get there, and she goes around back for a minute, and then comes back with 3 dachshunds. Two chocolate long hairs and the black 10 month old male puppy. I look at the puppy, which was infested with mange and pink eye, and told her I couldn't take him, but could get him placed somewhere else. I was left to choose between Callie and her sister. To this date, I beat myself up daily for not taking them both. I know where Callie's sister ended up, and I've been fighting tooth and nail for a year to get her back. But it'll probably never happen. Anyways, Callie's sister at the time, also had mange, and I made the quick decision that day to leave her behind. So I took Callie, who's teeth were rotted, and she was skinny as hell. I get her home that night and notice that she is acting funny. I take her to the vet the next morning, and found out that she was pregnant with stillborn pups. So she underwent an emergency c-section/spay.
I can't really say I picked Callie, she sort of just... came to me.
Blue... hmmm... LOL. Everyone knows Blue's story. Lived at the vet 10 years, ect. When I started working there, I fell in love. My decision to adopt him was because he was the biggest, most loveable snuggly bunny I had ever laid eyes on. He thought, and still thinks, he's a chihuahua sized puppy who can jump mid-air into your lap without thinking twice. He's a galloping horse and is so full of life and zest, he's just a complete character to watch. Gotta love that floppy tongue too.
Annie... well, like Katie, Annie was so NOT the dog I wanted. Honestly, I spent the first several weeks on the phone with a fellow volunteer going "WHAT THE HELL HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!!!" Most know Annie's story. She was a dog that was seized in a hoarder bust, with about 100 other animals. She was basically a feral dog, who had lived outdoors in a wire 3x3 or so size rusted cage, stacked one on top of the other with other dogs, for 8 years, by the hoarders admission.
When the bust happened, I was with the rescue and was called in to go foster 3 of the german shepherds that were apart of the bust. I drive an hour away on a Sunday, meet up the director of the pound and the volunteer with the rescue, and walk into the pound. Only to be told all the german shepherds had just been claimed that morning, and were headed to a rescue out of state, and were no longer in need of fostering. So I had my choice of about 40 chihuahuas, or a bunch of wild poodles. If I declined, other foster homes were lined up. In the words of the pound director, 'these are purebreds, we'll keep them longer'.
But then, he mentions, 'oh, there was that one mixed breed though...'
So I walked to the run, and there's Annie. At the time, she never had a name. She was number 1995. She was this filthy dirty, stinking to high heaven scruffy grey dog, huddled in a corner and going completely rabid that there were humans anywhere near her. I swear, I thought her eyes were going to pop out. I went "ummm..." And the director goes, "she's up for euthanasia in the morning, take it or leave it." The rescue volunteer looks at me and goes, 'you foster, and we'll see what we can do to find her a home." I VERY hesitently went okay, and started the paperwork to spring her out of there. In the end, the director carried her to my truck and plopped her in. I'm surprised I didn't get into a wreck on the way home, that dog was insane.
I later find out from the director, that she was examined by the vet there, and had hip dysplasia and heartworms. Yay. About 2 weeks into fostering her, I had her spayed and teeth cleaned. Then I get a call from the rescue, after they ask me for a description of her to put on the site, and I wrote back back "THIS DOG IS INSANE!", that they really don't want to be responsible for her. She was deemed 'unadoptable' and they'd prefer she really 'not be in the system' with them. So I was told that I could look for a home for her on my own, or bring her back to the shelter and have her 'humanely destroyed' since she was a wild child anyways. I said no thanks. And for the first few weeks, I thought I had lost my freaking mind. She was INSANE. Couldn't get near her, couldn't be in the same room with her. Took her 4 days before she even drank water, and nearly a week before she ate any food. But, the rest is history, which you guys know.
As far as attraction... I have no idea what attracted me to her at first, honestly. I think I just felt sorry for her. I saw where all those hoarder dogs came from, and what they came out of. I felt sorry that her life was about to end, unnamed and unloved, after spending 8 years of her life like that. So I felt I had to do something. I'm so glad I did.
