|
Way back
when.......in 1982, we lost our 2nd husky. As many have experienced, she had a history of conniving her way out of
containment, and in a flash, she was down the street "lickity
split". I was in hot pursuit, chasing right behind her
(which is actually the wrong thing to do) and proved no match
for the speed of a Siberian desiring to follow the "call of
the wild".
I scanned
the shelters, placed ads, and as time began to pass the
possibility of finding her seemed to become less likely. Then,
months later, the shelter (which is now Seeaca) called. They had
found a very thin, young red & white Siberian with blue eyes
who had been trapped in a storm drain. When I met her, she was
not responsive to her name. She looked almost identical to my
lost husky but just a little bit different in the face-in fact,
she had a more beautiful face. She was extremely thin and
withdrawn. It was decided she was not my missing dog. She was
placed in a pen and after visiting with her I left.
Thoughts
about her haunted me day and night for the next week. I called
to check on her and she was still unclaimed. Exactly 7 days
later, I was compelled to return to the shelter. I was informed
she had not eaten at all the entire week and she had only 30
minutes until her time was up! I didn't have my spouse's
permission and I didn't plan on adopting her! And I hadn't given
up on finding my lost husky. And she was so thin she looked like
she was ill. And would my 1st husky at home get along with her?
And, and, and-------------I couldn't leave her there!!!
And
so----------she couldn't jump into my car fast enough! She was
thrilled to be sprung. She turned back and took one last look at
the shelter and licked me in the face. She never had to worry
about winding up there again.
She
marched into the household like she belonged there. She
immediately started gaining weight and her health improved
drastically. She was about 8 to 10 months old then. And so our
journey began....
"Liberty"
lived to 20 and 1/2 years! She almost doubled the normal
lifespan of 12 years. She was our first rescue and I firmly
believe I didn't chose to rescue but I was lucky to be chosen
when Liberty summoned me to the shelter that fateful day.
WHAT
"LIBERTY" TAUGHT ME-
Before
adopting "Liberty", I was naive and unaware of the
terrible situation of huge amounts of dogs and cats winding up
in shelters either by being impounded off the streets by animal
control or the astonishing amount of people "giving
up" their animals.
I had
purchased my first 2 huskies at pet stores where they were flown
in from mid-western puppy mills at a very young, inappropriate
age. I had no idea this beautiful, intelligent breed that I
adored could end up unwanted at animal shelters often living
their last days there.
I was
under the misconception that only "bad" dogs were at
pounds. The truth is the great majority of dogs at pounds have
ended up there at no fault of their own at all--in fact, its
their owners who are "bad".
The 3 main
reasons so many dogs/cats are unwanted is because of
OVERPOPULATION, the owner's FAILURE to research the breed they
are interested in, and the owner's failure to seek
guidance/training to resolve PROBLEMS they are experiencing.
These 3
MAIN reasons can be rectified! Please SPAY/NEUTER your pets and
encourage everyone you meet to do the same! Please do RESEARCH
on the breed you are interested in and really ask yourself if
your family setting is the proper environment and you are
willing to put forth the effort that this breed requires in
order to be happy. Thirdly, are you willing to seek
ADVICE/attend TRAINING classes with your dog in order to rectify
problems you are experiencing-
If these
goals could be attained, we could all make a HUGE difference in
the amount of unwanted pets. PLEASE HELP!!!
--- PLEASE
CHOOSE YOUR NEXT PET FROM AN ANIMAL SHELTER OR A RESCUER!---
You never
know: There could be a "LIBERTY" waiting for you right
NOW!
|
