In August of 2005 after the Katrina disaster, we had sent a couple of volunteers south to aid with the retrieval of pets that needed to get out of the area.  Many groups were there, and a majority of the pets could not be released due to not knowing their owner's status.  Not wanting to come back empty, our volunteer (Amy) headed to a shelter that was overloaded with pets that had been there for many months, as they were a no kill shelter.  A lot of the pets had been there for years, and were considered lost causes by the general population due to their issues.  The volunteers cared very well for the pets in their charge always holding out hope that someone would come along for some of them.  Many groups helped CARA and other shelters after the disaster which was a good thing for the pets. 

 

The day that she arrived in Pennsylvania was utter chaos and hectic with adoption events and incoming transports.  The Katrina transport arrived around 6:30 and there were approximately 30 remaining pets that were being dropped off to us.  As we sorted them out, Amy kept saying that Belle was dog aggressive and we had to keep her separate from the other dogs.  While we were assigning fosters to the dogs, no one wanted Belle.  Even though she was beautiful, her issues were ones that no one wanted to deal with.  Our director had asked me to temporarily take her until we could find a solution that was better.  Luckily my wife was along this day and she agreed, I am the one that always says yes, and it usually gets me in trouble. 
 
Soon after Belle had arrived from Mississippi, she had wiggled her way into our hearts.  She was gentle, she had pleading eyes that said "please don't leave me again", and she was very well mannered.  Belle was only supposed to be a foster and on her way in short order, anyone in rescue knows how that goes.  We had found out that she had been returned to the shelter three times and had spent a lot of her life there. Lucky for her, she was at CARA where she could be alive and not suffer the "big black dog curse".  She had many issues that we discovered after she got here.  These were not her fault, or CARA's, but the people that adopted her and had given her up so many times.  In addition to her dog aggression, she was food aggressive, she had severe separation anxiety, and severe barrier anxiety. 

We started working through her issues one at a time.  We knew that if she was adopted out it was going to have to be to someone special and someone who had patience.  We also knew that if she was adopted out and for some reason was turned into a local shelter she would be euthanized because of her aggression.  Even though our adoption agreement stated that any pet needed to be returned to us, you never know what people remember or what they will do.  We decided as a family, that this was not a risk that we were willing to take with her life, and decided to keep her.  We were to be the fourth family in her life and thought that another change would be devastating to her mentally as well.  Now she is home; happy, fat, spoiled rotten, and is loving life.  After a year and a half, she is no longer dog aggressive, has no separation anxiety, and likes a crate (she destroyed 3 in the first week here).

So what is the point of this whole story you ask?  Well at first, I was sent an email to enter a Rags to Riches photo contest in Housepet Magazine.  I never thought any of my pictures were ever good enough, but evidently the editors did.   Then as I got to thinking about the whole thing more, I realized that this would be a good time to educate people.   Her story has a happy ending but so many others don't.  That's why we rescue, and that is why I do what I do.  Maybe her story will get out and bring attention to rescue pets across the country.  Maybe it will get out that even pets with issues are worth saving.  I can only hope that this helps.   It doesn't matter if she wins the contest or not, as far as I'm concerned I have won the best prize of all, HER.  The three people that had given her up in the past don't know what they lost.  Like they say, one person's trash is another's treasure, and we hit a pot of gold when we found her. 

If you have read this far and I haven't bored you then it means that I at least got your attention.  Belle is the winner of the Rags to Riches contest on HousePet Magazine.com  She had a lot of supporters during the contest and says thank you to one and all!