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******* scroll to bottom for some new pictures ******
Here's the happy ending story of Sadie, as told by Janine, TLC Shelter Manager:
Sometimes it takes the patience of Jobe... Sadie's Tale
The brindle colored dog was having a hard enough time keeping herself alive, let alone her litter of newborn pups. She tried her best to keep them warm, but the cold weather was a force to be reckoned with, as it brutally claimed the lives of two of her day old pups. Some concerned folks had spotted the dog when she was pregnant, and tried to befriend the poor dog before she had her pups. Their efforts were always met with a ferocious growl and bared teeth, but now they knew this had turned into a crisis situation for the dog and her pups. Catching the dog was not going to be an easy feat, but they knew she was bound to get hungry, and put some food down for her a short distance away so they could grab the pups when the time was right. They knew if they were able to get the pups first it would be much easier for them to capture the mother. It was very apparent that the only contact this dog ever had with people was not very good, so it was no wonder that she was very wary of these people, but she knew they had her pups, so she finally gave in. It was right after that they were brought in to TLC.
We made the pups a nice warm bed with plenty of blankets and a heat lamp to help keep them nice and warm, along with plenty of nourishing food for the Mom to help her get her strength back, she was so thin. Initially we thought two of the puppies were not going to make it and had us quite worried, but with each passing day we watched them grow stronger, which had us overjoyed. As the litter thrived, our focus and concern swithched to the Mom, who we had named Sadie. We tried everything we could to befriend her, but she wouldn't have anything to do with us, she did not trust us one iota. When we would feed her or give her a treat, she backed off as if we were going to hit her, and when we went to give her a rug to lay on she totally freaked out. It was apparent this dog had been badly abused. Day after day Sadie rebuked us, but we were determined to bring her around, her future depended on it, if she were to ever get a home. As the days passed the pups grew bigger, and one by one they were adopted out... but Sadie would need more time, a lot more time, she was still a long way from being ready to get a home.
The day her tail gave a few little wags when she saw us, renewed our hope and we knew we were now on the right track. Love, patience and kindness worked miracles with Sadie, and finally she was ready to be pictured on the TLC website. We thought it would just be a matter of days before Sadie would be adopted, since the majority of pets featured on tlcanimalshelter.org are adopted quickly, but not Sadie, her picture remained week after week.We also had her featured as pet of the week in the newspaper, but still no one stepped forward to adopt her. As time went on we found out Sadie got along well with other dogs, and even tolerated cats, the only problem was that we were becoming more attached to her and worried if she would ever get a home.
Sadie's fate was about to change, a young woman named Melanie had seen Sadie's sad picture for several weeks on the website, and it tore at her heart, especially since it reminded her of a beloved dog she had, that had died some years ago. At last Sadie had found a home. We were thrilled... at least for a little while as you will soon find out.
With each adoption we always hope the transition period goes smoothly, but we tell folks to expect a few ups and downs in the beginning, and to be patient, but in Sadie's case there seemed to be more downs than ups in the beginning. Everything from meeting the Chief of Police and his deputies (no this was not a social call) which included a $150.00 fine during the first couple of days in her new home! During the next several weeks Sadie chewed a number of things in the house, broke some dishes and demolished a George Foreman grill! As if all these things were not enough to test the patience of Jobe, Sadie had decided that the living room seemed a much nicer, cozier, private place to potty than making the trek out to the backyard. Sadie saw the backyard as a place to romp with her two new buddies, the little boy in her new family and a beagle she shared the house with.
As Melanie would relate each new "situation" Sadie would get into, I just held my breath waiting for Melanie to say, "Sadie has got to go!" But Melanie was not about to give up on Sadie, even though her mother and neighbors said she should get rid of that dog. Never did Melanie complain about Sadie's antics, she was just worried about Sadie's welfare and if she would ever adjust.
When Melanie last emailed me, she asked why I had not written a story about Sadie, to be honest with you, even though Sadie's picture had sat on my desk for months I was dubious that this was going to work out, after all not many people would have put up with half the things Sadie had done. But now that I'm confident that Sadie's there to stay, I knew the time was now right for me to write her story to share with all of you.
I guess you could really say in Sadie's case love conquers all, and we want to thank Melanie and her family for giving that love to Sadie, and for having the patience and understanding to see her through all the ups and downs. This is truly a happy ending for a dog that had not known love or kindness before! A Cinderella story for sure!
Sadie & Melanie recently came back to TLC for a visit, and here are some new pictures of the happy pair:
