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Chapter 48. Diamonds in the Mud -- Hearts Bigger Than Suns
I have often compared the search for quality adopters to a search for precious gems.
Whether homeless animals are being shown in a shelter, store, offsite adoption event or advertised on the Internet, the fact is, most of the people who wander by or contact the adoption agency do not adopt. Perhaps they are merely seeking information or satisfying some kind of curiosity. Perhaps they look at adoption events as some kind of diversion or entertainment from the mundane in life. Or, perhaps they are seeking some kind of "perfect" fantasy, in which case, the viewing of a thousand animals is not enough and the connection to any one, an impossibility. Other times the people may be rejected by the adoption agency due to lack of basic understanding of animals or poor animal-owning histories.
Nevertheless, the thing that keeps most rescue organizations or individuals going, are the "gems" that are found amongst the muck of time-wasters, fantasy seekers or the terminally ignorant. (i.e., I know nothing about animals and don't want to learn or listen).
"Precious Gems" are those people with good knowledge and experience with animals who simply seek a healthy warm companion pet they can love and care for. These are the people we look for and ultimately, who adopt from us. They are the life-blood of any rescue group or shelter. Without them, there can be little rescue of abandoned cats and dogs, as responsible placement is essential to being able to save.
But, occasionally, one is lucky not only to find the gems, but the diamonds:
"I am hoping you can help me," the desperate voice pleaded on the phone.
It was 10PM on a Tuesday night.
The woman on the phone identified herself as Kami Smith. She was a black woman, living in Harlem who was being evicted from her apartment the next day for having too many animals.
Kami had 16 cats and 5 dogs.
Further into the conversation, I learned that the ASPCA had offered to help Ami by taking 3 of the dogs and 14 of the cats/kittens. Most of the animals were Harlem rescues and the "A" had previously helped Kami by having the animals neutered for her. Kami was well known to the ASPCA. Despite that, the "A" would not take either of her two Chow Chows, named "Malcolm" and "Martin" (after the two prominent black leaders, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King) and two very shy cats suffering from Upper Respiratory Infections.
Kami told me that Malcolm was five-years-old and was rescued when, as a pup, his former owners hacked off his tail to "make him look more like a bear." The dog escaped, ran down the street, bleeding profusely from where the tail had been severed. The ASPCA treated the dog and neutered him and Kami then brought him home. Martin was dropped off to her by neighbors who said the dog "wasn't mean enough." Hearing these stories on the dogs made me want to help Kami and her animals.
"I have an open foster that can take one of the dogs and another young woman I will ask to take the cats," I told Kami. "I will speak to a young man who has contacted us about fostering a dog."
Immediately after speaking with Kami, I called Jennifer Logan, the young woman whose previous NYCA foster dog had just been adopted. "We have an urgent eviction situation. Can you take a dog tonight?"
Jennifer kindly agreed to take "Martin" immediately. Kami arranged for a friend to drive her and Martin to Jennifer's apartment. All seemed to go smoothly.
Meanwhile, I called RoseMarie Santos to take the two cats. She too, agreed. Kami and her friend dropped off the two cats, "Snowflake" and "Blackie" to RoseMarie. For all the last-minute finagling, things went remarkably well.
But, still there was "Malcolm" the other black and tailless Chow to think about. I finally got Alex on the phone in the wee hours of the morning. Alex was a young man I talked to earlier that day about fostering a dog. He was a bartender and worked at nights. He agreed to take Malcolm the next morning If I could arrange to get the dog down to him on West 19th Street. Kami's friend agreed to deliver the dog to Alex at 10AM the following day.
But, if it seemed things went remarkably well that first desperate night, I would have some rude awakenings the next morning.
The phone blared at 7:30 AM Wednesday morning. It was Jennifer Logan.
"Martin is growling in a corner of my living room and won't let me near him. What am I supposed to do? I can't take him out."
"Forget about taking him for a walk," I replied. " I will call Kami and ask that she come tonight to calm him down. He is probably very upset and stressed. Just go to work and let him be."
If that wasn't enough, I heard from Alex three hours later.
"The woman dropped the dog off with me. But, he is filthy, matted, smells bad and won't walk an inch with me. I am standing here on 20th Street with a filthy dog who won't budge. You need to do something!"
"Oh God. Is there a vet anywhere around there?" I asked.
As the first bit of luck would have it, there was. I got the name from Alex and immediately called the vet clinic to explain the situation and ask if they could check the dog in, and shave and clean him up. After I gave my credit card number, they agreed to take Malcolm in. I profusely apologized to Alex and told him he could drop Malcolm off at the vet.
They had to put Malcolm under anesthesia in order to shave off the mats. He apparently had almost two pounds of feces stuck to his rear end. Small wonder Malcolm "stunk."
But, worse than the mats and the filth, was the report the vet gave me later that day. "The dog appears to be blind in one eye. I suspect he has Glaucoma. You will need to take him to an Ophthalmologist to be sure and to possibly save the other eye."
Meanwhile RoseMarie called to tell me that both cats were thin, dirty and shy and that one of them wasn't eating and seemed to be suffering from a cold. I made immediate arrangements for "Snowflake" to go to the vet. She remained there almost a week and then was returned to RoseMarie upon recovery from Anorexia and URI.
Wednesday evening Kami met with me and we both went to Jennifer's apartment to try calm Martin. As soon as he saw his former caregiver, Martin joyfully wagged his tail and ran up to Kami, licking her face. "I told you he is a wonderful dog!" Kami said to Jennifer and me. "He just needs to feel secure."
We took Martin for a long walk and he was finally able to relieve himself. He slowly became friendly and trusting towards Jennifer. "Now you be a good dog for Jennifer, "Kami ordered Martin as he lovingly gazed up to her. "She is a nice lady who is going to take good care of you."
Seeming to understand his command, Martin never gave Jennifer another problem after that evening. The next couple of months went smoothly and uneventfully. Jennifer slowly fell in love with Martin as he was a truly sweet and well behaved dog. But, she could not adopt him due to a planned move out of New York City in the Fall. Fortunately for all, Martin was eventually adopted by a lovely woman in the city with another dog.
Matters were not so simple for Malcolm.
Alex backed out of fostering Malcolm and following clean-up, I had to put the reserved Chow in boarding. There was also the matter of his Glaucoma to attend to.
The Ophthalmologist told me the only chance to save Malcolm's other eye was laser surgery. Even so, it was not guaranteed. I went ahead with the $2,000.00 treatments and surgery to try and save Malcolm's remaining vision.
But, despite all, Malcolm eventually went blind anyway.
I now had an older, blind Chow in boarding with little chance for adoption.
Would anyone be willing to take this handicapped dog, despite his sweet temperament and ease around other animals?
Malcolm sat in boarding for more than seven months. Despite pictures and ads on the Internet, nobody called to offer either foster or adoption.
Kami meanwhile joined the Army and tried to pull her life together. She called me on occasion to find out how her animals were doing. Both cats were eventually adopted, as was Martin. But, the news on Malcolm remained the same. "Still in boarding, Kami." I told her. "Very hard to find placement for a blind, tailless, older, black Chow Chow."
"I will continue to pray for him," Kami replied. "God always helps when I ask. We just have to be patient!"
I wasn't as faithful or optimistic as Kami and I was becoming very concerned and worried with all the money Malcolm was costing the organization in boarding. It meant we had fewer resources to help other animals. It wasn't an option to keep Malcolm forever in boarding. And yet, I couldn't bring myself to have Malcolm put to sleep either, after all that had been invested in him. He wasn't after all, terminally sick. The situation was a terrible dilemma for me.
But, finally God seemed to hear Kami's prayers.
One day in late Fall, out of all the despair and muck, one of those rare "diamonds" turned up.
The call came from a woman living in Pennsylvania.
"I read about Malcolm on Petfinder and I am interested in adopting him."
Kathy Meeham had a house, three cats, one other dog and a heart as big as the sun.
Malcolm's limitations did not concern her, she was instead, empathetic to them. Kathy already had an older, blind cat.
Kathy adopted Malcolm and kept me updated on his progress. Within weeks, Malcolm knew his way totally around Kathy's home and slept at the foot of her bed each night. "You would never know he was blind," Kathy told me. "He is such a wonderful dog. So good with the other animals. So happy here. I love him."
I call the people like Kathy Meeham, "Diamonds." Kami Smith would call them the answers to prayers. But, in any case, I imagine it takes a bit of "Divine Intervention" or incredibly fantastic luck to find them.
What would rescue do without these wonderful, selfless people with hearts bigger than suns?