Holidays bring homes, happiness for these lucky dogs

[Nagishkaw 510]

Miracles happen all the time in shelters and rescue groups. But somehow, the ones during the holiday season seem a little more meaning-laden.

Choo Choo rescued from the tracks

Like the emaciated boxer tied to the railroad tracks in Pittsburgh last year in such a way it was obvious her owner, who had already starved her nearly to death and left festering sores untended, wanted her to suffer the terror of watching a train roaring forward until it hit and killed her. She was discovered and untied in time, the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society (wpahumane.com) found a foster family to nurse her to health, and just before Christmas 2008 she was adopted into a home with two boxers and "several little kids who spoil her rotten," says the humane society's Gretchen Fieser.

The dog they'd named Choo Choo visited the shelter a few months ago and she was "pleasingly plump," happy and dolled up in a pink dress.

Gandy Dancer is a 'happy talker'

Then there's the gentle basset hound mix, another railway survivor. Discovered last year lying by a track in Leavenworth, Kan., with a severed leg and part of his ear and tail gone, he stood and wagged his tail when the rescuer arrived even though he'd been suffering for days, the vet later said, and infection was setting in.

Throughout treatment and recovery, everyone who encountered him was touched by his spirit, his will to live and his unfailingly loving nature, says Anne Divine of the Leavenworth Animal Welfare Society, which arranged for his medical care and found a foster home.

Society volunteers set up donation cans to help offset his considerable vet expenses, and a man saw the picture of the dog they'd named Gandy Dancer (meaning railroad track worker) on one of them. Soon he and his wife had completed adoption paperwork and Gandy went home just before the holidays last year.

Now, 12 months later, Gandy is living life to the fullest. He quickly blended with the couple's other dogs, runs "with blazing speed," says Lacey Rogers, is a "happy talker … who runs in circles and yaps when he's excited" and "provided love and comfort" when another dog joined the home this year.

Rogers, a nurse and paramedic, sees Gandy as a dog imbued with incomparable sunny-ness and resilience. "I wish," she says, "I could take what Gandy has inside him and give it to some of the people I see."

Two more stories for the ages: Pistol and River

The holiday season of 2009 has ushered in some miracles, too. Here are a couple about dogs no longer young that, with a lot of help from some very giving people, got to go home for Christmas.

One night long ago, a happy-go-lucky pointer mix, maybe 2 years old, was tossed over the fence at the Southside SPCA in Meherrin, Va.

Someone obviously didn't want him. But shelter workers were certain this dog with the affable personality and athletic good looks would be wanted by someone. They named him Pistol, and showered him with affection.

Weeks passed. Then months.

Dogs came and went, but no one chose Pistol. He remained cheerful, making friends with whatever new dogs arrived, grieving only briefly when some were taken home, happy endings that seemed out of his reach.

A woman in Texas saw Pistol's picture on Petfinder.com and gulped. Pistol could have been the twin of her beloved dog that had just died, a dog that, amazingly, shared the same name. She couldn't imagine any feasible way to get this Pistol across the hundreds of miles to Texas, but she began sponsoring him, sending money every month for a very long time to ensure his time would not run out as the small-town shelter took in additional neglected or abandoned animals.

Still no home for Pistol.

Finally, this month, his time arrived. On Dec. 12 Pistol went home … eight years after arriving at the shelter.

Shelter workers hadn't given up on him, his sponsor had sent money for years and even paid for training to acclimate him to home life after nearly a decade in a shelter. And Sierra Goggiaharrison told me last week that Pistol has settled in beautifully with her other two dogs. "Pistol is a spunky and fun-loving dog. We are thankful to have him here as his forever and retirement home."

And finally, there's this one.

An aging golden retriever was dropped unceremoniously late last year by his owner at a rural shelter in Missouri. Sweet-tempered and loving, he was clearly a dog that had given loyalty and affection for years, and he was just as clearly quite frightened by this sudden turn of events. But his big tail cranked into high gear for every stranger he encountered.

His age, and the fact that he had arthritis and allergies, reduced to almost zero his chance of leaving that shelter alive.

But a volunteer from Heartland Humane Society of Missouri arrived and saw the specialness of this dog. She just couldn't accept he'd likely spend his last moments in a shelter, then be euthanized. So she took him with her that day, and he was placed in a foster home, a place where he spent several happy months.

That in itself would be a happy enough ending for a dog that deserved one. But it doesn't end there. His story was placed on the group's website, and a couple asked to adopt him. It was quickly clear they were perfect, and they recently drove the four hours to take him home.

In almost no time, River has etched himself into the routines and patterns of Jim and Becky Bingham, their two dogs and fat gray cat. River likes a little nibble of fruit each morning, he plays with the dogs as if he has always lived there, and he cheerfully trooped off to Pet Smart for a Christmas portrait with Santa.

"River is just a fantastic boy," Jim Bingham says. And, he adds, whatever he and his wife have provided the old guy, River "has returned 10 times" over.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/pet...-miracles_N.htm

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I love these good news stories! Thank you!

[Nagishkaw 510]

So do I. It gives us a break from all the other tragic stuff we read about.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

aaww

Saludos,

Caro