Another Dog Story

I lost Simba, my yellow lab when he was sixteen. He was a special dog. It took the right person to understand and exercise patience with him. I adopted him and his mother when I moved from Pasadena, California to Columbus, Ohio. He was two and his mother, Clancy was four. Simba only knew Clancy. He was raised in a concrete dog run with her as his sole connection. He was not a big fan of people since he was never socialized. He was a great challenge for me and it took nine years for him to feel secure and comfortable. I chose Simba to walk me down the aisle at my second wedding. Someone said to me , “Isn’t your dad still alive?” I said, “Yes, but he gave me away the first time and it didn’t turn out so well so I thought I would try the dog!” Well, Simba had special powers, but keeping marriages in tact wasn’t one of them!!

Simba accompanied me when my mother had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car accident. My mother was in Shock Trauma in Columbia, Missouri. I drove to Missouri with Simba at my side. He was sixteen and there was no way I would put him on an airplane and place him under that much duress.

Every night I would arrive home from spending the day in shock trauma waiting for my mother to regain consciousness and Simba would be upstairs waiting for me on the threshold of my mothers bedroom door. It was as if he was holding a vigil for her. As my mother started to recover Simba began a rapid decline. It was as if all of his life force was going directly to her.

We returned to Maryland and within three days Simba passed away. I was devastated. I spent most of my free time outside since my house felt vacuous without Simba. Eventually, I began the process of adopting another dog. I was approved by Lackland Airforce Base to provide a home for Labrador Retrievers that failed out of the bomb sniffing and drug detection program. I received many emails of dogs that were available, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger. I finally realized that my heart was so broken that I just couldn’t adopt another Lab.

A year later I received an email from a friend requesting a donation to help a dog that had been removed from an abusive situation. Annabelle was found abandoned in a dog pen feeding two puppies, maggots were eating her back legs and she had a cigarette burn on her forehead. She was taken by Noah’s Arks Animal Rescue to an animal hospital that began treating her. As an aside, Noah’s Arks accepts the worst of the worst. It is safe to say, without hyperbole that they place animals that would otherwise be euthanized. They do what it takes to return the animal to dignity and worth they deserve. They have a network of veterinary specialists that donate their time and services to assist Jennifer Smith (the Founder of Noah’s Arks) and her team to find good, decent and deserving homes for these animals.

So, where do I come in? Well, I took a look at Annabelle and read her horrific story and said, “ I am not only going to donate money to assist her recovery, I am going to adopt her!” Well, being a bit naive with their process I didn’t realize I could just adopt her because I wanted her, I had to go through the vetting process among all of those who wanted to adopt this beautiful dog. They ended up choosing me to adopt her! When Jennifer called me with the news that I would provide Annabelle’s new home I was ecstatic! Jennifer informed me that since Annabelle’s injuries were so extensive she would remain hospitalized until they felt she was out of the woods. They discovered, as they began to treat her that someone had doused her entire body with acid. Her fur and skin peeled off in sheets from her shoulders to her hind quarters where the maggots had saved her life by eating the necrotic tissue. Maggots literally saved her life. I settled upon the fact that her fur would unlikely grow back so I set aside some soft Out of the Fire t-shirts to protect her body.

The day arrived when Jennifer called me to let me know that Annabelle was out of the woods. She was coming to live with me! Jennifer let me know that a Vet techs husband was going to drive a van load of dogs up the East Coast to unite them with their new stewards. We decided that we would meet in Frederick. Before Jennifer and I hung up from our conversation she said, “Amy, could you do me a favor?” My response was, “Sure, Jennifer what do you need from me?” She said, “Amy, I need you to give, Babe, a pit bull, that was used as a bait dog and subsequently rescued, a ride to BWI airport. She is catching a flight to Chicago on Pet Airways.” She stated this as if it were a normal request. Of course a Pet Airways exists. A network that ferries animals across the country out of harms way to unite them with those that will care for them!

Of course I said YES without reservation until I was on route 50 on the way to meet the van. A van load of those lucky souls who would be placed with those who would provide love and care to an abused soul. The reality set in that I would be transporting a Pit Bull who was used as a bait dog and a breeding bitch. A dog, who had seen the worst of our species. I began to feel a bit insecure and uncomfortable. I imagined there would be a 50/50 chance that I would be on the evening news: Woman mauled on route 50 while transporting rescue dog to Pet Airways to catch a flight to Chicago. To quell my fears I called the veterinary practice that treated her. I spoke to the vet tech that was the point person for transporting the dogs. I relayed my recollection that Babe was to have a collapsible kennel for the transport to the airport. She said, "No, we didn't send a collapsible kennel, but we THINK she will be fine!" Well, I was all in so I would have to surrender to what came my way!

I pulled into the parking lot where I was to meet the driver with the van load of dogs. The driver stepped out the van with Babe. Babe had the most angelic looking face. She had a look of relief that I interpreted as, “finally I will be with people that understand the way for which I should be cared!” Needless to say, her demeanor put my fears to rest. Babe jumped in the back seat of my car and stretched out. Her body filling the entirety of my back seat. The driver went to retrieve Annabelle. I was so taken by her beauty and the strength and will to live after what she had endured. The vet techs that took care of her by

changing her bandages on her burnt skin restored her trust and faith in people. As we pulled onto the highway, Babe snored all the way to BWI while Annabelle riding in the front seat next to me threw up pretty much the entire trip. She was scared and most likely withdrawing from pain medication, but she knew she was heading directly into an infinitely better situation.

The night before I was to retrieve Annabelle I had an interesting dream. I dreamt that my sister and I were in a pool when a wicked storm started brewing in the distance. Three tornadoes were coming our way. The wind was so strong that it was blowing water out of the pool. Simba was with us, but I looked around and could not see him. I jumped out of the pool in a panic. I looked down at the deep end of the pool to discover Simba at the bottom. I dove down and retrieved him and set him on the side of the pool. The dream ended. The next morning it dawned on me that he was granting me permission to let go of him so I could give everything to provide a stable and loving home for Annabelle.

Annabelle-Painting by Maggii Sarfaty

Simba-Painting by Maggii Sarfaty