& FOUND
On the first night we volunteered to walk dogs for the rescue group, Jim Wenger drove Russell and me back to our vehicle. As we were leaving the parking lot, Jim’s parting words were: “Here. Take this leash and keep it in your truck. You’re gonna need it.” Nice gesture.
At the time, I threw Jim’s slip lead into the backseat, next to the purple one Helene kindly loaned me earlier in the evening, and simply thought he meant we were going to need it when we returned a few days later.
Wrong. He really meant we were gonna need a leash in the truck when we least expected, on days like today. And he was right.
This gal was on her last couple of hours at the city shelter. In fact, she’d already been in the lab and thiiiiiiiiiissss close to being euth’d when an animal rescue advocate intervened, hoping to coordinate something.
Luckily for Fifi, that’s when Russ and I arrived on behalf of our group to pick up a Chihuahua, who’d — despite having a nasty wound – been abandoned in the overnight drop box the night before. Poor little pipsqueaker. After processing the Chi’s paperwork, Mark, rescue coordinator extraordinaire, took me around the corner to meet “this dog in here.”
As Mark explained how Fifi had been granted a very short reprieve for the moment, Russell U-turned the other direction. I knew he didn’t want to see the dog we might have to leave behind. I got it.
There she was, though, right in front of me, but behind the bars. Fifi got up from her plastic bed, sat before us, and smiled. Black and white, part Corgi, part Border Collie: Borgi. Resistance was futile. Man, she was the cutest thing with such a neat spirit about her. Mark told me, “Yeah, so she was surrendered. Her owner died, and the family just couldn’t take her.”
Oh?
Well.
Just so happened, I had an extra leash in my truck *per instruction* (cough, cough, cough), so I texted Jim and his wife, Tammy, for some kind of green light on my latest inability to say no. (I knew I probably wasn’t winning any popularity contests since we sadly can’t save them all.) As the world would have it, though, Bella’s dad, Merrin, agreed to step up as a foster and give Fifi a second chance. Outstanding. Things were definitely looking up for one more dog.
Russell grabbed the lead so we could take Miss Fifi to the front, and we sent the photo of Russ with our newest dog to the guy who gave us that first leash he warned that we’d need once upon a time ago. Unintentionally (or not), the tree above their heads blocked the “LOST” portion of the shelter’s sign, and Fifi’s first photo after her stressful journey to the pound was inadvertently titled: “& FOUND”. Appropriately so.
I hoped her owner — a woman who had cared for this dog as well as any of us could — would have been relieved that her friend Fifi was safe and on her way to a new beginning, too.
Victory . . . again. Good thing for Fifi, et al, I’m a sucker with an extra leash.
(Thanks, Jim.)
;P
If you’d like to keep an extra leash (or crate) in your vehicle, rescues always need volunteers to transport animals to the vet, to events, to home visits, etc. Within the Dallas-Fort Worth area, contact DFW Rescue Me and complete a volunteer form.
To adopt Fifi, go here. She is a wonder dog, I promise.
13 Responses to “& FOUND”
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wonderful story! I, too helped at the fair and if i didn’t already have, well, more dogs than I can handle, but not really enough for my taste, I would be at the pound daily! Congrats on your first “emergency leash” use, and kudos to fifi and her new life!
This is emergency leash usage number oh-no-I-have-lost-count, but it always feels like the first time, haha. See you at the fair 2012!
I just keep on reading amazing story one after another! Thank you for saving Fifi, she is so so precious!
Thanks so much! Fifi couldn’t possibly be a sweeter girl, and her personality is hilarious.
I can’t stress enough: Saving Fifi is a group effort that began when she walked into DAS and will end when she finds her family. Even though we were the ones with the leash that day, there were a number of elements that added to Fifi’s rescue: fosters who free up boarding availability if needed, volunteers who attend events so that Fifi can be more easily seen, donation dollars that ensure the group can properly care for Fifi’s needs while searching for a suitable home, fundraising event planners who help raise additional awareness to the need for more rescue dollars and items, and even other rescue groups pooling resources such as walkers for in-boarding dogs who make it possible for other volunteers to do things like transporting. Even reading an article and participating in the education process is an important part of the cycle, so THANK YOU.
The City of Dallas and its surrounding areas are fortunate to have people like Mark Cooper and animal control officers who really do network these dogs and cats as much as possible in order to save lives. However, these folk need many more volunteers to step forward, donate necessary items like bedding, and agree to work with rescue groups in different capacities.
Its so nice to read a happy story, and Fifi is an absolute beauty!
I found your story via Facebook and then found out you were a WordPress member so I can follow your blog directly! Oh my gosh this made me think of our Blondie. On 10 May 2010 we adopted a senior buff female cocker spaniel from a local shelter (she would have been euthanized in days) and had a very challenging but incredible year with her…she went home to join her previous owner on 14 Dec 2011. She too had been surrendered because her owner could no longer care for her and the family didn’t want her. It makes me so happy to read stories like yours and know my husband and I are in good company in the world.
I’m glad you shared your story because many people are wary of adopting a middle-aged or senior animal. I find those guys, once established, to be the ones who have the most love to share because they often appreciate their new environments so much more than anything even the nicest shelter could offer.
My heart goes out to you. I’m so very sorry, yet really happy for you guys, too. Great memories last a lifetime.
Blondie was such a huge presence – the house was just hollow without her when we came home that day. She filled a lifetime we could have been together in just one. I miss her every day! Thank you for what you do to help make wonderful homes for our dear fur friends.
Wonderful blog! I also found you via Facebook. I sincerely thank you for all that you do and all the pets you save. I followed the link to see Fifi but couldn’t find her on the adoptions pages. Is she still available?
Thanks. If you complete an adoption application online through the group’s website, just add Fifi’s name. She keeps getting straight As from her foster, so I’m hoping she will be in her own bed soon.
Has Fifi been adopted? I notice her photo is still not on the adoptions page. Thanks!
Fifi has NOT been adopted yet. As sometimes happens, we thought she had a potential adopter last week, but the interested party has failed to return our attempts to arrange home visitation, so Fifi is definitely still looking for her home. If you or anyone else is interested in giving this girl a soft bed and lots of hugs, just fill out an adoption application online through the hyperlink above and put “Fifi” in the tab where you are asked to identify the dog of interest.
Fifi’s foster says she is very low effort, that she is housetrained, likes short walks, likes to hang out at the dog park, is great with all cats and dogs, great with kids, loves baths, loves everything. She also does not require crating and has not destroyed anything in the past week and a half she’s been in her foster home. Cute, smart, obedient, non-destructive, friendly, housetrained…somebody, please, come forward. :)
Thanks for bringing this up, Elke!
Thank you for the update. I’m definitely asking around. She seems wonderful and is absolutely adorable!