I’ve mentioned my wife’s website before which was inspired by one of our rescue dogs. Among many great offerings, Bunny Roo Beagle also features user-contributed rescue stories from all over the world about dogs who have found loving homes and how they came into their good fortune. The rescue of Sophie will be on the front page. You can find archived rescues here. Her most recent story was contributed by Jodi and Scott and focuses on Sophie, a pup rescued by local Wildlife services and adopted by these wonderful folks. That alone is more than kind enough to warrant a feature story here, but what I found particularly inspirational is the tale that led to Sophie’s adoption.
Before Sophie, there was Sammi - Scott and Jodi’s Brittany spaniel. I will let Jodi tell the story of how Sammi disappeared one cold December day because her touching tale certainly doesn’t require a clumsy re-write by me, but I do want to focus on what happened shortly after Sammi’s disappearance. In the days and weeks following their loss, Jodi and Scott found help in the form of “…a quilting group who drove around searching for Sammi after their Sunday meetings, a pastor who announced our information to his congregation, garbage and utility vehicles that had copies of our flier in their vehicle and the head of the school transportation department who put fliers in all the country school buses.” Even a vet who went out of his way to spread the word about Sammi (and who eventually introduced the family to Jodie) joined in the search.
It never fails to inspire me to find that such community spirit is still alive and well in the world. There are people who will still go out of their way to be kind and help their neighbors and their kindness is rarely motivated by any potential self-gain but is inspired by affection, empathy, faith and sympathy. We should, all of us, keep our eyes open for opportunities to help our neighbors. Don’t just brush by the lost pet fliers hanging on the mailbox. Stop and read. Pay attention to those who surround you and think of ways you can contribute to making their lives a little bit better in whatever way you can.
What follows is Jodi’s story in her own words. And it would not be kind were I to fail warn you that you might want to grab some tissues before you click on continue reading -
I stumbled upon your website (www.bunnyroobeagle.com) today through Craig’s List and wanted to take a minute to share my family’s dog rescue story.
This past December my husband Scott was out hunting with our Brittany spaniel pup, Sammi. It was her first season in the fields and she was a wonder to watch. Birds were her passion and she took her job very seriously. Scott shot and winged a pheasant and Sammi ran off to retrieve, but the pheasant flew off with Sammi chasing behind. Sammi ignored Scott’s whistle and call and never looked back. Scott called and searched for her until well after dark. He then got in his car and drove the countryside stopping at neighboring farms looking and calling for her. He drove and searched in blizzard conditions until the car was nearly out of gas. The next day we made 200 fliers which we posted on poles and in local grocery and convenience stores and passed out to farms in the vicinity. We alerted every animal related business in a 90 mile radius and posted her picture on every lost animal website we could find. We were also out looking for Sammi every day for weeks.
Through our search we met several wonderful people willing to do whatever they could to help our search. There was a quilting group that drove around searching for Sammi after their Sunday meetings, a pastor who announced our information to his congregation, garbage and utility vehicles that had copies of our flier in their vehicle and the head of the school transportation department who put fliers in all the country school buses. We met an especially friendly country vet who spread the word about Sammi and would drive through the surrounding area looking for her. One afternoon I called him to check once again to see if there were any new leads and he asked me if I thought I could convince my husband and little girls that our missing Brittany had somehow turned into an English Setter. I told him that we weren’t looking to replace Sammi. She had only been gone three weeks and we were still hopeful that she would be returned…but I did agree to listen to his story about this dog. The very day that Sammi went missing a Wildlife and Parks worker captured a dog that had been roaming campsites in the area for months. She had been peppered by a shotgun, her coat was completely matted and filled with cockaburs and stickers and she was so thin her coat hung in wrinkles on her. The vet had been caring for her at his office, but had paying boarders staying over the Christmas week and needed to have her kennel space. He tried to bring this dog to his house, but his wife sent her straight back to the clinic (apparently she drew the line at a sixth dog in her house). This dog was due to be put to sleep that evening before he went home. I called Scott at work and he immediately drove over an hour to pick her up. She was literally minutes from being put to sleep.
Sophie is now curled up at my feet as I type this. We have had her for a little over three months. The day she came to us her hair was falling out in patches, she couldn’t eat more than 1/2 cup of food a day, could barely walk up our stairs and if you would raise your hand to waive at a neighbor she would cower and whimper from fear of being beat. Loud noises would send her into her crate for hours and she would have nightmares when she would sleep. Today she weighs about fifty pounds and her coat shines from the daily brushing my four year old gives her. She loves car rides and goes with me each morning to take our little girls to school. She has not once jumped on the furniture, was house trained after one week, and is used as a pillow by my seven year old when she lays on the floor to read books. Sophie walks with her head held high has not cowered or hid in weeks. She has finished basic and advanced obedience school and at the end of this week she will be tested to get her Therapy Dog International certification (wish us luck!). Hopefully Sophie will spend the rest of her days visiting hospitals, nursing homes and schools and teach others the have faith, compassion and hope. She truly exemplifies those values.
As for Sammi, she was found in late January when the snow thawed. A family was out walking and saw her in a row of trees, curled in a little ball with the pheasant in her mouth. They buried her for us in that spot and I have tears in my eyes even as I type this now. We were mailed her collar and leash even though I haven’t been able to open the package yet. That same family, the Whites, only weeks later had their dog hit by a car in the spot where our Sammi rests. Their dog Lily is now keeping Sammi company at the rainbow bridge until we arrive (www.tdi-dog.org/goodbye.html).
About a month ago we received an email from the Whites saying that they were looking at getting another dog and asked if we had any suggestions. Eventually they rescued a lab puppy from a local puppy mill that had been uncovered. Her name is Daisy. One of her litter mates, Ada, is running around our house chasing the cats right now. The White family and my own are forever linked through the tragedies we shared, but now we also have the companionship and love of these two sisters to create some happier memories.
Ada at nine weeks old is already 25 pounds of puppy energy. She bounces around the house all day long with hardly a stop. She is notorious for splashing out all the water from her water bowl and then curling up for a quick nap in Sophie’s food bowl. She’ll play fetch until your arm is tired and then play it by herself by running to the top of our stairs, dropping the ball and trying to get it before it reaches the basement. She is quick with a lick to your ear whenever she can reach it. And my fingers are crossed as I type this, but as of yet she hasn’t eaten or chewed anything that she is not supposed to. (I know I just jinxed myself.)
Thank you for reading my story. Sophie is such an amazing dog she deserves for others to know her story. And the joy and energy Ada has brought to our household is unmatched. But mostly I truly hope this honors the memory of Sammi, a wonderful and much missed dog.
Sincerely, Jodi
