Happy ending rescue story of lost old blind basenji girl

[sharronhurlbut]

This is a happy ending story of an old blind basenji girl BRAT picked up in
a high kill shelter. Happy ending with this story.

Sharron Hurlbut
Silverdale, Wa.

Here is the story taken from an email exchange:

–--- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, July 09, 2006 4:10 AM

Some of you may remember Tallulah, the blind girl found in a NC shelter and
saved before being put to sleep. Many of you wrote to us and alerted us.
Because of those alerts, BRAT member, Laura Rhodes was able to save Tallulah
and has been fostering her for the last week or so. Well, the good news is
that her owners have been found and she is now safe and sound back home!
Tallulah's real name is "Augie".
The original posts are at the bottom of this message, following the latest
news from BRAT District Coordinator. I guarantee that this
story will put a smile on your face. Thanks to everyone involved in this
happy ending---especially Laura Rhodes for saving Augie's life and helping
to get her back home. She is a true rescue heroine!

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Saturday, July 08, 2006 2:06 PM

It was a very good morning - I spent several hours with Augie and her
family. They really love this girl and do have her best interest at heart.
They have been letting her out the back door in the mornings and evenings
for the past year, she does her business and comes right back. They take her
on a long walk (leashed) when they get home from work in the afternoon. When
she went missing they got several of the neighbors and searched that evening
and the next day. It rained that night. They have a neighbor that is a bit
more computer savvy and she helped them post her to Petfinders and found her
listing from the kennel. They believe that someone may have called animal
control - most people in the area know Augie and the family and would have
brought her back. They continued looking and had been contacting the wrong
shelter.
They do not want to go through this trauma again and have plans to build a
fenced area for her and until then will either walk on lead or use a tie
out.
The dog was purchased as a pup from a kennel in Florida. Was sold under a
Pet contract and they had her spayed as soon as she was old enough. They did
not know what they were getting and they got one bolting, dog fighting, door
mold chewing, fence climbing wild B-Girl. They had some really good "My
basenji did..." stories. My favorite - The family all had dutch shoes by
the door - she would kill lizards and put one in each shoe! I am really glad
we didn't get this girl when she was 6 or 7. She calmed down considerably
after she lost her sight a little over a year ago.
She has a very fussy digestive system (she has had diarrhea this past week)
and is on a special diet they get from the vet. She has skin problems and
they use a medicated oatmeal shampoo on her.

They have a 2 inch thick file we went though. She has had consistent vet
care over the years and everything was up to date. She does not have dangly
tags because she actually chews them until you can't read them. (That was a
first for me) They did find a place where they can have the info put right
on her collar and will get that.
They made a donation to BRAT for the vet bills and an extra $50. They are
interested in joining BRAT.
I will stay in close contact with them to make sure she is tagged properly
and fenced.
When Tallulah/Augie heard them she started wiggling a little and trying to
get out of the car. They were in tears when she came to them. When
Tallulah/Augie walked in the front door she walked straight though the
living room, into the kitchen straight to her food & water bowl. - took a
bite, took a drink then came back in the living room and laid down on her
bed like nothing had happened. When we went into their office she came in
and immediately sat down on her sun spot and napped. The sun went behind a
cloud after 20 minutes and she got up and went back to her bed in the living
room. It was amazing to watch her maneuver through the house.
I consider this a very happy ending! ~Deb Tipton

Rescued from Death Row

Friday, June 30th On June 29th my foster mom got word that someone saw
me at the Franklin County animal control shelter which was a "high kill"
place and if someone didn't take me really soon I wasn't going to live for
much longer. The very next morning my foster parents arrived 20 minutes
before the shelter opened and anxiously waited for the gates to open so they
could take me to safety. As you can see, I am a beautiful purebred Basenji
with the sweetest temperament you can imagine.

----- Original Message -----

The little blind girl picked up today is purebred. She has had a difficult
life it seems. But, surprisingly the vet gav her a clean bill of health.
She is a bit confused in the new surroundings, but is doing well. Each time
she hears the back door open, she knows to go out to pee, and she does.
She seemed to be settling in this afternoon in her foster
home.
Linda

I know BRAT usually concentrates on purebreds
because, I also know you can't save them all. But I found a small female
B-mix on Petfinder. She looks quite purebred, was a stray and
is blind. Can we
help her?

-Joanne

Size: Small
Age: Adult
Sex: Female
ID: AVAIL 6/28
Notes: Nice calm girl. She is blind and confused about where she is at. She
was found wearing a new looking red collar. She was found 6/24 and will be
available 6/28

[red and white furever]

Such a happy ending! It brought tears to my eyes when I first read it. Thanks for sharing it here, Sharron!

[sharronhurlbut]

Its nice to be able to show rescue does try to reunite folks and their dogs.
Most of us do try very, very hard to contact breeders, owners, anyone we can who can help us track down the former owners.
Its sad that in some rescue areas, the breeders and rescue DON'T work together for the dogs.
I am so very lucky.
We have a great basenji breed club up in the PNW.
They are smart, caring folks who only produce the dogs they are sure they have good homes for.
I have only had one person in my area not take a dog back, or fail to offer to help with funds when rescue rehomes their dog.
So, its a win/win for the basenjis in my area.
Until we have no basenjis to rehome, I can only hope the rescue groups in other areas work to win the breeders over to helping the dogs.
Course, some folks your not going to like, or be able to work with, but still, when we keep in mind its all for the dogs…
Hope you all have a wonderful sun with your families and pets.