Zoë & Ellie

Zoë (Sallie) & Ellie are two dogs whose chains of abuse were broken by a police officer in Wadley, Georgia. Their owner was charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty.
Read the Best Friends feature story on their rescue.
Zoë was adopted by a loving family in Oregon.
Ellie was adopted by this blogger's sister & bro-in-law in Atlanta.

Their story is complete.
So many others are not.
Save a Pit Bull.



Wednesday, February 24, 2010

And this is why we do it...

Yesterday, Kym with All For Dogs Rescue of Central Oregon emailed me this photo collage of you know who with her new family. Thank you to every person who donated, promoted and prayed.

Zoë (f/k/a Sallie) has landed.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Help Ellie Find Her Forever Home!

We continue to hunt for that perfect family for Ellie. Help us find them! Ellie, posing as a devilish lil' gargoyle, is a contestant in the HSUS Spay Day 2010 Online Pet Photo Contest. Vote for Ellie (costs $1 per vote) and you will help raise her profile and increase the world's exposure to this wonderful little dog. The proceeds of your vote will go to benefit the non-profit rescue that paid for the spays of both Zoë & Ellie.
Ah--A tale of two dogs. Zoë (on the left) has landed in an enchanted land far far away from her cruel beginnings at the end of that logging chain in Wadley, Georgia. Zoë was adopted on New Year's Day 2010 by a family in Oregon. Ellie (on the right) lives in foster with my sister in Atlanta, where she receives structure and love.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Duration

It has been more than a minute since Officer Petitt fatefully intervened in the lives of two dogs surviving a desperate situation.I used to believe I couldn't make a difference. But then one day I was compelled. Once upon a time I lived in New Orleans and eight feet of water stood in my living room for the month of September in 2005. I wasn't able to get back home for several months and when I did I witnessed thousands of people from anywhere making a difference in the lives of the companion animals abandoned as the clouds gathered.

Emboldened by the insanity of the moment, I too jumped in. I was able to see the difference I can make and then I began to believe.

I moved from New Orleans to rural Georgia in part because I was exhausted with "recovery." I was hopeful for a place where most was not broken. But it didn't take long for that sense of urgency to return. All I had to do was open my eyes to the shameful fate of companion animals in this part of the world. Sure there are lucky dogs and petted cats. But there is an alarming number of throw aways. And where I live, dog fighting is a defended endeavor.

I once had a co-worker (a mother of two teenage boys) tell me that in this part of the country dogfighting was no different than dirt track racing and deer hunting. The headlines indicate just how endemic it is. In four months' time two suspected dogfighting operations have been unearthed in my town, pop. 452.

October 9, 2009, True Citizen,
Dogfighting operation discovered


January 8, 2010, Forest Blade,
Arrest made in suspected dog fighting operation


Two hundred and twenty five days ago I was contacted to assist in the rescue of two Pit Bulls who had possibly been used for dog fighting. I couldn't make a difference. You can't just bring a dog like that into your home.

But then, emboldened by the insanity of the moment, I jumped in. I probably contacted you to help. You probably did help. And look at the difference we made.

Today, Zoe (f/k/a Sallie), has a new name and a new life with her new family in a new state.

Ellie, remains in foster with a foster mom who has no doubt fallen in love. Ellie & her foster mom are working with the professional trainers at Sit Means Sit Atlanta to help her purge the last demon.

I have asked her foster mom to keep us updated with Ellie's progress.

All who meet her fall in love. Ellie patiently awaits her new life with her new family. We are searching for the perfect household, where Ellie is allowed to be the only companion animal. She will bring unadultered joy to the lucky person who finds her. Please share her story with anyone who you know that may be so lucky.

And thank you for helping to make it all happen.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Ellie: Progress Report (01/11/10)

From Lori, Ellie's Foster Mom:

Ellie has begun her training with Darin Shepard of Sit Means Sit Atlanta!

Darin came out to my house on December 29th to meet with my Dad and I to talk about obedience training for Ellie, and how it will benefit her in her journey of rehabilitation. Given all of the unknowns about her past, apparent from her scars, we decided that training would be a good thing for both her and others to reinforce positive communication between Ellie and people and to give Ellie a constructive outlet for her energies.

Upon Darin's first interaction with Ellie, he explained that almost all dogs can be trained. He even had one of his dogs with him to test Ellie's reaction to new dogs. He rescued his dog from a shelter that was about to euthanize the animal for terrible aggression towards other dogs and people alike. He told me that he wanted to put his training knowledge to the extreme to see what kind of results he could get. My dad and I watched this dog respond to his every command which were mostly hand signals. It was nothing short of amazing!

Ellie obviously wanted to meet this dog. She was wound up like a top but showed no signs of aggression. It was a relief to know her initial reaction was more or less excited curiosity than anything else. Ellie has gotten into two altercations with my other dog Dasha. Darin asked that I bring Dasha out so he could see the reaction between the two females. He watched them both and let me know that Dasha was definitely the aggressor, which came as no surprise to me since Dasha has gotten into spats with other dogs before.

Darin explained the basics of the remote collar training and tried the collar out on Ellie. It was amazing to see her under his command in just minutes! Ellie is so eager to please us!




Friday, January 1, 2010

The Final Chapter for Zoë

My little snow angel went to her forever home today. It is of course a wonderful thing when a foster dog finds their forever family. I know she will be with her new people forever and ever. I have fostered enough dogs to naively think that no foster would ever completely and totally steal my heart, but Zoë proved me wrong. She was with us for just over two months, which was long enough for me to fall totally head over heels in love with her, but not long enough for me to get tired of having her in my home. All my foster dogs have been amazing dogs, but usually by the time they find their forever people, I'm ready to see them go. I'm ready to stretch out in bed without multiple dogs hogging the blankets. I'm ready to only have two dogs to take running in the mornings. And I'm usually ready to have one less dog bowl to fill for breakfast and dinner. But not this time. Zoë managed to melt my heart in just a matter of days before she completely stole it. Finding the perfect home for her wasn't the hard part, accepting that the perfect home for her had been found was.

Zoë, as so many dogs of her breed, has quite the story to tell, but you would never know it by looking in her constantly smiling eyes or watching her tail wag a hundred wags per minute. When Zoë first came into our home I anxiously watched every move she made while playing with my two dogs but she never disappointed me, as she wasn't anything but gentle and sweet with my two girls. Zoë never let a second go by without enjoying what the world was offering her. There are good dogs, there are great dogs, there are amazing dogs and then there's Zoë who is both amazing and very very special. Zoë wasn't allowed to live her life as a dog before coming into rescue. She lived life on a chain, starved of both food and companionship. And once she got into foster she spent every minute enjoying life and taking advantage of everything offered to her, including food, chew treats, doggy friends and playtime and lots and lots of love and kisses from her human friends.

There's the saying All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten, my saying goes like this, "All I ever needed to know I learned from my foster dog Zoë." She's off to new adventures and experiences and lots of love and doting. And whenever I think of her, I will always remember her scarred ears and paws from perhaps being used as a bait dog in the disturbing world of dog fighting, but more than anything what I will always remember is her never ending wiggle butt, her grin from ear to ear and the appreciation she oozed to us every single day she was here. My little snow angel is on to more hearts to melt and steal.

Thank you Zoë for sharing the true meaning of life with me during your short time with us.

Kym
All For Dogs Rescue of Central Oregon

Monday, December 7, 2009

Zoë the Snow Angel


From Kym, Zoë's Foster Mom in Oregon:

Winter is here and I think Zoë is hoping for an out of state adoption at this point. We got a foot of snow yesterday and she can't decide if she wants to run around and play and jump in the snow with Lucy and Wheelie or run back to the house as fast as she can and jump into bed with all the nice comfy blankets. She looks at me with her deep brown eyes like, "really, do we HAVE to go outside? I can hold it a bit longer." She was a rock star over Thanksgiving when she stayed here with our dogsitter who introduced her to lots and lots of doggy friends. She's keeping my heart warm and fuzzy during our single digit temperatures outside!



Sunday, December 6, 2009

Ellie Lately

Ellie Cozy on a Rainy Day in her Foster Home in Atlanta



Ellie ~ Thanksgiving in Midville