Holly's Story

The first dog we rescued was a dingo cross. We found her at our local rubbish dump. We don't know whether she was neglected or whether she was feral from the start. But she was just way too cute to leave there to fend for herself. We took her home and named her Foxy. She was the best dog. Although she was part dingo she was one of the most friendly natured dogs. We were all young kids and she was playful but gentle with all of us. She was just gorgeous. We only had her for a year or so. Tragically she was killed by a neighbours dog which came onto our property and tried to maul one of our sheep. Foxy tried to save the sheep and we couldn't save her.

The next dog we rescued was a gorgeous goldren retriever. She was the last dog in a litter and was going to be put down because she couldn't find a home. With her gorgeous chocolate eyes and silky white fur we couldn't leave her to her fate. So we took her home. The owner told us to give her red cordial and she wasn't a big fan of drinking plain water all the time. But the silly puppy kept getting into the cordial and going a gorgeous shade of pink. She was so loyal to the family. Though she loved mud and rolling in cow manure (the risks of living on a farm). She was so nice, and she developed such a strong bond with one of my brothers, Tim. She got pancreantitis when she was about 10. Thankfully the vets were able to save her. She had to go on a special diet of just chicken, rice and veggies. But she was happy and so were we. She developed cancer when she was about 12 and tragically had to be euthanized.

We just rescued cats for a couple of years. My mum was a firm believer that animals are fate, so we didn't plan on going to a pet shop to buy one. So I put my time into helping out at the vet clinic where my mum worked and volunteering at the local animal RSPCA shelter. (by local I mean three hours drive...but it was well worth it). While I was there there was a dog called Arrow. He was a gorgeous dog who was shot with a cross bow by his previous owner. It still amazes me how people can be so cruel to animals. They managed to rehabilitate and rehome him, but after about six weeks he became to aggressive and was given back to the shelter. Unfortunately his aggression got worse and had to be euthanized. This is the story that made me want to adopt every animal in the world. To think that people are willing to treat animals so cruelly still shocks me. I hope no animal has to go through what that poor dog went through. I continued to work and we rehabilitated and rehomed so many animals. I also helped campaign to make tail docking for cosmetic reasons illegal (which it has now been for eight years). I met some incredible animals and people wanting to give them wonderful homes. After volunteering there I realized how much i missed having a dog in my life so we looked to rescuing another dog...which lead us to our current gorgeous girl, Molly.

My mum was working at the vet clinic one day and some people brought in this tiny puppy. She was only 2 weeks old and was the runt of the litter. Her left eye had been scratched, had gotten infected and the eye basically disappeared. They wanted to have her euthanized because with her damaged eye they couldn't sell her and because of her size she was no good for breeding. There were no vets in the clinic at the time so mum put her in a cage out the back to wait until one of the vets got back from their house calls. Molly was crying and crying so mum took her out the cage to nurse her. She sucked on my mums finger, giving my mum a blood blister, and she just had to have her. The breeder took her back until she was old enough to eat solid food. She was so tiny when we got her. She was smaller then my shoes. And she was so dopey and clumsy. Her having only one eye is a little difficult, she has trouble with judging distance and if anything passes her on her left side or someone approaches her left side she gets startled, and she occasionally bumps into things. She is also on medication for incontinence. They say it's common for female boxers, and it took us a few months to get her medication right, but it was worth all the washing and mopping to keep her.

She has been the best dog. She is now 10 years old, which is ancient for boxers (most only live to 8 and the rest of her litter have all passed away) so we are very proud of our efforts. She now has mast cell tumors (a type of cancer, and hers is level 3 which is the most aggressive). She also has stomach ulcers (a side effect of mast cell tumors) and is now on tablets for that too. But she is a very happy dog. She loves my dad (he is her favourite person, closely followed by my mum). He works away, so when he comes home she gets so excited. When she was diagnosed with cancer in July last year we had the choice of removing her leg (which really wasn't an option, because she has bad reactions to anesthetics...the vets have had to resuscitate her during all previous operations. Plus she would have been away for 6 weeks while she had treatment. Because she was so old we decided just to let her continue and go for quality of life, not quantity). The vet thought she would only live a month or two. It has now been a year, so we showed him! Each day is a real treasure with my little girl. She snuggles up in my room at night (even though she isn't meant to, but she's so old she guilt trips us! LOL). I am so glad that we saved her. Life isn't complete without a dog, and she really was a moment of fate. If there had been a vet there that day, she wouldn't have sucked on my mum's finger. She was meant to come to our home. I love my little puppy and her kisses.

I encourage everyone to rescue dogs. Even special needs dogs. They are gorgeous, and though they are a little bit more of an effort it is well worth it. And please donate to the fan initiative. Please! With your money more dogs will have the opportunity to make a house a home and make a family extraordinarily happy. When Molly has left us I am hoping we can rescue another dog (or maybe more if i can convince my mum) and give them a loving home and share in the joy that a dog brings.

PLEASE DONATE! I WILL BE!

Here is a poem I wanted to share with you. It's a real dog lovers poem.
When God made the earth and sky,
The flowers and the trees,
He then made all the animals
And all the birds and bees,
And When his work was finished
Not one was quite the same.
He said, "I'll walk this earth of mine
And give each a name."
And so he traveled land and sea
And everywhere he went
A little creature followed Him
Until its strength was spent.
When all were named upon the earth
And in the sky and sea,
The little creature said," Dear Lord,
There is not one left for me."
The Father smiled and softly said
I've left you to the end.
I've turned my own name back to front
And call you Dog, my friend.

From Holly

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