It's National Dog Day!
What a perfect reminder to get outside in the fall's approaching chrisp air and run around with man's best friend. If you don't have a dog, you might be inspired to visit a local shelter and take one for a walk, who knows you might fall in love and find room in your heart and home to be that beacon of hope some homeless dog has been waiting for.
This is the story of Daisy. I met Daisy at a horse show in Florida. I noticed on her leash the words "adopt me". She was with a volunteer from a private shelter in Florida called Big Dog Ranch Rescue. Daisy was a dog that engaged you with her eyes and as a diehard dog lover, I of course stopped to greet her and find out her story. Daisy was found on the street and with very little information known about her she ended up in the Miami Dade Animal Control, one of the most high kill public shelters in Florida until she was later picked up by the good folks at Big Dog Rescue and in the hands of this lovely handler. Our chance meeting that evening would drastically change the course of Daisey's life forever.
I watched Daisy as she gently greeted every passerbyer, human and dog kind with equal gentleness and interest. I was amazed when I saw her sit ringside and gaze intently at horses 10 times her size jump over fences without her even flinching or making a peep. When I found out daisy was only nine months old, I knew that I had to help her. This was a very special dog and a cage was no place for her.
I decided to foster Daisy for the week that I was in town. Daisy needed exposure so we did everything that a dog could do. We walked the beaches, went to the dog park, I brought her to friends houses and to the barns in and around the horse show. There was some interest and a few people took my name and phone number but with only a few days left, I was beginning to lose hope. On the last day of my stay, I reluctantly had to walk Daisy back up the ramp of the rescue where she came. I cried and I promise that I would never give up on her, that I would be back and find her a home. That afternoon, the phone began to ringing.
Daisy found her happily ever after in the arms and home of people who love her. She has her own private pool and fenced in 3 acre yard and someone that is home with her every day as well as a big brother named Charlie, a 9 year old Weimaraner who has become her best friend. Sometimes, just before you're about to give up, miracles happen and a little dog like Daisy gets a forever home.
In Daisy's new home, she smiles