This is one of my favorite rescues. When NOLA Lab Rescue asked for fosters willing to take a puppy, I yelled sign me up. This momma and her five 12-week old pups were in a shelter, and that was no place for her or her perfectly adoptable, gorgeous little puppies. I said, I’ll take one, and before I knew it I was antsy to get my hands on the puppies, to get them out of there. One problem. I drive a 4-door Mazda sedan. I don’t exactly have space for multiple dogs. If I had a winning lottery ticket, you could expect to see an SUV parked in front of The Cecchine Hotel for Dogs. (Can you fit that on a vanity plate?) Well, someone stepped up to foster the momma dog, and was going to pick her up. That left 5 squirmy, delicious puppies. A rescue expert convinced me that I could in fact fit a 36″ dog crate into my back seat. Skeptical, I carried he thing out to the car. It wouldn’t fit through the car door. Not one to give up easily, I stared at it until the blindingly obvious solution appeared. Fold it up and then open it and assemble it inside of the car. It just fit. Just. I was ridiculously excited about this small feat. (I have advanced degrees, but none of them are spatial.)
Cage tucked in tight to my back seat, I set out on an hour-long drive to the shelter. Athena, the Momma dog, was out front and waiting for her foster-liberator. She was thin and scared and I spent a few moments with her, wanting to take her with me too. I told her everything is going to get better now. I promised her. We hugged. I don’t know how they ended up there, but this momma did a great job nursing her puppies. They brought me 5 of the plumpest little fatties I’ve ever seen. These were big puppies, 13 and 14 lbs. They had blissfully just come from a bath. I was told that they had recently been covered in mud and filth. Some had visible sores, places where they were missing fur; possibly burn marks, who knows? Poor babies. They were brought out to me, two by two, and then the final one, a fluffy one, with a dark spot on its rear leg, another on its tail. I loaded them into the crate in the back of my car and regretted that I had to drive instead of play with all of them. How in the world was I going to pick one? I thought back to the day I picked my first dog, Pen, from her litter. There were three puppies jumping and yapping and one sitting quietly to the side, the runt. I’ll take the introvert, went through my head. Pen had parasites, worms, and wasn’t feeling good, but I didn’t know that. Even before I started doing rescue, I was picking the neediest dog! Anyway, I made it to my drop off point and I had to hand over four of the five puppies. I chose the calm, yawning little ball of fluff on the right; I named her Willa.
Willa was easy to love. She was a very easy puppy. Smart, easy to train, she got along with every dog and was fiercely independent. This girl did not need cuddles or reassurance. She was patient enough with us loving on her, but she preferred to go off on her own and lie in a sunny spot just a bit away from the group. Willa watched the older dogs and did whatever they did. My 4th dog, with her I started to realize the value of the pack. They welcomed her, reassured her that it was a safe place, and showed her what to do. One puppy, alone, is a lot of work. A bored puppy is a destructive puppy, but add a puppy to a group of confident, secure dogs, and that one puppy is actually really easy to train. Besides, the big dogs were all excited when she came. Mom brought us a puppy! Mom brought us a puppy!
Willa earned her keep at The Cecchine Hotel for Dogs as our wake-up puppy. She would be carried upstairs to the kid’s rooms at 630am and be placed in bed with a sleeping child. There is nothing as wonderful as waking up to a fluffy puppy in your face. Actually, we rotate this task, but Willa was particularly good at it. Some of the dogs will just try to cuddle up and sleep, which is not-at-all-helpful on schooldays. Willa would pounce and give tiny kisses. She wanted the kids to get up and play.
Here is another reason that Willa was one of my favorite rescues – Ginger. She was there for Ginger, who had lost her puppies. It was very sweet, the surrogate bond that I saw. They weren’t a bonded pair, but they were buddies, and Ginger loved little Willa. Willa came to us at just the right time to help sweet Ginger.
Willa was with us for 7 wonderful weeks before she, and all of her siblings, were transported to New York, where they were all quickly adopted. Look how much she has grown! (pictured below, after one month in her forever home) We are so happy for Willa and her forever family. She was even included in their engagement photos! Not all rescue dogs are as drop-dead beautiful as Willa, (she was even in a calendar contest) but you might be surprised. People give up pure bred, AKC papered dogs as well as mutts. I see the most beautiful, homeless dogs everyday. I wish that everyone that bought his or her dog from a breeder could see what I see!
Willa - fostered 23 February - 13 April 2017 ; adopted in NY Willa's mother, Athena (top left photo), is heading north this weekend to be adopted in Michigan. Happy Tails Athena!
