In June 2003 I made the decision to volunteer as a foster mom for the Humane Society. It happened out of the blue. Over and over in my mind I had the urge to become a foster mom for dogs. I thought I was going crazy because I have a busy schedule with 5 kids, 2 dogs, and a somewhat stressful job. But the desire nagged at me to do this. So I logged onto the Humane Society website to see what I needed to do. I called Barbara as directed on the website and expressed my interest. I explained that because I work out of my home I could be available to animals that I fostered during the day. They would never be left alone for long periods of time. Barbara took down all my information and told me she was excited to hear from me and appreciated my interest. Within a few days I received a call from Janet Lane, Barbara’s sister who also is a volunteer for the Humane Society. She told me she had a Great Pyrenees named Zoey who was very depressed and had stopped eating. She also was ill with kennel cough. The decision had been made to “put her down” because of her condition. She was very thin and lethargic and ill. Janet asked me if I would foster her. Here is Zoey’s story…..

At a year old Zoe was given up by her owner who had to move to  an organization called “Save a Dog and Kids”. This organization takes unwanted pets and teams them up with children. The children and the animals learn to trust and develop compassion and special bonds. A family that lived in Jeremy Ranch, Utah, adopted Zoey.  They owned a beautiful log home, with a completely fenced yard, and had already adopted a Great Pyrenees puppy that had been rescued by a local family who found them abandonned in the snow by some rancher. Not far from where I live. The family had a beautiful home with lots of fenced land for Zoey to roam around in. Unfortunately, after a few years of owning Zoey the family lost their job and had to move to another home that did not have a fence. Zoey was allowed to run loose outdoors. She got in trouble with neighboring ranchers. She would chase their livestock. Zoey didn’t know this was wrong. Zoey was shot at by ranchers and could have been killed. The family called Save A Dog & Kids to find her a new home, and then never returned any of the organization's calls when they had prospects, disconnected their phone numbers and the director of Save A Dog & Kids worried for two months wondering if Zoe was ok until the owners brought Zoey to the Humane Society.  The Humane Society did not contact Save A Dog & Kids when they found that organization's microchip on Zoe until she was in our foster home . Zoey was at the Humane Society for two months before she came to be with me. During those two months is when she became very depressed, not understanding what was going on.

I picked up Zoey from the Humane Society on June 22th, 2003. I had never seen a Great Pyrenees. When she was brought out to me I couldn’t believe how big she was! She willingly came to my daughter and me and allowed us to pet her. Her fur was dirty and matted with burrs. She hadn’t been brushed for several months. The kennel cough had made her very ill with sneezing, a very runny nose and bright red eyes. Her fur was thinning in some areas from bad nutrition due to not eating. But beyond all of that you could feel and see Zoey’s special spirit when you looked into those beautiful golden eyes. Janet provided medicine and food for her to get her started on the road to becoming a happy, healthy dog.

We brought Zoey home and immediately bathed her and removed the burrs and mats in her fur. She was pretty lethargic and just wanted to lie around for the most part. She still wouldn’t eat her food. So I resorted to feeding her peanut butter sandwiches, which she gobbled up and still loves to this day. I bushed fur for nearly two hours for the first few days. I offered her food every 2 hours, coaxing her to eat. I took her on short walks, which I increased daily to try to stimulate her curiosity to bring her out of her depression. Most important we loved her and gave her tremendous amounts of attention.

Within two weeks Zoey’s personality began coming out. She started initiating play with my other dogs, Tessa, Sammie, and Bojangles, a black lab whom I had just rescued from a local animal shelter.

Tessa, a female Dalmatian, was pretty standoffish with Zoey. She wasn’t sure what to think. Sammie, a miniature dachshund was afraid of Zoey because of her size so she would just yap at Zoey for a while. But…. how ironic that at the same time I rescued Bojangles, he is the friend she needed most. Bojangles is a 2-year-old black lab. He belonged to some neighbors down the street from me. They kept him outside in all types of weather. He never had water and was fed very little. He was thin and neglected. The neighbors never walked him or played with him. But I could tell he was special. My daughters and I would sneak him food and water and we reported the situation to our local Animal Shelter. They investigated and tried to work with the owners to educate them on dog care. After several visits and no results the Animal Shelter threatened to give the owners a citation for not caring for him properly. They were warned that they would be back to investigate on June 19th and if they found him in the same conditions they would be cited.

While on my nightly walk on the 19th, I noticed that Mr. Bojangles was running loose. This was unusual. He was never allowed to be loose. I called the Animal Shelter and reported that he was loose. They were not surprised. This was the day they were supposed to return to investigate and they felt the owners let him loose so that they would not be cited for his conditions. They picked up Mr. Bojangles and kept him for the required 3 business days. I told the Animal Shelter that I would adopt him if the owners did not claim him. They didn’t so on June 24th I adopted him. We named him Mr. Bojangles because when we used to sneak him food he would dance for us as though he was saying thank you.

Mr. Bojangles LOVES Zoey. She is his favorite playmate. He wouldn’t allow her to be depressed for long. He initiated play ALL THE TIME which is what Zoey needed. Zoey and Bojangles would play tag and tug of war with a rope. They would wrestle and chase balls together. They had a special bond. Zoey’s favorite thing was to grab Bojangles by his back ankle to get his attention to let him know she wanted to play. Tessa and Sammie learned to trust Zoey and they all began to play together.

Within a a few weeks, Zoey was healthy, happy, and gaining weight.

I received a call from Janet after Zoey was with us about a week stating that Zoey was micro chipped and they had found that she had originally belonged to an organization called “Save a Dog and Kids.” The organization’s director, Denise was contacted and notified that Zoey was at the Humane Society. I talked with Denise and gratefully she allowed me to continue to foster Zoey because of the progress she was making.

Once Zoey was better, Denise of Save A Dog & Kids began looking for a permanent home for her. In August Denise found a family in New York that was interested in adopting Zoey. After a couple weeks that fell through. Not long after Denise informed me that Zoey was being adopted by Sue Morris, a therapist for a Youth At Risk Therapy Facility that already had a male Great Pyrenees doing therapy work. She will help Youth At Risk learn to trust and love.  The only problem was getting Zoey from Utah to Oregon.

Amazingly, it has all come together and Zoey will be with you soon. Thanks to Suzanne from Salt Lake who drove Zoey to Twin Falls, Idaho, where Linda traveld to from Boise and picked her up and has kept her until the Army can get her on a plane and fly her to you in a few days. A lot of people have come together with love in their hearts to ensure that Zoey makes it to you safely.

Zoey is very confused right now and doesn’t understand what is going on. She and I share a very special bond and I miss her terribly. I know she misses us but I also know she will bond with her new family and be very happy there. She has a lot of love to give and she is very playful.

When I found out that she had been adopted I wanted to be selfish and fight to keep her. But when I looked back at all the events that had taken place I realized that she is destined to be with you. I will always love her sooo much and she will always be in my heart.

Be patient with her while she adjusts and learns to trust you. She is confused but she remains loving and sweet. She has a very special spirit.

This story is long but I felt it was important that you understand that I believe in my heart that Zoey was destined to be with you: All the pieces have fallen into place so that she can be there with you. I know you will take special care of my sweet Zoey and she will in turn give you lots of love and attention.