Strong believers in giving unwanted dogs a second chance, our first destination was the Humane Society. We knew we really wanted a husky, but chances of finding one in a shelter are slim because they are so desirable...and we could love any breed of dog. We happened upon the shelter one Sunday in November to look at another dog. While we were outside looking at him, the most beautiful dog caught my eye. She was being walked by an employee and kept separate from all the other dogs because it appeared that she had some sort of surgery. (giant cone around her head) Politely declining interest in the original dog we came to see (who was adopted soon thereafter) we inquired about the siberian husky off to herself. The employee said that she wasn't available for adoption due to medical and legal reasons...but she let us go over to visit her anyway. It was like she chose us. As soon as we walked over to her, she leaned on me so much that she was soon sitting in my lap. Let me introduce her: Belle the incredible Siberian Husky
The first thing you notice about her is her piercing eyes. I have to admit, she looked almost too intimidating at first. But give her 2 seconds and you will find that she has more love to give than you can handle. The next thing that I noticed about her was her tail. The tip of it was shriveled and looked to fall off any moment. That is when we asked about her story.
Belle was abandoned by her previous owners. Probably for a few weeks. By the time help had come she was so emaciated that she was too malnurished to feed her puppies. All of her puppies had died. Having no fresh water to drink and being outside she picked up heartworms so severe that they didn't know if they would be able to cure her of them. And lastly, her tail became infected.
Interested in adopting her, the employee said there was a very small chance that would happen. Belle had too many strikes against her. With all her medical problems, the shelter has little money to spread between all the dogs there. One more medical issue, she would have to be put down because she would be too expensive for them to treat. She had to overcome an intensive heartworm treatment and recover from surgery to remove part of her tail.
Thankfully, Belle was awarded the "Cinderella Fund". This fund is money set aside for dogs who need more care than the normal budget can provide. She was given her heartworm treatment and the surgery for her tail. Now she needed a place to stay while she was recovering. When I learned that she would need a foster home to stay in, I immediately signed up to be a foster parent with the Humane Society. I got to meet incredible people who sacrifice their time and homes to help animals that are in need of a loving environment to regain their strength and health.
We were given Belle to foster in December. She had to be completely non-active for at least 4 weeks in order for the heartworm treatment to be effective. Her tail had healed wonderfully from the surgery. The hardest part for us was not being able to take her on walks or play with her actively. It paid off in the end, because she was declared heartworm free a month later and ready for adoption. Belle offically became ours in January of 2008. And we couldn't have asked for a better dog. You would think that with her abandonment experience she would be apprehensive of humans. But she only has love to give.
Now her time is occupied going on walks/jogging with me and playing tug of war with Robbie. She is such a fast learner, and has learned many new commands. She has officially clamied the couch as her throne and is ready to snuggle. Belle loves to ride in the car and she goes everywhere with us. It makes us proud to take her everywhere. Not because she is so beautiful (well maybe a little bit), but we love to share her story.
