Annie Manker

This is Annie Manker the beloved little Maltese of John and Vicki. Little Annie came from the streets of Chicago at the end of the winter of 2016. Rescued (I believe by a policeman) and taken to Animal Control, she was in very poor condition! She had a severe eye injury and was almost blind, bites all over her little body, frost bite on the tip of her ears and tail. She had very little hair and what she had was badly matted making it almost impossible for her to walk. Annie was so very sick. Luck was with her as she was rescued by Northcentral Maltese Rescue in Racine Wisconsin. She was taken to their vet right away and she spent 6 weeks there with medical care. She had to have all her remaining teeth pulled. Annie began to get a real personality as she felt safe. We applied to adopt her and Annie came to us by plane accompanied by a vet tech to BWI in Baltimore. It was an exciting day for us. There were security issues that day at the airport due to an incident the night before they were worried about possible issues at all airports. Homeland Security was there with their rifles and stopped us on the way in as I had an empty crate we were going to put her in so that the vet tech could return the other crate to the rescue. When the plane landed nobody was able to go through to meet people but the security guard that stopped us said let this lady through she is doing a dog rescue. So Miss Annie had an exciting greeting. Several people took pictures of us getting her out of her bag. Here was a tiny, beautiful little white Maltese. She arrived and seemed to feel fine. We made the journey to New Freedom PA to her new home. Annie came home to Maltese, Yorkie and Shih Tzu brothers and sisters and it took no time for her to fit in. Her name was Angel when she came but she did not respond to that. I changed her name to Annie after my great grandmother. In no time she knew her name. She had just a little vision at that point but we knew she would soon be totally blind. She learned her way around the house and found her pee pads every time. Annie was a good little eater and that was important as she was just over 4 pounds. She liked to sit on the chair with her Mom and Dad and slept between us in bed every night. Annie was a joy to everyone. She would do “spins” and bark when it was time to eat. Being so tiny it was easy to carry her around and that she liked. She had a favorite bed beside the radiator in our kitchen and loved that spot. The summer of 2021 she was diagnosed with kidney issues. She continued to do very well until about a month ago she seemed to be a bit confused. She continued to eat and was her joyful self. On the morning of August 2 she woke up and cried. I ran to pick her up as she was sleeping in a playpen beside our bed as she had fallen out of bed and we could not take a chance of her being hurt so the playpen was her nighttime spot. I knew it was a seizure right away and called my husband and he jumped up and we held her in a blanket and talked with her. She calmed a bit but it was a bad seizure. I called the ER and we took her right in. We all decided it was time for Annie to make her trip to the Rainbow Bridge. It was a tough choice but for her own good. During her time on the streets in Chicago we were convinced an Angel was traveling with her and protected her as we have no idea how she survived. We also knew that the Angel was in the comfort room of the ER waiting to take Annie on her final journey to the Rainbow Bridge. I held her and her Dad was right there beside us trying to comfort both Annie and me. As we waited for her to close her eyes for the last time I told her we loved her and her Dad told her that she was ready for her trip to the Rainbow Bridge and she would be able to see and hear again and her sisters Cookie, Molly Mop, Fannie and Priscilla would all be there waiting for her. These 4 sisters died within a 6 week period in January/February. They were also senior rescues. So our family of 8 dogs in December is now just 3. Our house is very quiet and sad without these 5 little girls. We are totally blessed to have the opportunity to adopt senior and special needs dogs. My husband John and I do this together as one person could never handle all we have done. We feel so sad with the loss of each of them but we also feel pride that we are able to make a difference in the lives of some of these little ones. I know in time the tears will be replaced by so many priceless memories. Our little girls are together and will wait for us until our time comes. I think if they could send a message they would say—please do what our Mom and Dad did, adopt a senior and give them the time of their lives for whatever time they have left.

Annie you will always be with us in our hearts and we will never forget you! You were a brave little girl.