In LOVING MEMORY of Sweet Lil SHER…..
May 10, 1996 – November 10, 2004
A precious one is gone.
Her memory in keeps sake,
with which we’ll never part.
And although GOD now has her in his keeping
We will always have her in our hearts.
*************************
Sher, a beautifully marked, petite little tricolored female sheltie weighing at most 15 pounds and being all of 13.5 inches tall, along with 7 other traumatized little puppy mill shelties, came into Sheltie Rescue and our home April 28, 2004.
Finding homes for these scared and very unsocialized furkids (already age 7-8 years) turned out to be a long and arduous ordeal. Sweet Lil Sher was the last to be adopted. Her special day was October 17, 2004. Although most certainly one of the most adorable of the group, she seemed to be the most timid and recluse, intimidating many families about adopting her.
Unlike all of my many other HAPPY ENDINGS STORIES of the shelties I have helped place in their loving forever homes in the past two and one half years that I have been doing RESCUE, Sher’s story DOES NOT have a happy ending, rather a very tragic one. It is with saddened and guilt ridden heart that I share my painful story in order to HOPEFULLY save another little adoptive soul from the trauma she endured the last three weeks of her precious life.
Unlike many rescued pets, puppy mill dogs carry an abundance of emotional baggage with them for months and many even years. For this reason, we in RESCUE try to educate adoptive families as to what can and should be done for the safety and stability of their newly adopted furchild as they are once again moved into another environment that we ultimately promise them will be there last move……THEIR FOREVER HOME! OH, PLEASE, listen with open hearts to our advice…..it is with all the love in our hearts that we share with you what we have learned from many personal experiences.
Sher’s adoptive parent’s, kind and loving people, seemed very animal savoy. They currently also had a 15 year old furchild. Wanting to add to their family, they contacted me after seeing Sher’s picture and story on our web site. Their application was approved with flying colors and over the period of the next several weeks we discussed Sher’s progress while in foster care and what they could/should do to continue enhancing her socialization skills and trust level after she moved into their home. Basic recommendations …lots of touching, holding, talking and love, love, love. With that recommendation also came a strong warning that she should NOT be left unsupervised in their fenced back yard for a very long long time.
PAUSE………..sobbing……..
ONLY three days later that advise had been discarded and when nobody was watching, Sher found opportunity to find a VERY TINY place to squeeze out of their privacy fenced back yard.
NOW…..”THE CRITICAL and most likely THE FATAL MISTAKE”…..they did NOT contact me about her escape. Not until a week later when I called to check on her progress was I told of her disappearance. MY HEART STOPPED for what seemed to be forever. In less than 3 hours I was 200+ miles away from home looking for my beloved little girl, Sher. Posters were put out, flyers passed out by the hundreds, Animal Shelters, Vet Clinics and other Businesses notified. Radio Stations and Newspapers were given her information, too. HOWEVER, the critical first week had already passed and time, weather, hunger and preditors became a serious concern.
For the next two weeks a wonderful friend and another recently adoptive family helped going door to door, walking shelter belts and cricks trying to follow her path. With unending compassionate help and information of many local residents we felt encouraged that we were closing in on her. BUT ALL THAT CAME TO A SUDDEN HALT…….
Pause………sobbing……..
……when I got a call from home saying that a man called and left a message on our answering machine that he had found a dog collar with a Sheltie Rescue tag and our phone numbers on it. After finally being able to get back in touch with this man the following day, we additionally learn…..the collar was still on her…….SHER HAD BEEN KILLED BY A TRAIN.
GRATEFULLY, just when one would think that there was NO GOOD NEWS to hear…the kind man, who happened to be an Engineer for the Railroad, told my Rescue Partner that when he saw our precious little sheltie lying on the tracks, his heart melted, as he too had a sheltie of his own. He then continued to tell us that he removed her collar and gave her a proper burial…….
PAUSE……..sobbing again………
Less than a week has passed and I still cannot close my eyes without seeing my precious little Sher’s face. What I wouldn’t do to have her once again sleeping in our bed at night with our own sheltie grrrring at her… to stay out of HER SPACE. She was absolutely NO TROUBLE at all…. only an adorable little couch ornament while she was in our home….why didn’t I let her stay with us? This question and many more pour through my mind every wakening hour of the day.
YES, although I am certain her adoptive family is very saddened by her tragic and very unnecessary death, they certainly have learned some very tough lessons. I AM NOT WITHOUT having learned some of my own……….sigh.
Dearest Sher…..your pawprint is forever in my heart and the hope of that “RAINBOW BRIDGE” stays with me…may you find the forgiveness in your heart to meet me there one day.
Your Loving Foster Mom,
| Foster Mom Linda |