This Dog Was Severely Disabled And Needed Help Walking – No One Wanted Her. This Family Decided To Step In Big Time.
We love hearing about rescue stories from our readers. Each one is as unique and special as the dogs and people involved.
But, every once in awhile, you hear a story that just blows your mind. The heart, patience and love that this family shows toward a dog that everyone else considered “unlovable,” and “not worth the air space,” will restore your faith in humanity.
A little white dog sat at the Humane Society in California waiting for nothing. Annabelle was on the list to be euthanized because no one wanted to take responsibility for her. She is missing the part of her brain that controls balance as well as a right rib and ovary.
Tammy Stodghill tries to share as many homeless dogs that are in shelters as she can on her Facebook page.
“I had seen Annabelle on the shelter’s post in November 2011 and shared it and told my husband [Greg] about her,” she says. “We were both so sad for all she’d been through and really hoped she’d find a home
When the family came back from their yearly trip to Florida, she saw Annabelle was still available – and out of time. She called to find out about her.
The society had had a temporary foster for a few months, but they didn’t want to do it anymore. People did respond to the Facebook posts about her, but the responses were not what they wanted to hear.
“Most of them said things like ‘I would love to have her and she can stay in my bathroom while I’m at work,’” explains Tammy. “They didn’t want that for her as she indicates when she needs to go potty by panting and moving her front legs, but you have to be there to see it and take her out to go or she would be laying in her own urine or feces. They also, sadly enough, got calls saying ‘she is a waste of air’ and ‘why wouldn’t you put her down?’ Unreal.”
“Their best guess was that a puppy mill bred her then decided they couldn’t sell her so they left her on the side of the road hidden in some bushes,” Tammy continued. “A woman finally spotted her, but by then she was dehydrated, completely flea infested and very sick, suffering with toxoplasmosis. The wonderful vet staff at the Humane Society nursed her back to health and then no one wanted the burden she posed.”
The facts were this:
- Annabelle can’t walk or even stand or lay upright, without being propped up.
- She has a four-wheel cart, but can’t really move around in it due to her neurological issues.
- She has to be taken out to potty and walked in a sling.
“They made us sign a form saying that they couldn’t guarantee her lifespan, and at the time, we hesitated,” she remembers. “However, we are so glad we went through with the adoption as the life we are giving her is one in which she knows she is loved.”
Annabelle is now 5 1/2 years old.
“She is the light of our lives and reminds us every day that you are as happy as you think you are,” Tammy says. “Our other dogs adore her and allow her to cuddle with them whenever she wants.
And despite the original prognosis from the Humane Society, Annabelle has mastered her cart – just look at her go!
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