Ready for a feel-good story to kick off your short work week?
When we attended Doggiepalooza at Rucker Pet in May, we went to spread the word about rescue and meet potential adopters, which we did. We didn’t bring any dogs with us because we were short-handed with another event … but we certainly went home with one!
Long story short, Lady went from making puppies to sell at flea markets to becoming a puppy of her own. She arrived with two hernias and a mouth full of rotten teeth, which cost a pretty penny to fix. But, once we did, we was “like Velcro.” She loved Mama Donna and all of the volunteers and wanted to be on someone’s lap 24/7. She had a whole new lease on life and she was loving it.
Enter John Bryan, an incredibly mature 18-year-old man who is wise beyond his years. John completed an adoption application that left all of us in tears. He was diagnosed with Leukemia in 2015, but as of January of this year, he is cancer free. He will be receiving treatments for another year or two, but they will be “minor” compared to what he’s been through. He will also be starting college at home at the beginning of next year.
Having been through what he has been through and reaching a more stable point in life, he was ready for a personal companion. His family already had a wonderful JRT mix, Zoe, and a Red Bone Coon Hound Mix, Miller, but he wanted to have a dog to call and care for on his own.
He came to the ranch with his family a couple of weeks ago and met several of the rescues, who were good candidates, but Lady was an instant fit. She went home for a trial and was snuggled up with everyone (including Zoe) by the end of the day. She is now known as Stella, and hew new family has already given her as much as she has given them. She needed John as much as he needed her.
These are the wonderful stories that keep us going. John is such an inspiration to us all, not just in rescue but in life.
If you are interested in learning more about John’s story, listen for him during the WSB Care-a-Thon fundraiser for CHOA July 11-12. It will be broadcast from the Aflac Cancer Center at Scottish Rite, where John gets treatments. He will be sharing his story online with Herman Cain.
