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Dear Jeff, Just a quick note to thank your organization for their assistance in helping me find London, my new Sheltie rescue. I picked him up from his owners last Friday and already we're fast friends. He's adapted to my home and fitting right into my life. I told my family long ago when I lost my other Sheltie mix in 1996 that I'd not get another dog until the time was right and God pointed me in the right direction. My husband who was ill for a long time insisted we couldn't have another one after we lost the last one but in my heart I knew my life wouldn't stay dog-less forever. I lost my husband, the love of my life in October of 2008, and things have been very rough without him. I decided that I wanted to get another dog but it would have to be a special kind of dog like all the others I've had. My finances are so tight anymore that it's really hard figuring how to stretch the budget to include London's proper care but I figured out a way to do it before I made the plunge. I have never had a dog that I didn't take care of properly . . . making sure they went to the vet regularly and got all their shots, were always bathed and groomed, teeth cleaned, no 'doggy odors' indoors, obedience trained so they were welcome around company . . . just great dogs to have around. I saw London's picture on your site and came back to it for several weeks before I finally called about him. His eyes just kept beckoning to me. I had hoped that if he was still available I'd have maybe a month to make up my mind about him but it turned out that I only had a little over a week after I first called before I had to pick him up or they'd be dropping him off in Knoxville. It turned out to be the most stressful week ever as I had to start cleaning a house that was not ready for a dog being full of stuff collected over 40 years that I'd started going through after my husband's death, and had piled all over. I enlisted 2 friends and we worked 12 hour days for 6 days to go through enough of what my husband had insisted we 'might use someday' to make room in my house for both me and London. I now have a lot of stuff for a big yard sale in my shed. Hopefully I will make back a 'little' of what I spent over the years on all the stuff he wanted while he was sick. I've always believed in rescue dogs, even when I raised Shelties myself back in the late 60s. I helped rescue a couple Shelties back then before they even started talking about such things. Being in my sixties now I'm not sure I need to be starting with a puppy and doing the housebreaking bit again. I can't bend like I used to for one thing. Rescue dogs many times seem to realize that they've been given another chance and respond accordingly. Seldom have I seen any that don't deserve that second chance to be a forever friend. I know London and I are slated to spend a lot of time together. London is a very mellow dog but very spirited also. He's so friendly that if all would work out I hope to look into making him into a therapy dog to take to some of our local nursing homes next spring. Again thanks for having such a site available. Jeanne Smedley |
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