Yesterday, I was writing a completely different article but something happened that changed the course of what I wanted to talk about.

Yesterday afternoon, after completing a day of rambunctious swimming, we walked across the street to speak to the staff at John Young Animal Hospital about something of mutual interest. As we stood in their lobby, a man with an older looking female cocker spaniel came in, saying he wanted to put the dog to sleep, because her owner had passed away and there was no one to take the dog. He was the woman’s neighbor, and in the 2 weeks since the neighbor passed away, he had been feeding the dog as best as he could, within the confines of his work schedule. Other than him, there was no one else to care for the dog. In deciding to euthanize her, he thought he was doing the right thing.

We took one look at her, and immediately decided to do something to prevent the dog from being put down. She has such a sweet face, but from the horrible mats on her ears, the fleas, her smell, etc. it was obvious her owner even while still alive wasn’t able to care for her. We placed a call to Lisa Lovell at Animal Companion Pet Sitting, knowing her love for and rescue efforts geared toward cocker spaniels. We told the man who brought in her that we would take care of her, so he left with the knowing that he had done the right thing. He was so grateful that we happened to be there, since his original intention was to bring the dog in the day before. If he had, the dog surely would have been put down.

Over the next couple of hours we sat in the vet’s office as we debated and worked with Lisa and the vet regarding the pros and cons of trying to save this dog or euthanize her.

Let’s face it. She’s an older dog and has some health issues that may mean she doesn’t have a lot of time left. But for whatever reason, we just couldn’t make the decision to put her down. Perhaps it was the way she looked at us. Perhaps it was her wagging tail…

Amazing credit goes to Lisa at Animal Companion – she worked the phones until she found someone who would take in this beautiful creature, whose name we were told was Lady, where she could live out whatever time she has left. We agreed to find a place in our center for Lady to spend the night last night, feed her and give her a bath. Sometime today, Lisa will pick her up, take her to be groomed and deliver her to her new forever home where her health issues will be addressed.

As I said, it takes a village of people working together to save all the dogs being saved and adopted every day. In this one case, we are so grateful to Dr. Susla, Bonni, Juda, and the rest of the staff at John Young Animal Hospital – they are incredible. And especially to Lisa Lovell of Animal Companion Pet Sitting Service, Judy Sarullo of Pet Rescue by Judy, and all the others who are just now getting involved to help this sweet girl. We want nothing more than for her to live out the remaining time she has left in a warm and loving environment.

With divine intervention, we believe she found that yesterday!

We are the only Orlando dog boarding and Orlando doggie day care center that has an indoor heated pool for dogs. See it for yourself by scheduling a tour!

Rocky's Retreat | 2826 Shader Rd. Orlando FL 32808 | info@rockysretreat.com | (407) 295-3888