Happy Birthday Maddie!

It was 5 years ago that I saw Madison’s picture on the county’s Animal Services website and fell in love. I have no idea why she caught my eye, considering she isn’t even looking at the camera, but she did and it sent me on a mission to find her.  It was a Monday when I first went to see her, but despite a thorough look through the kennels I couldn’t find her.  I hadn’t printed out her information and no one had any idea what dog I was looking for (her name was “Ally” at the time).  No matter how much information I gave them, they claimed she wasn’t in the system.  I figured she had been adopted and left.

The next day she was still in the system.  They had told me that it would take them until the end of the day to clear her out of the system if she had been adopted on Monday, so that meant she just had to be there.  I headed over to Animal Services on my lunch break only to find that she was not in any of the kennels.  Again, no one knew who I was talking about, even though I brought the computer information print out with me.

It took getting the director involved to finally find her.  Turns out Maddie was in a special quarantine unit because she had demodectic mange, a condition that had caused her to have large red, hairless spots all over her body.    The picture that they had posted on the online adoption system was from the last time she had been adopted at 8 months old, and she was now approximately 2 years old.

As I entered the special quarantine area, Maddie immediately jumped up and wagged her tail, only to see that I wasn’t her owner.  I remember the sadness and disappointment in her eyes as she walked to the back of her kennel to lay down.  She was expecting her owner.  She needed her family.  She wanted them to pick her up, to claim her, and take care of her.  But that wasn’t going to happen.  Her owner had been contacted and they knew she was there.  They just had no intention of picking her up.  Animal Services actually offered to send them home with a supply of the medicine they would need to treat the demodex, but they claimed it was raining and they didn’t have time to pick her up.  They actually had 5 days to pick her up and never did.  They left her to die.

As much as I hate her former owners, it did work out well for me because on that 5th day (February 16, 2007) I was able to go and pick her up.  The director sat me down when I got there and informed me that Maddie had developed kennel cough and asked me if I still wanted her.  The director tried her hardest to talk me into one of their other “healthy dogs”, but I only wanted Maddie.  Things even got a bit worse before we left, when her heartworm test came out slightly positive.  Didn’t matter, she was coming home with me.

We must have been quite a sight leaving Animal Services – Maddie was underweight, missing tons of hair, quacking like a duck due to the kennel cough, and clad in an adorable pink sweater (actually a gift from the Animal Services director).  And things only got more interesting when my spayed dog, went into heat a day later.

With the help of my good friend Tracy, I got Madison to a vet within the next 2-3 days and we had a plan.  Madison was put on medication for her kennel cough and it cleared up quickly.  She got special treatments for the demodex every week for 4 weeks and every other week for a while after that.  She was spayed as soon as she had recovered from the demodex.  And perhaps the best part of all, her heartworm was so slight that we were able to treat it conservatively and her test was negative when we went for a follow-up 6 months later.  She is one lucky dog, and I’m lucky to have her.

Maddie at her birthday party, one year after she was adopted. February, 2008

Maddie is my security detail, snuggle buddy, and best friend.  She sleeps at the foot of my bed, under the covers, every night.  While she isn’t terribly fond of Greenleigh, she will protect her with every bit of effort that she has.  And of course, she and Hazeline are BFFs.  I couldn’t ask for a better dog (okay, I guess I would prefer she stop going through my purse to get snacks, but everyone has a vice or two, right?).  She even puts up with me when I do things like this:Obviously, they’re both putting up with me there.

While February 16th may not be her real birthday, it was definitely the start of her new life.  We celebrate every year with extra long walks and lots of treats.

So I’ll leave you with this plea – Adopt a Shelter Dog!  They will love and appreciate you forever!  (Seriously, go get one, they’re awesome.  You can start by checking here.)