Changing the mood of the day

It seems when you are involved with animals, what starts off as a bad day can change quickly and become a fabulous one.

Yesterday was one of those days for me.

The first time I saw her, she was no bigger than a minute, with ears that took up most of her body and eyes of different colors, one blue and one brown. She was white with black spots so I knew she had Dalmation in her, but she had a pitbull wiggle she couldn't control.

Her name was Isabella and she had just been brought in from a rescue in Texas after Hurricane Ike. She was still a puppy and so full of life and energy it was a week or so after she arrived I discovered she was deaf.

She became what is known in the business as a boomerang dog. She was adopted out twice and brought back twice, not because of anything she did, but due to human problems. One of her homes did get her housebroken and one taught her several hand commands, but she came back from the last home pretty traumatized and would submissively pee when you attempted to pet her.

I was beginning to wonder if we would ever find her a home who would actually keep her and help her become the dog I knew she could be when a very nice family came in specifically to see her.

They had to have their dog, who was also deaf, put down several months earlier and were ready for another family member. They had seen her picture on the website and wanted to meet her. The young lady of the house also had a unique name: Isabella, just like the dog.

It was love at first sight between the daughter and the dog and as I spoke to Mom and Dad I realized this family was willing to make the commitment Isabella needed to thrive, prosper and be happy.

The family stopped by on Saturday to bring Isabella and to let me see how well she was doing. They have changed her name to Billy JEAN and she is very happy and well taken care of. They thanked me once again for loving her before she became theirs and for all the hard work we did to find her the perfect home. She knows lots of commands now and in their words, "Doing great."

These visits are the highlight of why we do what we do. In some areas of the country, a hurricane survivor who is deaf and a pitbull mix on top of that, has no chance of survival. I am so glad I live in a county where things like that are not insurmountable problems.