Some dogs have a way of worming their way deep into your soul. Lefty, a foster dog we had for 9 months, did that with me. He also did that with his beautiful forever family that adopted him back in 2009. Today I received news from PJ (Leftys forever dad) that Lefty had a seizure while at the groomers and died yesterday. It was fast…and it was shocking. Lefty was the kind of dog that truly defines animal rescue volunteer work in LA. He was the mix of two power breeds, German Shepherd and Rottweiler. He was 110 pounds. He had a condition where he right leg had a bone defect that made it turn out to the side….thus I decided to call him Lefty. The name stuck. Lefty loved other dogs and cats, but was not good as he had severe leash aggression. So walking him was a challenge. A big challenge. 110 pounds is a lot of dog to handle on a walk. I knew it would take a special family to adopt him. But I really wanted him to have a family as he ADORED kids. Loved children. Just loved them. We found Lefty his forever family with Susan, PJ and their son Paolo. I knew that the moment I met them. They were perfect. But giving Lefty away was one of the toughest things I have ever done. I sat in their gorgeous home on his delivery, with our wonderful trainer Teka Martin (Teka was there to help make the transition smooth, give them ongoing training of how to walk Lefty safely and with control)…and I knew that Lefty was going to leave me to be with this perfect, loving family. As Teka was talking and the family was listening so intently, I was overcome with emotion. I was so sad to leave Lefty that I had to excuse myself and leave very quickly. I was overcome with emotion. In all my years of rescue, these emotions had NEVER been so powerful. I literally cried both sad and happy tears as I drove all the way down Nichols Canyon with Lefty behind. It was embarrassing as I am sure they thought I was an emotional animal rescue nut. The good news: Instead of thinking I was a loon, Leftys beautiful family sent me regular updates, emails, phone calls and kept me in the loop of all things Lefty. They loved Lefty and Lefty loved all of them, especially their son, Paolo, who was only 5 or 6 at the time. Life was good. But while life is good, life sometimes ends tragically and for no good reason. Lefty was not sick. He was only 7 or 8 years old and in great shape. It was just his time. Go figure. So I write this to not only honor Lefty, but to honor all the rescue animals out there. I like to say there is a lid for every pot. Leftys lid was a loving, kind, compassionate family. They are greaving today, as am I. In memory of Lefty, please make adoption your first option. Its the only way to bring a pet into your family. So many are in need. Shine on, Lefty. Shine on.
Posted on: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 02:54:17 +0000
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