Annie’s Story
Volume 44- No. 18
by Bruce Krider
I learned about Annie online and she was getting on the short side of her stay at the South L.A. Animal Shelter, meaning she had stayed there about as long as they were going to let her before putting her to sleep. Annie had a bunch of folks rooting for her and trying to find someone who would save her. I saw her picture and decided it was time to pitch in and help save the girl. She was due to be put down within twenty four hours.
I got her ID number and the address of the shelter which I had not been to before and drove up there on the 20th of February. It was an easy save. That means there were no lines that day and there were ample shelter staff to make the adoption process move fast. I was in and out in twenty minutes. This is contrasted with L.A. County Shelters which can be a couple of hours where it is like the DMV – take a number and wait. And then wait some more. As I finished the last of the paperwork and paid the $102 fee, one of the highest shelter fees in the area, they brought out Annie. She was full of life and seemed to know she was busting out of that place. Her senses were telling her something. Her sniffer was going overtime and she was very animated.
When you get a dog out of a shelter there is a change that comes over them.
Many have been in the shelter a couple of weeks and the change of scenery seems to The Paper - 760.747.7119
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May 02, 2013
get there every day to get them out and walk them around. In addition to my three dogs at home and another besides Annie in the kennel, I get lots of walking. But she needs it as part of her “fitness program.”
Upon putting the word out to my “friends” on Facebook one woman in Sunnyvale offered to foster Annie. She had fostered other dogs four or five times and was offering to foster Annie. That would change the adoption methods because I would have to shift my focus to the San Jose area instead of San Diego but for what it costs to board dogs full time in kennels, I needed to get her in a less costly place while we looked for a good home. On Thursday, the 28th, we hopped in my 2007 Honda Element and began the 720mile round trip journey. The plan was to drive up straight through and then possibly even return late that night if I was feeling up to it.
perk them up and they start looking optimistic. It is one of the rewards of saving dogs. You are there when this metamorphosis occurs. You see them get happy immediately following a time when happiness was not in their vocabulary. Because these dogs get rescued at the last minute generally means they have been there and the anxiety, boredom, worry and hopelessness which had built up over their stay was suddenly being washed away in hope and optimism. So back to Annie. Annie had been a stray that was picked up and brought in. There was an old microchip but it yield-
ed no current data and she was without a family. I was her new “family,” at least for a while. She appears to me to be about 4 years old but could be one year either way. It was hard to tell. Annie was a little overweight and that was magnified by the fact that she is not a large German Shepherd. She is on the small side so the weight issue seems like more than what it would seem on another of a more normal, larger size. We would have to work on the weight. My routine with these dogs I save is that they go to San Marcos Kennels and I try to
Annie and I arrived at the address of the intended foster person a little early. She was working until 7pm and we got there fifteen minutes ahead (We had a good tail wind). All was fine initially while we chatted but after a while I began to get the sense that maybe this foster volunteer was backing out of her commitment. She commented that she was concerned that she might get a back ache if Annie pulled on the leash while walking. After a demonstration, that appeared to fall away. Then she thought her dog, a year old male Shepherd might not get along with Annie, who had gotten along with every dog and person I had seen her with but she didn’t want to have to deal with two dogs fighting. The truth is they
“Annie’s Story ” Continued on Page 2