Tag: happily ever after

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Titus and the Gummersheimer Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, a puppy was found all alone in a storm drain in East St. Louis. He had severe sarcoptic mange and was missing a lot of his fur. In June of last year, Gateway Pet Guardians rescued the pup and got him started on treatment for mange. He also contracted the deadly parvo disease, but fought it off with the love and diligent care of his foster parents at the time.

At the end of the summer, Robyn Gummersheimer was browsing the internet. Going through social media, she kept seeing a big-eared pup pop up, and she was desperate to meet him. She was going through a separation at the time and was dealing with the emotional turmoil of a relationship that had ended poorly, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the German shepherd-terrier mix and his huge ears.

“I’m mesmerized by his ears,” she says. “I have two other pointy-eared dogs, and I knew I wanted to go see him.”

When she did, the dog was “so playful and clumsy” that she knew she had to take him. Gummersheimer named the pup Titus and brought him home to join her other two dogs, an 11-year-old shiba inu named Cali and a 4-year-old Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix named Dexter.

“They didn’t like him at first, since he’s a bundle of energy,” she says. “Dexter is the tiniest and runs the house. Sometimes I’ll catch him and Titus playing, where Titus will drag Dexter around by a rope. Dexter thinks he’s winning, but Titus is being gentle with him.”

While her older dogs weren’t so sure of the puppy at first, Gummersheimer was.

“He came out of something [difficult] and kept fighting,” Gummersheimer says. “That was one of our instant connections.”

Having a puppy hasn’t been an easy task, though. Titus is quite a jumper, and Gummersheimer says he truly doesn’t understand how big he is.

“He thinks he’s so small,” she says. “He’ll jump on the couch and try to lay in my lap. I’ve never had a 60-pound lap dog before.”

Titus’ other habits include annoying his adoptive four-legged siblings and stealing socks out of the laundry basket.

Although his puppy stage can be a lot to handle, Gummersheimer says Titus has been a huge blessing since he came into her life.

“He yearns for my acknowledgement,” she says. “He truly lets me know he loves me.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Andy and the Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, Andy the shepherd mix lived in the U.S. Virgin Islands’ St. Thomas as an emotional support dog. When multiple hurricanes hit the Virgin Islands in the latter part of 2017, her owner could no longer care for the pup. Andy was picked up by Love for Love City, a rescue organization founded by country music star Kenny Chesney to help rescue pets lost or abandoned in Hurricane Irma. Andy came to the contiguous United States by plane and ended up in a place where her emotional support skills could be put to use: Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield.

Delmar Gardens of Chesterfield started fostering puppies three years ago. The program was met with enthusiasm from the residents, and the community cared for 10 sets of puppies until they were adopted out. Stray Rescue of St. Louis approached the senior community about fostering older dogs, and the Delmar Gardens activity director, Jenni Ferguson, welcomed the idea.

 Four-year-old Andy came to Delmar Gardens around three months ago, and the center’s staff knew right away she was a perfect fit for the residents.

“She was here probably only four hours until we knew we wanted to keep her,” Ferguson says. “It was an instant connection with everyone.”

Andy spends most of her time in Delmar Gardens’ specialized care unit, where she bonds with residents who have Alzheimer’s, dementia and other memory impairments.

Katie Claus, a music therapist in the specialized care unit, says the residents love to take care of Andy as if she’s their dog.

“From the first moment we brought her in, she strutted around the whole building with her tail wagging and was comfortable being there,” Claus says. “She’s bonded with all of the residents in the specialized care unit, and there are three in particular that she’ll curl up next to. The residents’ faces light up when they see her. She’s so good with them.”

The residents love to feed Andy. Ferguson even cites one resident who will try to hide food for Andy in her walker.

“Andy will go up to the residents and put her head under their hand,” Ferguson says. “When she wants attention, she’ll put her paw on their leg. It creates a more homelike environment for the residents because they feel like they’re taking care of her.”

While talking to a resident one day about Andy, Claus says they summed the dog’s life at Delmar Gardens perfectly: “Andy’s a big kid that belongs to everyone here.”

Although Andy goes on walks throughout the whole Delmar Gardens complex, she always makes her way back toward the specialized care unit. Ferguson says she “wants to get back to her people.”

“It’s like she was meant to walk in our doors,” Ferguson says. “She’s like an angel dog.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Nigel and the Slade Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, Nancy Slade had a fondness for a particular breed of dog, leading her friends to alert her whenever there was one up for adoption in the area.

“I’ve always had a fondness for Chihuahuas, even though I’ve never had one,” Slade says. “A lot of my friends know I like them, and whenever they see one up for adoption, they post [the photos] on my Facebook wall.”

A friend of Slade’s who fosters for different rescue organizations posted a photo on her wall of a Chihuahua named Romeo from 4 Paws 4 Rescue. At the time, the Slades had a couple of other older dogs, but “this little face just stuck.”

“I showed him to my husband and said, ‘If you had a dog like this, what would you name him?’ He looked at the photo and said, ‘That looks like a Nigel to me,’” Slade says.

Nigel had a name before the Slades even contacted the rescue organization. When she called about him, his foster mom said the pup had been found in Nashville as a stray and was recovering from canine parvovirus, a highly contagious virus that can be life-threatening. She brought him to the Slade house, where the plan was to tell Slade’s children Nigel was a foster. But they all loved him from the moment they met him and knew they’d never be able to part with him.

Slade calls Nigel a “very happy guy” who loves to snuggle and burrow under blankets, where he’ll sleep all the way under the covers.

“He’s kind of like a cat,” Slade says. “He’ll sit on the sofa and look out the window.”

Though he’s a smaller dog, Slade says Nigel’s not very vocal unless there’s a squirrel.

“He hates them,” she says. “You can’t even say the word ‘squirrel’ without him freaking out.”

Despite his distaste for squirrels, Nigel is fearless – with one exception. Slade says the only time she saw him afraid was an incident where he got out of the yard. He didn’t go far, and the Slades went on foot to retrieve him since they knew where he’d be. At the top of the street, they saw him running toward them.

“There was a huge hawk flying above him chasing him,” Slade says. “He was running toward us like, ‘Save me!’”

Other than the hawk incident, the 5-year-old pup has an adventurous spirit.

“He’s been on lots of trips and loves to go boating,” she says. “He’ll stand on the chair in front so he can catch the wind and waves. He’s pretty fearless for a little guy. He rules the roost.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Deacon, Enid and the Stillman Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, the Stillman house was full. Neighbors fondly referred to the Stillmans’ household as a petting zoo because they always seemed to house unwanted animals. Among the animals, the Stillmans had an elderly cat and were looking to adopt a second “when the time was right.”

Julianne Stillman’s 14-year-old daughter searched the internet for kittens that needed a forever home and stumbled across a picture of Enid, a kitten who was missing radial bones in her forelegs from a genetic condition. After the girl showed her mom, the Stillmans got in touch with St. Louis Pet Rescue to see about visiting the kitten.

“We met Enid and found out she has siblings,” Stillman says. “She and her brother Deacon came as a pair, and both had the genetic leg condition.”

The Stillmans fell in love with the kittens and made the decision to adopt them on the spot.

“We knew we could give them a loving home and work with their special needs,” Stillman says. “We were a bit nervous when we brought them home, though, because we weren’t sure they’d be able to do stairs.”

The Stillmans learned very quickly that since the kittens had been born with the condition, they didn’t know any different. Enid and Deacon army-crawl everywhere and sit up on their hind legs like kangaroos.

“They’re totally mobile and can jump and run like crazy,” Stillman says.

Deacon and Enid fit in perfectly with the other Stillman household animals. They’re close with the older cat, especially Enid. They also love the family guinea pig, who will chase the kittens around.

“They all run around the living room together, and the guinea pig will try to chew on [the kittens’] fur,” Stillman says. “They’re all about the same size, so it’s pretty funny to watch.”

Deacon and Enid are inseparable, but each has individual quirks. Enid is obsessed with the shower and will wait nearby until someone gets out to invade it; she’s also notorious for unrolling rolls of toilet paper.

“We’d wake up in the morning, and it will be all unrolled, shredded and everywhere,” Stillman says.

Deacon’s the more vocal of the two and will “walk around yowling.”

Although the two kitties weren’t initially part of the Stillman animal plan, Stillman says the pair came into the family’s lives when they were most needed.

“We’ve had a hard year, so I feel like they were sent to us,” she says. “They make us laugh every day.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Sky and the Gottschalk Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, Sky, a beautiful border collie, refused to eat. She wouldn’t relieve herself outside, stand up or play like a one-year-old pup should. She was depressed.

Tammy Gottschalk had been volunteering for the Animal Protective Association of Missouri (APA) for years. She often fostered animals, but usually took home kittens. One day, in an APA foster Facebook group, Gottschalk saw Sky.

“It sounded like she was shutting down,” Gottschalk says.

She stopped by on a Friday in January 2016 and inquired about the border collie she’d seen online. The dog was still at the APA, and desperately needed more attention than the rescue group was able to give her.

“The staff does so much great work, but they really needed [foster parents] for this one,” she says.

So Gottschalk took Sky home. She tried to get the sad pup to eat “basically everything in the fridge,” but Sky wouldn’t eat. Finally, Gottschalk scrambled some eggs for Sky. The dog ate a few tiny bites, and that was the beginning of her recovery.

“Days went by, and I could get her to eat the tiniest bite of chicken or a little bit of cheese,” Gottschalk says. “On day four, I came into the living room, and she was standing up and wagging in her kennel.”

After that, Sky continued to improve. Two months into the fostering process, Gottschalk knew she wouldn’t be able to part with Sky and decided to adopt her officially. In the nearly two years Gottschalk has had Sky, the pup has completely come out of her shell.

“We take her on long walks,” Gottschalk says. “Even after five, 10 miles, she still has energy. I’ve tried taking her along when I bike or skate, and she still has loads of energy.”

Sky expends her energy going on long walks, playing Frisbee and romping with her golden retriever sibling and the neighbor dogs. She’s been swimming, paddleboarding and canoeing. Gottschalk taught her how to go down the slide at the park and has also been trying to teach her to smile.

“When you put the time and energy into pets, it all comes back to you,” Gottschalk says. “We are just so in love with her. She’s come a long way.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Happily Ever After Stories

Happily Ever After: Rudy and the Hunt Family

robyndexter

Once upon a time, Rudy the basset hound was accidentally hit by a vehicle. The six-year-old pup had been living in Kirksville when the collision caused a very bad break in one of his back legs.

Guardian Angel Basset Rescue, which is based out of Dwight, Illinois, but helps bassets as far south as St. Louis, got a call from an animal shelter in Kirksville about poor Rudy. The call said the break was practically inoperable, and Rudy would have to be put down.

Enter Don Hunt, a Guardian Angel volunteer. He told the animal shelter he would help Rudy, and after they transported Rudy south, Hunt took him to Creve Coeur Animal Hospital. Wanting to get a second opinion, Hunt did some research and found someone who could help Rudy avoid amputation.

Hunt and Rudy made the nearly four-hour, 250-mile journey north to Pine Bluff Animal Hospital in Morris, Illinois, where Dr. Brian Schmidt said he could help Rudy.

A plate, six screws and a wire later, “you would never know Rudy’s leg was broken,” Hunt says. Rudy’s bills have been about $5,000 so far, and that’s including the discounts Guardian Angel has received.

But that hasn’t deterred Hunt’s love for his short-legged friend. Hunt, Rudy and a few other bassets reside in Belleville, and Hunt helps out with Guardian Angel whenever he can.

“I’ve been involved [with Guardian Angel] for about four years,” he says. “I got my first basset 25 years ago.”

About four years ago, the death of one of Hunt’s bassets hit him really hard. Seeking solace, he found Guardian Angel, and members of the group brought over a dog. From there, he got involved with transporting and fostering the breed for the rescue organization.

“I’ve driven probably 55,000 miles and visited 10 states transporting dogs and taking them to their forever homes,” he says. “The longest trip was 865 miles in one day. If a basset needs help, within reason, we’ll do it.”

Citing some information from Guardian Angel, he says the organization has been able to save 4,200 bassets over the past 17 years.

As for his own pack, Hunt says they all get along very well. This could be because they’re on the older end of the age spectrum.

“I’m a sucker for senior dogs,” he says. “Rudy is the youngest of mine, at seven years old.”

Hunt says senior dogs are great because they’re very set in their ways. There are rarely fights, he says, but they occasionally get into scuffles over food.

Rudy is especially “precious” to Hunt, he says. “He’s a total love bug.”

Every year, Guardian Angel hosts a “Waddle” event for basset mixes and their owners, and Rudy was named king.

“He’s been through so much,” Hunt says. “One of these days, the plate [in his leg] will need to come out, but the doctor saw him in September and said the X-rays looked fine.”

For now, Rudy and his forever family are content to lounge around Hunt’s home, relaxing on both dog and human beds.

“He likes to sleep next to me,” Hunt says. “When I’m walking around and have sweatpants on, he’ll tug on them. He’s the cutest.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

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