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The shelter had taken him to
their vet, and he was given some medication and put on a special diet
to try to put some weight on him. They were looking into pressing neglect
charges against the owner, but wanted to know if we could take him into
our rescue. We of course said that we would, and the next weekend, one
of our members went to the shelter and took the pictures you see here.
And this was after he had already gained quite a bit of weight, as he
was up to about 35 lbs. And even while he was in such horrible shape,
he would still "high 5" and gave out all kinds of kisses to anyone wanting
them. This shelter has a wonderful, caring staff who take good care
of these dogs, and actually care about them. They all loved this sweet
boy, as he has such a pleasing personality, even after almost dying
at the hands of his former owners who supposedly loved him. So we put
out a desperate plea for a foster, as none of our homes had any room.
Our pleas were answered by a wonderful dal lover in MD who has been
doing rescue on her own for some time, and we have worked with her on
many occasions. Our prayers had been answered, as we knew that he would
not only receive the best of care in her home, but he would be very
loved.
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So on March 24, 2001, the shelter
released Siren into our care, and went to his foster home in MD. At
this time his weight was already up to 48 lbs. And we have never seen
a hungrier dal in our years in rescue. While we were transporting him,
he found morsels of food left by the dal we had transported the day
before. She had spilled her food and we thought we had cleaned it all
up, but he found what we had missed. His nose must have been attached
to his tummy, as he could find the smallest morsel of food anywhere.
One of the conditions of releasing Siren to us was that he be weighed
every week, as they were still pursuing charges against his owner. His
foster mom had quite a time with him at first, as he kept having "accidents"
in the house. He needed to be fed three times a day, and sometimes he
just couldn't get outside fast enough. He quickly won the hearts of
her whole family, steadily gained weight until he was up to about 65
lbs. - what his weight should be. Siren would not go outside by himself,
as he was afraid he would be left out there alone. And he would bark
constantly when he did not have someone around him. He gave new meaning
to the term "Velcro Dog" but his foster family took it all in their
stride, and loved him even more. Once he got up to his normal weight,
we called the shelter and asked if we could list him up for adoption.
We were given permission to do this, because it seems that the couple
who had turned him into the shelter had skipped town. So there was no
way to press charges against them, and the shelter did not want anything
to stand in the way of him going to a good home. So we put him up on
our site, but did not have too many inquiries, mainly because of his
age we suspect. But we knew the right home was out there for him. And
it was. In July we received an inquiry on Siren that looked very promising.
It turned out to be THE perfect home for Siren. They had a dal in the
past and there are three children in the family, the youngest is 10
years old. It was love at first sight for all of them, although the
dad got to meet him first. His foster mom cried when he left, as while
all of our fosters are special - there are some that really touch your
heart. And Siren was one of those - and she will be vacationing up near
where he now lives next year, and plans on making a special trip to
see her handsome foster boy. The adoptive mom said the kids have taken
him for so many long walks all over their small town showing him off.
She said he is very very well behaved with other people, babies and
other dogs. At the video store the owner took a shine to Siren and everytime
they go he is allowed to come in with them. We will never know what
all this sweet boy survived before his owners finally did the right
thing by taking him to the shelter - even if it was for all the wrong
reasons. But it has not changed his wonderful disposition. His new mom
calls him "The Number One Dog Siren". And
while he gives this family so much affection and his undying love, they
have opened their hearts to him and given a very happy ending to his
story - and a new beginning to his life.
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