| For
Christmas, 1998 Justine wanted a Pomeranian. Sounds simple enough,
right? NOT! Instead of purchasing a puppy from a local backyard breeder
we decided to try to find one that needed to be "rescued". We put several
ads on internet pet rescue message boards and finally found one in Shreveport,
Louisiana that needed a home. We were told she was an adult, but still
young and very healthy...
We drove the 7 hours out
to Shreveport on a Sunday morning and met the pet rescue representative
in a shopping center off Interstate 20 and picked her up. Wow, a
free, young, healthy pomeranian!
NOT! Not free, not
young, and not healthy! She WAS a pomeranian, though.
To try to make a long story
as short as possible, the rescuer left and we all got in Justine's Blazer
and turned they key... CLICK!!
A passer-by was nice enough
to try to give us a jump, but no good... it wasn't the battery, the starter
had crapped out! Stranded in north Louisiana on a Sunday afternoon
in an empty shopping center parking lot... Not quite... |
Thank
God for cell phones and the AAA. We called the 800 number and told
the lady where we were. TWO hours later the tow truck arrives. The
guy took a hammer and beat on the starter for about a half hour then gave
up. The only place open on Sunday evening at 4PM was Pep-Boys Automotive,
so he towed us there. We were the last car serviced before they closed
at 6PM, $250.00 later!!
We finally made it home
after midnight and after the pomeranian threw up in the car a few times.
A vet checkup the following
week showed she was 7 to 9 years old and had a collapsed trachea and a
skin allergy. Several hundreds more dollars of vet bills and medication
later, she's doing much better, but still coughs a lot.
Now that's what I call a
"rescue!"
UPDATE: Foxy passed
away in July of 2001 of natural causes. Justine has since gotten
a new Pomeranian. This one is only 1 year old, registered with the
AKC and was puchased from a reputable breeder. We'll get some pics
of him posted soon. |
Foxy,
the Pomeranian
