I must share this story it is one of the good ones... but get the kleenex.
Take the story of Lucas.
Lucas is a 5 year old shepherd/ collie mix. He was living the life in NYC with his owner who saved him from the shelter and gave him a "furever" home. That was until Hurricane Sandy hit.
During the storm the unspeakable happened. His owner was killed. When his owner's family came to the house that Lucas shared with his owner, Lucas would not allow them to take him away from the house because he knew his owner had died and did not want to leave his side.
You would think someone would have taken Lucas in and try to give him some sense of normalcy and reassurance. But for Lucas that was not the case.
The dog who survived the hurricane and lost his owner was taken back to the shelter his owner rescued him from years earlier. Now lost, grieving and scared Lucas was not doing well at the shelter. He did not understand how he went from having an owner and a nice home to having neither. If it was not for a rescue organization called Louie's Legacy Animal Rescue, Lucas would have never made it out of the shelter for the second time.
I started following Lucas's story on Facebook and here is the description the Rescue organization used to describe his plight.
Lucas is VERY stressed in the shelter and it is showing, he excessively licks his nose so its all dried up and he's scratching himself so much he has some hair loss. Lucas is not a fan of the cage but we had a trainer come and evaluate him today and we think it's definitely something that with time he will adjust to. When Lucas is out of the cage and outside his personality shines through. We think that a home with older children is best because he appears to have been in a home as a single dog with no other animals and is used to quiet.
Lucas was scheduled to be put down. HIs owner had died and his family turned him into the shelter. That did not leave any options for Lucas.
The only way they could save him from impending euthanasia was to find Lucas a foster home. Once the post was shared on Facebook, I was moved to tears the amount of people who went to great lengths to save this one dog. The dog who loved his owner and stood by him even after his death, was now fighting for his own life staring through a shelter cage not knowing his fate.
Happily a foster family was found and Lucas was saved. He is still confused and sad but healing.
The rescues follow up picture and post read;
SI NY- Lucas is safe and sound and offically in his foster home. He just got a bath and is all clean. Look at the smile on his face! Lucas wants to thank everyone who fought to help save him as well as all the applicants that applied for him.
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| Lucas-photo taken from Louie's Legacy Animal Rescue Site |
My intent is not to pass judgement as I do not know the details of the situation, but I cannot see myself taking my family members pet to the shelter, especially after they died. Especially in the situation like this where the bond between dog and man was stronger than many human relationships.
Thank goodness it ended well for this dog, but for many it does not. If it was not for the many compassionate people who spend countless hours scouring shelters to save animals in need. Happy endings like Lucas's would not be possible.
This story led me to think about my own pets and if I were to pass before they did. What would happen to them? This is a question we should all ask ourselves. Do we have a family member or friend who will take our pets and love them as we do? Or will they end up like Lucas and sent to the pound.
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| My dogs, Abbie and Fitch |
Looks like I have some thinking to do.
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