Thursday, December 4, 2008

Saving a Life

Meet Ruby ~ foxhound ~ 10 years old
Well Ruby to us. I stumbled across her at our local animal control office. She had been picked up as a stray and had no name. Unclaimed and sitting at the shelter for three weeks she was scheduled to be put down yesterday. We didn't need another dog; our three are fine, but I couldn't help but see her. On Tuesday I drove over to take a look at her. It didn't seem fair to put an innocent dog down because their shelter was full and nobody had an interest in adoping an older dog. I immediately fell in love with her face. She was very timid and never left her bed. They didn't know where she came from or her story. She was thin and desperately needed a bath and good meal. I left the shelter in tears, it broke my heart. I knew nobody else would adopt her; she was on her last life.

Later that night I talked with Brian about it. Brian, bless his heart, looked at me and smiled. He agreed with were not looking for another dog, but felt the guilt of knowing she would be put to sleep the next day. On Wednesday afternoon we drove over to pick her up. Ruby, would be her name; we both agreed. I prepared him that she didn't look the best; her back bone and hip bones stuck out and she was very dirty. He fell instantly in love! :) (whew, I thought to myself)

We brought her home, bathed her, fed and watered her and let her settle in on her new dog bed. She is still very shy and rarely has gotten up off of her bed. The other dogs have taken a liking to her, especially Dillon. I know it will be slow going for the next few weeks, but I am sure she will come around. She has already made huge steps; small steps for other dogs, but huge steps for her. Last night while petting her she reached out and touched my hand with her tongue. This morning she lay wagging her tail ever so slightly at me while I was getting ready.

I stumbled across this quote and it touched my heart; it makes adopting Ruby all worth it.
"...Saving just one pet won't change the world...but, surely, the world will change for that one pet..."

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Precious! Congrats on the new addition to your family!

Keri said...

Congratulations on the new addition to your family! And that's a fabulous quote.

Anonymous said...

AWWW, what a sweetie! You made me cry too!!

Amy Carroll said...

I could kiss you for saving this sweet little dog! I love people like you and Brian...for saving this older dog and giving her a loving home. Your story made me cry!

Shelley said...

Ashley - I have tears streaming down my face! God bless you for saving sweet Ruby! (I adopted an older cat from the shelter and never regretted it.) Please keep us posted on Ruby's progress. I can see her gentle soul in your photos.

Shauna said...

I'm new here! What a great blog! ♥ Hugs!

Anonymous said...

Aw, my eyes just welled up with tears! Congratulations :)