Home
Ned and Nettie, a Love story.
We can only imagine in our minds the kind of existence a dog must live before they come into rescue. Once in a while, some of the puzzle will surface and oftentimes our made up story is the only one they have. I could tell you that as puppies, Ned and Nettie were loved. I can also tell you for a fact that they did not get those particular names until they were brought into a small town kill shelter. In our imaginary story, they both had a wonderful life up to a certain point. Maybe that stopped after they were 8 weeks old, maybe 6 months. No one will step up to confirm or deny at what point they lost the love of their human. We have to move forward now and tell you what we do know. A woman, who lived in the rural area surrounding this small town, saw these two on her property. She called them to her and they came willingly. What she saw were 2 emaciated older boxers, covered in ticks and fleas. The female had large teats and had been bred quite often. She had scars on her hind quarters where she had buckshot fired at her. The male was missing teeth and had a grey muzzle, clearly telling anyone that looked, that he was an older gentleman, Who should be laying on a soft bed and have a full belly, with a master to tend to him until his dying days. We believe that Ned and Nettie had the same” Owner” They could not be called a "Guardian” by any stretch of an imagination. The woman took them in with the best intentions of keeping them and caring for them. She knew it was the right thing to do and they sure did make a nice looking pair of purebred Boxers, despite their long years of neglect. Next thing on her list of” to dos” was to get them to the veterinarian. She was willing to get the shots they so badly needed, and while she was there, she was talked into giving them a heartworm test. Well, this is the part of the story where you start to lose hope.
Both dogs tested a strong positive. The woman with the heart of gold was in no position to treat the dogs as it is very expensive and very hard for older dogs to survive. She could not bring it upon herself to have the dogs put down. The vet at that time, guessed Ned to be 8 and Nettie to be 5.The Animal Control Officer could not hastily make the decision to snuff out their pitiful painful life, never remembering the kindness of a gentle human touch or a soft loving voice. He contacted a rather very soft touch rescuer and asked for suggestions. It was not in her vocabulary the words "GIVE Up” E-mails and request for help were being sent to anyone who could read.” No response” was not an option. Two more times request went out for help to pay for the expensive treatment. Finally a sister rescue stepped up with the promise to pay. The only requirement was another heartworm test to assess the damage .Unfortunately Ned was given a 20% chance of survival, and Nettie was given a 50% chance. At that time, the other rescue requested both dogs be put down, the odds were against the handsome couple and time was running out. The ACO and the Rescuer worked hand in hand to get the funds needed, the whole time the ACO’s wife supported the decision to save the dogs. On May 19th, the ACO came to work to find that the beautiful and sweet Ned had died in his kennel. If there is good news here, it is the fact that he had a roof over his head, all the food and water he could want, and the gentle touch and soft voice of two very caring people. The ACO and his wife. Ned did not die without knowing love. It was decided we needed to get Nettie into foster immediately. The rescuer was nonstop on her journey to find a place for this sweet girl. A miracle? A woman had raised boxers all her life, Nettie could stay there throughout her heartworm treatment. On May 26th, Nettie received her first dose of medicine from Dr. Alicia Lawson and went immediately into foster care. On June 22nd the rescuer got a frantic call from the foster mom. The foster mom had been out for the day and upon returning home after 9pm.she heard loud shrieking down the basement. Knowing that Nettie had probably attacked her cat, the foster flew down the steps, and ran to a closet where the noise was coming from, There on some crumpled sheets, lay five purebred Boxer pups , 4 males, one female. We are not sure what affect the shot had on the pups but we are monitoring closely in the hopes that this truly is a miracle. No one suspected that Nettie was pregnant. Her foster was just happy that Nettie was finally gaining weight.
Thank you, Martin, Michelle, Dr. Alicia and Chris, for making this a true love story.
Jan Siener,
Act Now Rescue