Previously on this blog...

At least one more nice clean dog from the last Mobile Pet Adoption has gone home. We were amazed Sherman didn't get picked that day so volunteer Sherry Brewer sent out an email which read, in part:

That it's necessary to have to send a plea (no, to beg) to save this boy's life is beyond me. This handsome dog with the most soulful face and spirit is "Sherman." He is listed as a 4-year-old Siberian Husky/German Shepherd mix, who weighs approximately 76 lbs. Except for the tips of his ears that have scarring from fly strikes (probably because he never saw the inside of a home), Sherman is just about perfect, with soft white fur sprinkled with black on his back.

Well, we may not all be buying Viagra and lottery tickets from strangers, but emails must work because look what happened a few days later:

I just want to spread the good word that because of all your efforts and the crossposts you sent out on behalf of Sherman, the handsome Husky/German Shepherd mix, he was rescued and within a few minutes of the papers being finalized, a woman who was sent the plea showed up with her two children to adopt him. If all goes as was discussed, Sherman will be going to his new home tonight to sleep, maybe for the first time in his life, in a soft bed with a roof over his head.

And even more remarkable is what happened to a 10-year-old Dobie/Rottie mix named Kira. A few weeks ago, when I was at the shelter for over three hours (and subsequently VERY late to work) to pick up seven puppies and their mother for transport to a rescue, I saw a number of dogs come in, including Kira. Her owner said, "We have four dogs and I can only handle three." Somehow this sweet, scared old dog was the one he didn't mind tossing aside.

I wrote a plea and sent it to volunteer Andrea Braver. She took over from there, forwarded it, and here's what happened:

The beautiful Kira was "sprung" from the shelter yesterday, and unlike a lot of dogs, Kira was heading straight into a home that was anxiously awaiting her, that of the wonderful Mrs. Ann Peterson. When she was called upon as a possible adopter for Kira, it took Mrs. Peterson an entire 10 minutes to decide that Kira "needed her." What a wonderful woman!

To all you Dobie rescue people - thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of something very special!

Deborah Bass
Rags to Riches Rescue

Thank you Andrea, Deborah, Mrs. Peterson and everyone else who participated in getting Kira out of the shelter and into a great home:

Now on to the next one...

I decided to go shopping at Target on my lunch break the other day, but never made it into the store. This Chihuahua girl was shaking under a van in the parking lot, probably hiding from the 100+ degree heat.

She wouldn't come out when I offered her a treat and when I prodded her lightly with a softball bat, she ran under the next car. I must have looked insane crawling around in the parking lot on my hands and knees with cookies, a leash, a blanket and a bat.

Eventually I got close enough to reach under the vehicle and pull her out like a cat, by the scruff of her neck. Amazingly, she made NO ATTEMPT to bite me.

No tags, of course, so I drove her to a vet to see if she was chipped. No chip. I thought she might be old and blind but a vet tech looked at her teeth which are very clean. Turns out she's only about four years old but losing her vision to glaucoma.

I then brought her back to work with me for several hours. She ate some dog food, drank some water, but mostly just slept in my lap.

On the way to the shelter she played on a blanket on the back seat of my car, rolling around on it like it was grass. She is a sweet, perfect little lap dog who has been terribly neglected. She becomes available for adoption tomorrow, July 12.

She is now at the West L.A. shelter, 11361 West Pico, LA 90064. Her ID # is A0962830.

Sure hope she gets a new home soon...