Fairy Dogmother Grants Three Wishes

Once upon a time there was a happy, friendly dog named Fannie who somehow got dumped at a city shelter. She was filthy, matted and obese from lack of exercise. Everyone's best guess was that she was a German Shepherd/Australian Shepherd mix, but more significantly, she was just another middle-aged discarded pet. No one paid much attention to her or showed any interest in adopting her. Then, one day, Fannie was red-listed. She thought this was a good thing, to be on a special list. How could she know that the red list meant she could be put to sleep at any time?

Fortunately, Fannie had a Fairy Dogmother named Andrea who saw the list, came to meet her, knew immediately what a good dog she was and then sent out emails to rescuers.

"No guarantees," Andrea told Fannie, "but if I could grant you three wishes, what would they be?"

"Well," said Fannie, "I'd like to have a bath and a haircut so everyone can see how beautiful I am. For my second wish, I'd like to have my new mom show up to adopt me before I'm even done with the grooming session, and then, for my third wish, I'd like to go home the same day and live happily ever after."

Okay, so Fannie can't really talk and she's not that demanding anyway, but check out the rest of this fairy tale. Andrea asked Jane if she could bring her carload of grooming supplies on Sunday...

And Jane spent three-and-a-half hours brushing, bathing and beautifying Fannie...

...who looked much healthier once Jane had removed a whole bagful of tangled fur.

Still, there was concern that Fannie might not be saved in time, until it turned out that someone had cross-posted the plea on Craigslist. And before Jane had even begun Fannie's pedicure, a wonderful woman named Sheila, who lived far away in the Valley, showed up holding a copy of the Craigslist ad.

As soon as Sheila entered the room, she knew Fannie was the perfect dog for her. And although Fannie was pretty attached to Andrea at this point, it didn't take long for Fannie to realize that this was the mom of her dreams.

Oh, and since Fannie was already spayed, she went home that day.