From Ellana Livermore ... Thanksgiving weekend 2000, Christmas with house guests four weeks away, Edgar (the Evil - later Enchanting foster'dale - in residence with some sort of infection and high fever) and the call from Dr. Criswell's office in Bay City Texas came in. They picked up another Airedale (they have rescued 6) and what could I do to help. He was in bad shape and had apparently been on the lam for a few weeks. Talked to the Lee Folta who christened the new rescue "Nicholas" in honor of the holidays. The following weekend, after he had been neutered (Nicholas, not Lee), I drove to Bay City to pick him up. Oh what a sad looking guy he was, gaunt, full of fleas and skin problems, and SMELLY! Oh did this boy smell. He was naked and had the biggest, most expressive brown eyes I've ever seen. I opened my heart to him immediately and gave him a big hug and received a big kiss in return. Nicholas settled in with Dr. Rugby and Edgar nicely. Vet visits were a treat with him as the entire vet staff responded to this gentle Airedale. No one was put off by his smell (still no bath) or his appearance. He was so thin we could count his spinal column bones from across the room. Within two weeks he was on the mend and playing like a puppy. After a soothing bath and having his remaining fur trimmed off, we could see a wonderful Airedale emerging. He was slowly starting to gain weight but was quickly finding a home in my heart. Nicholas is a "heart dog" for me and I wished I had kept him for my own. A good family was selected for Nicholas and he went out on a provisional basis. I drove north with tears in my eyes to take him to the prospective family. When I left he wanted to leave with me and then sat at the door focusing those eyes on me. I cried all the way home. The woman adored him but her partner was less keen and Nicholas came back into rescue. Nancy Balke agreed to foster him until we could find another home. But I'll let Nancy pick up from this point..... From Nancy Balke ... Just recuperating from the holidays, I was a little reluctant to take in a foster but who can say 'no' to Ellana, knowing all that she gives to the rescue effort? So Nicholas was brought to my home in Bryan, Texas just after the new year. It was clear to me from the start that this poor, underweight baby was a dream dog in disguise. Rudy (the Rude) welcomed him into our home with playbows and biteyface and Nicholas joined right in and put up with all Rudy's puppy ways like a patient older brother. It only took a few days for Nicholas to learn our routines and worm his way into all our hearts like no other foster 'dale had done. We just could not bear to see him leave and so he became an official, permanent member of our family in February, 2001. We are still learning things about Nicholas - it bothers me that we don't know more about his past experiences or his original name. But every day is a joy because of his happy tail wags and big grin. We feel so blessed that he happened into our lives.
Nancy and Ellana are members of the Texas Airedale Rescue Team. Texas has many wonderful Airedales come into rescue each year. Complete an application form to see if they have one who will be your heart dog. You can support the efforts of the TARTS by purchasing notepads and T-shirts. |
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