Lorelee survived something awful.
In January of 2012, she and 22 other Jack Russells watched in horror outside as the indoor kennel, where dozens of beautiful baby Chihuahuas were living, go up in flames. They were all in outdoor kennels and could not break free; all terrified by the screams they heard and very fearful that the flames would move towards them. Fortunately, the firemen were able to stop the fire before it reached them. Unfortunately, they were not able to save the babies.
Lorelee had lived in this kennel her entire life. She was 8 years old.
After the fire, the kennels closed for good. But that left a big problem: There were still 23 Jacks (and several Chis and Bostons) who needed a place to go. Our rescue and others sprung into action, tirelessly making calls and sending emails to find new homes for all of them. We were full (as we always seem to be), but we opted to take a couple of them.
We showed up a couple of days after the fire to meet the Jacks and see what we were dealing with. It was downright heartbreaking. Everywhere we looked, we saw the charred remains of crates, bowls and toys. All of the Jacks were shell shocked, licking anxiously on their feet and pacing their kennel runs. There was, however, one exception …
We kept hearing a thwack, thwack, thwack and couldn’t figure out what it was. We looked around and found a precious, baby-faced girl playing nonstop with her orange plastic ball. Her feet showed she had been licking, but her spirit was far from broken: This girl was going to play through anything.
And that girl was Lorelee.
We returned to the kennels a couple of times to take photos and write bios of all of the dogs. On our last trip, we decided to take three dogs home with us. One was a beautiful fluffy Chi, who went to live with Mama Donna’s daughter-in-law. One was Spruce, who came to live with us. And the last one was Lorelee. We had to bargain a little because her kennel mama loved her, too, but eventually trusted us to take her and find her a forever home.
Lorelee will never spend another day in a kennel (thank dog!), but we still enjoy this video from her days as our favorite “bucketball” girl. 🙂
We returned to the kennels a couple of times to take photos and write bios of all of the dogs. On our last trip, we decided to take three dogs home with us. One was a beautiful fluffy Chi, who went to live with Mama Donna’s daughter-in-law. One was Spruce, who came to live with us. And the last one was Lorelee. We had to bargain a little because her kennel mama loved her, too, but eventually trusted us to take her and find her a forever home.
Lorelee lived with us for the next 20 months. In all honesty, we thought it would be longer … possibly forever. Despite her puppy-like disposition, she was 8 years old and, having never lived in a home, wasn’t potty trained. When she first arrived, she didn’t know what grass what, she threw herself at the stairs, and she truly trust anyone except for Mama Donna. We would put a collar on her, she would chew it off. We would try to pick her up to comfort her, she would run away. We knew that if she saw the opportunity, she would bail and we would never see her again.
Fortunately, she always felt comfortable enough to play ball … and consistency (and treats!) pays off. Within a couple of months, she warmed up to all of the volunteers and was right at home. She was able to wear a harness, then a collar, without making it into a chew toy. Eventually, she got excited to see all of us and couldn’t wait to play ball in the field … or to con treats out of our pockets with those big, beautiful eyes. She stopped wanting to run away … although all of the Jacks here still have that desire sometimes. 😉
In short? We all fell in love with her.
So did Pat and David Brookshire.
They visited the ranch in November for Fall Vol Day and worked like volunteer veterans. They also spent time with several of the dogs. One of those was Lorelee, who was in Pat’s lap by the end of the day. We could see the love and knew it well; we also knew that Lorelee still had some “house-living” and housebreaking handicaps to overcome. The Brookshires did as well, so what did they do? They went home and spent the next month “Lorelee-proofing” their home.
And, on Dec. 8, they showed up at the ranch to take her home. Suffice it to say, we were astounded and in somewhat disbelief. What? Really? She’s going home?
By the end of the night, all of our concerns were put to rest. Lorelee was nestled into her Daddy’s lap in a blanket … and the stories haven’t stopped coming since.
Everything is new and exciting for this little girl; a so-called “old dog” who is learning “new tricks” each and every day. She has done remarkably well in a home for the first time, discovering the fine art of things like the delights of the dishwasher, the comforts of a fireplace, and the fine art of begging from Dad. She goes to Petco. She goes hiking. She has even overcome her housetraining issues and is sleeping in the bed with Mom and Dad!
We are still in awe of this amazing story of 2013 and can’t wait to see our former sweetie when she returns for a visit next month.
It’s wonderful when tragedy truly turns into triumph. Thank you to everyone who made this big little miracle happen.
