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| Name: |
Dahlia
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Age: |
Three years old
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| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Wire Haired Podenco
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| Home: |
Warrenton, Oregon, USA |
My sweet girl Dahlia overcame abandonment and likely mistreatment at barely two years of age. We found her in a Spanish killing station (like a pound but much worse) where her hunter-owner had dumped her with instructions to kill her. Why? Perhaps because she was not good at hunting. Perhaps because she was too good at hunting, which annoys some Spanish hunters who want to see the thrilling chase before the kill. Or perhaps simply because he did not want to take care of her the rest of the year once hunting season was over, when it would be cheaper to just buy a new dog next season. This is common in Spain, as are abandonment to the streets, torture, and DIY euthanasia by hunter-owners, often in terrible ways.
The moment I saw her photo, and the distinct sadness and fear in her eyes, I knew that I had to save her. She had endured enough, and now, after enduring all she had been made to endure, she had been left for death, in a cold, wet, noisy, unfriendly place, bearing her heart in tatters. Through the rescue protocol of Hound Sanctuary and the help of Hound Sanctuary rescue partners, I was determined to see that she endured no further hardship. Soon she was on her way to a friend in Spain for fostering, and then to me for enjoying the rest of her life in comfort, safety, and happiness.
Dahlia is now a little over three years old, happy, beautiful, gentle, and loving as any dog could be. She loves cuddles of course, but her favorite thing is to get me to give her strings of kisses from the tip of her nose all the way to her forehead, over and over again. Well, that and running around in the yard, and rolling around in the sand-mud, which leaves her looking quite disheveled, her long locks all a mess, but we don't care, so long as she is happy.
I am home with her almost all the time, but the way she greets me when I do leave and return makes any trip away from home such a joy to end. The last time I traveled, when I got home and sat on the couch, she came running down the hall and quite literally launched herself into the air, flew over the couch arm--executing the most amazing airborne twists and air-paddling thing I have ever seen--landed right next to me, wrapped herself around me, and began a flurry of hugs and kisses. Now that is how you know your dog loves you. She still does this every time I come home from even a short trip to the store, and even when she comes in from outside with her dad. I absolutely adore her and I am so grateful that she likes me too. :) There is nothing quite like the love of a rescued dog.
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