Nikki had major medical issues and over the course of a couple of years, Nikki was in constant pain and we knew we couldn't let her suffer any longer, so we had her put down. We lost one of our other dogs a month later, so it was a rough time for us, but even tougher on poor Gabby. She had lost her best friend. She went from being playful and happy to just laying around all the time like in this picture. Is that heartbreaking or what?
We talked about it and agreed that Gabby needed a friend again. While I absolutely LOVE bichons, I didn't want to buy from a breeder and definitely not from a pet store which get most of their dogs from a puppy mill. I also didn't want a puppy.
I did a lot of searching on the internet and came across Small Paws Rescue (you can click on their name to go to their site) based in Oklahoma. They are the largest rescuers of bichons in the country, and they have bichons in foster homes all across the country. I started searching through available dogs and found one that sounded great for our family, so I filled out the application and waited. They get many applications daily so patience is required (yea, yea, yea, I know...something I don't have LOL).
By the time our application came up for review, the dog we were interested in had been adopted. I was so sad. But at the same time, I'm a firm believer in the saying "If it's meant to be, it'll be", so that told me that there was a different dog just waiting for us to find her. That night Chelsea and I sat down at the computer and we noticed a new dog on the site. We read through her info and she sounded like she would be great with our family, so we sent the email. We found out later that her profile had just been added to the site 2 hrs before we sent the email. Coincidence? I don't think so. They already had our application on file, so we were contacted to give the name and number of our vet and they contacted her. She gave us a glowing recommendation (Thanks Dr. Tammy!). A day or two later the foster mom "Nicole" called us. We talked for probably 30 min, both asking a bazillion questions. After the foster parent talks to the potential new owner, they contact the main organization office in Oklahoma and give their feelings on whether the dog and the family is a good match or not. The next day I received an email from the head of the rescue organization that said "Congratulations, it looks like Molly has a new home."
Unfortunately, it took a couple more weeks before Molly actually came to live with us. She had another bout of mammary cancer that she had to have surgery for and then she reacted to the anethesia site and had severe infection in her leg where the medicine went in. Airlines won't allow animals to fly if they have anything wrong medically, so she couldn't get cleared with her medical papers until that healed up.
Finally the day arrived. I dont know who was more nervous....Nicole or me. LOL Nicole cried when she took Molly to the airport because as I said before, Molly is the first rescue she's had that she considered keeping. I promised her we'd take very good care of her and I also called her as soon as Molly and I left the airport in Des Moines, and we both had a good cry.
So there you have it....that's how we found Molly, or she found us, however you prefer to look at it. I still keep in touch with Nicole and give her updates and send her lots of pictures.
Organizations like Small Paws Rescue do such great things in helping these poor dogs. In Mollys case, she was found wandering the streets. Her ID chip was registered to a nearby puppy mill, but they deny ever having her, which told the rescuers that what probably happened was Molly (being 6 yrs old now) was getting to old to keep producing lots of litters, and now that she had cancer they didn't want to deal with that so she was tossed out to fend for herself. Can you imagine?
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