Happy Endings

No, not a fairy tale. Or a massage, for that matter (wink, wink). But this was a story told to me today by one of my very best friends, and I thought I would share it with all one of you. I do not have permission to make this public, so names and places will be disguised or simply not mentioned.

My friend Betty volunteers for a local rescue organization. They work with a particular breed, we'll say labradors. They do really good work, and I admire them greatly. If you are not familiar with breed-specific rescue organizations, I recommend looking into them for your next adoption. Of course, I never would recommend a breed over a mutt, or object to keeping all options open by checking local shelters, humane sociaties and no-kill private organizations. But I digress.

So, Betty got a call from the head of the rescue- a couple found a brown lab was nesting in a hay bale on their property. She looked pretty beat-up, so they tracked down rescue and asked for help. Betty went to pick up this dog to foster her for a bit until they were able to get her vet checked and decide what to do with her. When Betty picked her up, she realized that the dog was injured worse than they realized at first. She had patches of fur missing, ugly red welts with scabs down her back, and her back leg was swollen with open sores.

The usual vet that works with this rescue was booked solid with emergency appointments, surgeries and the regular appointments. The receptionist told Betty she was very sorry, but they were unable to get her in that day. Betty thanked her and hung up the phone. Just as she was getting ready to call another vet's office, the first receptionist called her back, saying "The doctor told me to call you, have you come right up, and we will work you in, in between surgeries." That's what they did. Betty found out later that the hospital's staff stayed 3 hours after normal hours so they could see to all the patients that night.

When Betty and the dog got to the hospital, the staff took one look and asked how she had been burned. They could smell the singed fur and skin across the room. The vet examined her and set up a plan to treat her. In the meantime, Betty called the head of the rescue organization, who in turn called the fire department for the township where the lab was found. She was told that there had been a house fire a couple days before. No people were injured, but a brown lab left in the house had died. They found the dog's collar at the scene.

When the head of rescue explained the situation, the firefighters gave her contact information to the homeowner. The homeowner called the rescue. They were able to determine that this poor dog was indeed the one that was presumed dead in the fire. The Labrador has since been reunited with her people, and they are all very glad.

So, yes, a happy ending.