Princess Leia Is Adopted!

Princess Leia came to the shelter as a stray. Yes, hard to believe that a twelve year old German Shorthaired Pointer could escape a yard but Leia could and did.  She managed to escape during one of the worst times to be a stray at a shelter – over the Fourth of July weekend.The shelter had explained that after Leia had shown up as a stray, her owners had been contacted. The owners response shocked the shelter staff. They explained to the clerk that they were leaving on vacation for two weeks and would be unable to get her before they returned. The shelter let the owners know they weren’t a boarding kennel and couldn’t hold Leia for two weeks. There were stray dogs showing up daily and they were doubtful she would be adopted in the time they could afford to give her in a kennel. The owners, oblivious to what happens to most old dogs at shelters, replied that they didn’t care. They were leaving and would relinquish Leia to the shelter. While the owners took off on their vacation, Leia sat in her kennel waiting as other stray dogs continued to show up.After we pulled Leia from the shelter and got to know her, we learned that Leia was a purebred German Shorthaired Pointer. She wasn’t a mischievous young GSP that would have been difficult for someone to manage. Leia was a senior GSP well past chewing shoes and digging out. She, unlike some of the younger more athletic GSPs, was pretty easy going. She didn’t look to be a dog that would ever challenge a fence. When it comes to easy to care for, Leia, like most Senior GSPs, was as easy as it gets.We put Leia on our website and were contacted by a previous adopter who recently lost their Jolly, formerly known as Captain Jack they adopted from us back in 2012. They were very interested in Leia and wanted to learn more about this beautiful senior girl. Jill and Doug came out to meet Leia, she wrapped herself around their hearts, and went home to join their family.We recently received an update from Jill about Leia we wanted to share. She is living the life she deserves, and we couldn't be happier for all."Leia is fantastic! I  have been trying to catch some video for you, but she is never far enough away from us to capture anything fun. She likes to be right next to us, mostly my husband Doug. She barks/grumbles at him whenever he leaves the room. And if we go where she cannot see us, she whines so pitifully that the whole family comes running! She has really captured our hearts.She has discovered mirrors and window reflections and doesn’t care for seeing herself that way. She kinda growls in a way that sounds like throat singing. She is fairly deaf, but can catch loud deep sounds like the lawn mower, but she makes up for any difficulty with her super sniffer. We can’t hide anything from her. We are pretty sure that as a younger and more agile dog, that she liked to fetch. She sniffs out the tennis balls and brings them over for a very short and very slow game almost every day. Sometimes she is happy to just gather the balls and place them in her bad.We have been taking her for weekly acupuncture for her rickety and probably arthritic back. She such a good sport. She will lay still in our laps for a good while as long as we stay still. It’s a bit of a nap for all! She seems more comfortable and mobile for about 4-5 days after a treatment. We are still hoping to find some relief for her discomfort in other ways too".We are always grateful to former adopters coming back to us, but especially those who adopt senior dogs.Interested in adopting a great dog like Leia?  Here's some information about how this whole thing works!First, every adoption starts with an APPLICATION. The application helps us set you up with the right adoption volunteer and helps us keep track of you as we go through the process. The more complete your application, the faster we can get in touch with you.Next, you will receive an email from your adoption counselor - so please keep an eye on your email, and your spam, for that first contact.After that call, the work begins. The adoption counselor will take a look at all of the dogs we have to find one that might fit well with your family, your animals, and your life-style. Keep in mind, not every dog we have is on the website!  It takes a lot of time to get the dogs listed, and sometimes there is a perfect home before that happens!What happens if there is not a good match after your call? Your adoption counselor keeps looking as new dogs come in. Very often, adoptions happen within a few weeks of applying. Sometimes it is quite a bit more time until that perfect dog comes in.And if you aren't quite ready to apply and adopt, you can still help "rescue" a dog by:1) Visit our Facebook Page, and Share, Like, & Comment on Facebook or other social media2) Subscribe to our YouTube Channel. The more subscribers the more views the videos will receive3) Become a Rescue Hero! With our limited resources, your monthly donation helps our all volunteer organization continue rescuing German Shorthaired Pointers.