
Giselle
The following was written by PoP contributor Eric Nuzum.
French Bulldogs rarely show up in shelters and rescues. They are expensive dogs and difficult to breed. Anyone who goes through what it takes to get one usually isn’t very quick to let it go. Those that do come up for adoption are usually seriously ill or disabled.
That’s why we were so surprised to see Giselle listed for adoption. A four-year-old Frenchie, rescued from a high kill shelter in South Carolina. Besides testing positive for heart worm, she was described as good with kids and dogs, didn’t have behavior issues, and seemed otherwise perfectly fine.
More than a hundred people applied to adopt her, but we were the ones told she would be coming home with us on December 3rd. The only thing we really knew about her history was that her previous owner gave her up for financial reasons.
I was instructed to pick her up at a transport drop–where rescue volunteers bring more than 40 dogs in stacked crates, bungee corded together in the back of a large cargo van for the ten-hour drive from South Carolina.
Giselle was one of the first dogs off the van and almost immediately I could tell that her time in the shelter had not been good. She was caked with dirt, had a mangled ear and scabs on her face from a fairly recent attack by another dog, had infections in both ears, and was constantly straining to poop, probably from stress. She was disoriented and nervous, yet still desperate for any comfort or affection. I placed her head in my hands after putting her in the backseat of the car. “Don’t worry little girl,” I whispered to her. “The worst part is over.” She licked my nose and we drove home, already pretty much bonded.
Continues after the jump. (more…)