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Happy Tail: The 1,000 Mile Journey to a New Home - Sky

Sky, a beautiful Aussie/Catahoula Leopard Dog was accepted at Sugarfoot Farm Rescue with a prospective Furever Home - a great distance away - already in mind
The Next Earlier Happy Tail: Things happen for a reason - Allie & Monty

By Peg Schaeffer

My son, Chip, still lives in Connecticut. He has a good friend, Earl, who works with him and called to tell me that Earl was looking for a dog to adopt. His last dog had been an Australian Shepherd and he would like another one. So the search was on.

A few weeks later I got a call from someone who had a dog that had been abandoned and asked if I could take him in. The owner had gone to a local convenience store, tied the dog on the porch and left. They told me the dog was very smart and well behaved and looked to be an Australian Shepherd.



So I took the dog in with Earl in mind. Turns out the dog was an Aussie/Catahoula Leopard Dog mix. The telltale sign of a Catahoula is the two colored eyes and this dog had the most intriguing eyes you can imagine.

I named the dog, Sky. He was a great dog. He got along with all the other dogs and learned quickly. I called Chip and told him I had just the dog for Earl. I sent Earl and his daughter, Caitlyn, photos of Sky and they decided to adopt him. He was neutered and vaccinated and prepared for his trip to Connecticut.

I'm sure you're wondering "how do you get a dog to Connecticut?" There are numerous transports available for dogs to travel to other states. Rescue groups join together and piggy back the dogs from rescue to rescue, eventually getting them to their destination. It takes a lot of planning and volunteers to be successful but the coordinators for these rides are great at what they do.

There are also paid transports to deliver the dogs. I have seen all kinds. The Connecticut Humane Society has a trailer with forty kennels inside to transport the dogs. The kennels are clean and shiny. There is automatic water and even toilets that flush. It is towed with a truck.

Pilots volunteer their time and services to actually fly dogs to designated destinations. I've seen many pictures of dogs on the front seat of a plane wearing a seat belt and heading to their new homes. I have even taken some lucky dogs to the airport for their trip.

We use a transport called "Rescue Riders". They have different locations where they stop and meet with rescuers to pick up dogs scheduled for a trip. All dogs need to have medical certificates and if they are not already microchippped, a microchip is inserted. They operate on a tight schedule and once they have picked up all of their passengers they head to New England making stops at prescheduled areas to deliver dogs. So Sky went onboard with Rescue Riders and made his trip to New England with other dogs going to their new homes.

Adopting a dog from a photo without actually meeting them requires a trust with someone about a dog that's going to be a stranger to you. What if the dog isn't what you want? What if you don't click? What then? This is why you need to get references about the rescue you're dealing with. You want to insure that you will be getting a healthy, well behaved, new family member.

Sky's new family met him at a designated stop in Connecticut and drove him home. That was almost two years ago. I visit Chip once a year and whenever I go I always make a trip to meet with Sky and the Johnson family. Sky is one healthy, happy and spoiled dog. This is what Caitlyn has to say about him:
"He does now associate my cell phone ring with Dad being out in the garage. Every time it goes off he starts whining and crying and barking at me because he thinks its Dad calling to say he's out in the garage and to let Sky out. Any car horn or train whistle makes him howl which my grandmother and Chip have used against us. When Chip drives by in the morning, if I'm off, he'll beep just so Sky will howl. When my cousin and I take him to walk the green in Lebanon he always makes friends with the other dogs and people. He can never just walk around. He also does this weird stalk thing when he sees other dogs from a distance there. He gets low to the ground and creeps forward kind of like Border Collies do when herding sheep. He's so well behaved. He hasn't ruined anything in the house and he stays off the furniture except when we all leave - then he lies on Dad's bed. He also sometimes thinks he's a lap dog and climbs up in Gram's lap when she sits in the recliner."
So Sky, the dog left on the porch of a convenience store in Kentucky found a furever home 1,000 miles away in Connecticut. - Peg Schaeffer
Contact us if you would like to help.

Peg Schaeffer
860 Sparksville Road
Columbia, KY 42728
www.sugarfootfarm.com
peg@sugarfootfarm.com
Home telephone: 270-378-4521
Cell phone: 270-634-4675


This story was posted on 2013-03-24 07:58:12
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Sky, admitted to Sugarfoot with distant Furever home in mind



2013-03-24 - Sugarfoot Farm Rescue, 860 Sparksville Road, Columbia, KY - Photo by Peg Schaeffer.
Sky, a beautiful Aussie/Catahoula Leopard Dog
was accepted at Sugarfoot Farm Rescue with a prospective Furever Home - a great distance away - already in mind.

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