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Deborah and Miko
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" When Leo Rescue Ontario was contacted by an
animal clinic in Manitoba and told that they had an adult male Leo named
Miko who was slated to be euthanized because his owner could no longer care
for him, arrangements were quickly made to go get him.
Since he was relatively close to me, I climbed into my little
car and drove two hundred kilometers to pick him up.
When I first saw Miko, I was shocked. He had been shaved into a lion cut! Eventually the fur grew back and he
positively thrived in his new forever home in the country.
Sadly, however, Miko crossed over the Rainbow Bridge less than
one year after being rehomed. "
Deborah
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The Grove Family and
Leonora
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pics
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" Nothing was planned but then there isn’t much in my
life that is! I read the minutes of
the Leonberger Club of Ontario’s meeting from the link I received when
becoming a member of the Club, and was heart broken all over again, having
read about Leonora a few times already.
Leonora was found wandering in the Alliston, Ontario area in July
2007, lost confused and malnourished.
As far as we can tell, at best she is the product of a backyard
breeder; at worst, she was used as breeding stock for a puppy mill
operation, only to be discarded when she was no longer useful.
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When no one claimed ownership of this sweet girl after five
days at the dog pound, Leonora’s fate could have been euthanasia or to be
sent to a medical lab for research.
Thankfully the local Humane Society took over after Leonora’s time
had “run out”. She was taken to a
vet for a thorough examination where they found evidence that she had had a
litter not long ago. Heaven only
knows what might have happened to her babies. Leonora was also exhibiting some
stiffness in her rear legs which may have been the result of a previous
injury or being confined in a cramped cage for most of her life. Following contact with Gail Bishop,
immediate arrangements were made to take Leonora into Leo Rescue Ontario.
I called my friend Naomi Kane, who is also a Leonberger
breeder, because I needed to talk about poor Leonora – for consoling I
think more than anything. I never
thought I would ever be considered as a candidate for adoption due to
working full time, so I was surprised when Naomi asked me if I was
considering taking Leonora and we talked about how it could possibly
work. I became excited that there
could be a chance we could give Leonora a home, and Naomi offered to call
Karen Heard, one of LRO’s Rescue Co-Ordinators, to give her a heads up that
I would like to be considered. Calls
were made and I found myself off to meet the LRO’s Director, Gail Bishop,
the following day to see Leonora and, I guess, to be vetted as a suitable
candidate for her adoption!
I was so overcome with emotion and struggled to keep composed
when Leonora was brought out to meet me, watching her moving so slowly, not
showing any acknowledgement of us…..but after no more than 10 minutes I
wanted so much to take her home right then and there. There were some challenges, the biggest
being the five steps up to our house.
Gail did not know if Leonora would be able to manage them as she
didn’t have to encounter any at the kennel.
I had to talk to my children, knowing they would also struggle with
Leonora’s challenge to get around due to her very weak back legs. As it turned out, both obstacles were
easily overcome. Leonora had done
steps while staying with June Ward, another LRO Rescue Co-Ordinator, while
recovering from her spay surgery and my children were disappointed that I
didn’t bring her home right away upon learning this! So we prepared by covering our hardwood
floors with rubber backed rugs, and made plans to have the deck replaced with
dog friendly steps to the yard. Then
home she came!
We were expecting slow gradual changes as she adjusted to her
new family and home, but within days Leonora started to nudge our arm if we
stopped petting her; she also began to lean ever so gently against our
leg. In the short time since
becoming part of the family Leonora now likes to sit at the front window to
watch the birds in the bird bath, lie beside the computer desk when the
children are there, help me garden by digging in the flower bed beside me,
and does a little dance when I am preparing her food. Several times she has invited our other
Leo, Bruce, to play with little skips around the garden! Bruce is being a saint; he maneuvers
around her as if he was 13 lbs. not 130!
He gives up his bed and favourite lounging spots when she crashes
them, and always goes over to say “Hi” in the mornings and when returning
home.
Having Leonora join our family has shown me just how
wonderfully patient, compassionate and understanding my children are beyond
my wildest expectations. Our hearts
lift every time she wags her tail and, the most precious gift of all, when
she looks at us with her big soft brown eyes. She has the true heart and soul of the
Leonberger – so many thanks to you all for bringing us together. "
B. Grove and family
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