Nelly

Too many dogs sold on Kijiji end up in abusers' violent hands, or chained, or cruelly neglected. Nelly was a chained guard dog whose owner wanted to get rid of so he listed her on Kijiji. Her probable fate was to be bought by someone else who wanted a guard dog. Animal Advocates Society stopped that from happening to Nelly.

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Worried about whose hands this Rottie would end up in next, we drove 60 miles to where the dog was. What greeted our eyes was a big Rottie, heavily chained in a muddy farmyard. She was sad and depressed-looking. She was so thin that her ribs and backbone "popped" out. The farmer explained that she was so depressed that she often wouldn't eat.

We grabbed Nelly as fast as the owner would let us have her and drove her to freedom.

First, before anything else she went to the vet for an exam and vaccines, a yeast infection in her ears was found and treated, and then she was spayed. Poor Nelly was so hand-shy that she was almost certainly beaten. And she cowered when she heard the wind howl. It's heart-breaking to think of her outside for so long, terrified of storms and wind. And then, lucky Nelly was adopted by Chris.

I'll let Chris tell you the rest of her happy story:

 

Nelly has been with me for a week now, and she is having lots of fun running through the mossy trails in the swampy forest. She is a great listener and never strays far from the group.

 

Nelly seemed a bit lost and in a different world the first few days out, but she watches and takes cues from Sadie, Nova, and Ellie who have completely accepted her.

 

When we are out, it really is a canine amusement park, except instead of rides, there are chases.

 

Yesterday Sadie flushed out a grouse from a small thicket along the trail. All, including Nelly, joined in for a 100-yard dash through the bush, as the grouse flew 10 feet off the ground before finally gaining enough altitude to land high in a cottonwood tree.

 

Nelly has a quiet and calm disposition, but while out walking she is energetic and inquisitive. Like many dogs who are not used to the bush, Nelly spends a lot of time with her nose to the ground, reading the forest floor like a book.

 

While at home, Nelly hangs around a lot with Sadie who is about the same size. The two seem to enjoy each other's company, and will follow each other if one goes outside to the back yard.

 

Feeding time is easy as Nelly is not at all food-aggressive. Nelly has fit into our family just as though she has always meant to be here.