the rescue of keesha February 2011

Shortly after I moved to Charlottetown P.E.I. from BC I took my dog for a walk on the next street where I saw a white Husky chained to a small disgusting doghouse which was surrounded by body-holes that the dog had dug. There was no shade or grass around the area.

After a week or so, I wondered if this dog ever got off this chain so I checked it out by going over at 7 in the morning, 2 in the morning, noon and late afternoon and realized that this dog

was never taken for a walk or taken off the chain or taken inside. After about 2 weeks it was raining and the dog was sitting there so dejected with her head down that I started to cry and said to the dog "You will not be here much longer, if I have anything to do with it". I contacted the Humane Society, and learned that they had had more calls on this dog than any other. The Humane Society came over and I met them and they said their hands were tied because the dog was fed, had water most times and had shelter (no matter the condition of the shelter).

So, knowing that nothing was going to be done there, I went to the owners and asked if they would introduce me to the dog so I could bring her treats every day when I walked my dog. They introduced me to Keesha, 11 years old. From the end of October to the middle of December, I brought her treats every day and you could see that her day was made when she saw me.

In December when I found a house to rent with a large fence yard and moved in I went to the owners and asked them if I could have Keesha and they said yes. I went to pick her up a week later and the owners came with me and while sitting in my yard watching Keesha run around like a pup, the ex-owner said "Jeez, maybe I should have built a fence". The sad thing is that his man is a carpenter and could have built a fence with no problem. Instead the dog was chained and left outside for her entire life. Even though they live just two minutes away, they have not seen Keesha since then, one year later.

Keesha has a large three inch foam mattress that I covered and she stretches out

on that end to end. The ex-owner told me that she only likes to curl up but that was because her doghouse was so small that was all she could do. He also told me that she would never sleep inside. In the year that I have had her, even through the hot summer, she has never slept outside one single night. I walk her every day, and she loves it. She is now spoiled rotten and I often wonder if she can remember her circumstances before she came to me.

Thanks to Animal Advocates and their reports and what they do - it prompted me to know that if the owners did not give up Keesha then I would have just taken her. She acts like a pup and not like the 12 year-old she now is. She gets along great with my small dog Cinnamon but not sure yet if she wants to eat my cat or not - so my cat Pearl avoids her.

I love it when Keesha lies flat out because that disgusting little doghouse she l

ived in for eleven years was too small and she could not lie stretched out as she does now. She is now a spoiled girl dining on slow cooked meat.

There are situations that one simply should not avoid and that is when you see animal or human in dire circumstances. I think everyone should do whatever they can to help. So many people told me after I got her that they could not go down that street because it bothered them so much - so why did they not do something?

I was completely influenced by AAS. If I had not known about AAS I might not have gone to the trouble to get Keesha but you showed me what one person`s action can do to help. AAS totally inspired me.

Peggy Ruge

One of the most powerful things you can do is to spread our web of compassion for animals. Send the AAS Website to everyone you know who hates cruelty to animals. The power of
animal-lovers joined together by the internet is changing animal protection and welfare in this province.
Use your power for the animals!