Next came the delightful ball of tri-color scruff known as Ginger.
Two weeks after adopting Princess, J and I made plans to go to Savannah one Saturday. Apparently, fate had other ideas… J’s wallet was stolen Friday night, meaning we had to spend most of the following morning at the DMV office so J could get a new license. The animal shelter was on the way home, so we decided to drop in and see if Shelli (Princess’ foster mom) was volunteering.
As we pulled into the gravel parking lot, we spotted not one but TWO familiar vehicles–Shelli and my supervisor was both at the shelter!
The sound of dogs barking and crying filled the air as we stepped out of the car. We opened the rusty metal door, and immediately I was handed a tiny, trembling dog. My supervisor explained her name was Ginger and that she was going to be gassed when the shelter closed at noon that day. I looked at my watch and realized this little girl was running out of time. It was almost noon!
She asked if we wanted to take her to J’s mom. We’d been looking for a smaller dog to keep J’s mom company, and after hearing Ginger’s story, we knew Ginger needed a quiet, female household.
Gin’s former owners (I refuse to call them “family”) dumped her at the shelter after the elderly wife had hip replacement surgery. The husband apparently hated Ginger and was very abusive towards her. He demanded that the wife get rid of the dog.
They brought her to the shelter, and the wife reluctantly explained that Ginger was terrified of men. If you read the arrival story of Princess, you know that the shelter does not screen adopters. You pay, you get the dog. The shelter adopted Ginger out to a guy with male roommates. Needless to say, Ginger was NOT a happy camper. She hid in the apartment, and when they cornered her, she bit one of them.
Again, Gin was dumped at the shelter. Now that she was labeled a bite case, she was to be put to sleep. Shelli and my supervisor talked to the shelter staff, and we worked it out so that Ginger could come home with us. The plan was to foster her long enough to get her vetted and boost her confidence. Then, we’d arrange to take her to J’s mom.
Ginger had other plans and made it known as soon as we got her home that her fear issues were more serious than we’d anticipated. For months, we couldn’t approach her. We could only pet her if we were sitting on the bed and eventually the floor.
I decided to take her with us to J’s flag football tournaments. She’d be in a controlled environment with men who would not hurt her. In fact, the guys really liked her and were quite disappointed that Ginger wouldn’t let them pet her.
She just turned six a week ago today, and she has made great strides in accepting men. She’s still cautious and requires some time to warm up to new people, but her progress is amazing. Princess did an excellent job of showing her the ropes and letting her know that we were the good guys. Today, they are the best of friends and are my inspiration to make a difference in the lives of homeless and neglected animals.
