Kirska

I wanted to share with you all the story of my Anabelle. It's inspiring to me and I hope it might do the same to some other basset and dog rescue lovers.

Anabelle appeared one day in a small town outside of Dallas of less than 1,000 people in the middle of nowhere. No one knew who she belonged to or where she came from. Several families tried to take her in, but as soon as they would let her outside to potty, she'd take off. This is what earned her her original name, Gypsy Rose. She was a free spirit.

She became pregnant at some point along the way. She wandered up to an older woman's house and went into labor. Three days later, she was still in labor. At this point, the woman's son called a rescue in a town nearby. The rescuer immediately came to pick her up but when she arrived, she and the son could not find Gypsy Rose. They searched every shack and shed in the small town but gave up and assumed she had wandered into the woods to die.

Later on, Gypsy Rose appeared again and the son spotted her and took her to a vet. The vet determined that a puppy had gotten stuck in the birth canal and all puppies had died. He removed the puppies and spayed her.

The rescuer came to pick her up and she was placed in a foster home. Here is a picture of her in her foster home:


As you can see, she was skinny and her belly was extremely stressed. She eventually reached a point where her insides were exposed and they weren't sure she would make it. It became clear to the rescue that they couldn't afford her treatment anymore so she was transferred to the no-kill shelter that I volunteer for.

There, she underwent surgery to fix her belly and around that same time they discovered that she'd been shot with a shotgun in her belly and had since healed without treatment. They removed the birdshot in her. They also found out she was heartworm positive and she started treatment.

Here is a video of her while she is recovering from her surgery. They used the band on her belly to help it heal properly.

Once she was placed in the general population of dogs at the shelter, this is when I met her. I didn't really take note of her for the first 2-3 months I was there. I went in to work with a timid dog that was sharing a run with her and she wouldn't let me ignore her anymore and held her head in my lap.

I promised myself I wouldn't adopt another dog but I eventually gave in and convinced my husband to come meet her on a Saturday. He instantly fell in love so we came back Sunday to do a meet and greet with our current dog.

As we were adopting her, her foster mom from the rescue came to meet us. She said that she was going to take her back that day had we not adopted her for her to stay in foster indefinitely.

By the way, a puppy mill that produced red basset hounds that was raided a short while ago was located very close to the town she was found in. We suspect that's where she came from, though we can only hope she got out as a puppy.

And well as they say the rest is history

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Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

sadeyes2

What a sad story, but what a happy ending. Just wondering if she ever tries to go AWOL now.

Kirska

She did when we first got her, couldn't let her outside without a leash. She's gotten better though. I think she knows she has an endless supply of food, love, and shelter here

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Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

LuciaB

So wonderful, thank you for sharing! I love hearing stories of rescue dogs, and it warms my heart to know that with all the crap going on in the world there are still people out there who realize how valuable it is to take the time and effort to care for an animal.

We can't save everybody, but knowing that we've made a difference in our own small way means the world

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~Lucia~

SophieB

Awww that has brought a tear to my eye... bless her heart! How nice of you to care for her and I would have done excatly the same. I hope Anabelle will have a life full of fun with your family.

BassetHoundHank

I was told my pup's momma was found from a puppy mill a few years ago.. Maybe it was the same mill as Anabelle, who knows.
Anabelle is lucky to have been adopted by y'all! What a sweet looking gal

mhvonalmen8908

I love rescue stories with happy endings! There aren't as many as I would like. I'm so glad Anabelle has a loving home that she no longer feels the need to run from.

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Megan & Chris
-Mom & Dad to Doppler (2 year old Basset/Redbone/Golden mix) and Virga (1 year old Basset)

Kirska

Could've been the same one as Hank. No way for either of us to know I guess. For a while there we were really angry at whoever treated her poorly before despite not knowing who to be angry at but now that over a year has gone by we don't really think about it anymore.

She makes no effort to escape anymore. Quite the opposite actually, she seems to despise leaving the A/C :P

__________________
Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call

mommytocrocket4

i loved your rescue storey,poor baby girl glad she has a happy ending in her furever home.

Kirska

I'm glad you liked it, she's such a doll. It's very rewarding to make her happy.

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Mom to Anabelle and Lila, rescued ladies and Harley, Corgi/Beagle/Basset/?? mutt

"Saving just one dog won't change the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog." - Richard C. Call