Lebanon Refugee Steals The Heart Of Fellow Biker

When my wife told me that she was going to spend a week at Best Friends volunteering in October, my only comment was "do not bring home another dog."

Kristin was very lucky that the week she was to be at Best Friends was the week that all the Lebanon animals arrived. I was getting calls and text messages from her letting me know that she was having an amazing time. She never thought that scooping poop could be so rewarding. She was telling me about how amazing all the staff and volunteers were to interact with while she was there.

Most importantly, she told me that her week at Best Friends was "one of the most rewarding experiences of her life". Needless to say, one of our 2007 vacations will be a week at Best Friends so that I can share in what she experienced.

When Kristin returned home to Boulder, she had great stories and a ton of pictures. The interesting thing is that there was one dog that appeared in the majority of the shots. She told me about Louise and shared Louise's story of being alone with no food or water for over two weeks due to her owner being killed.

I knew something was up due to the way that she spoke about Louise. Finally, I was able to get the whole story out of her. She explained how she didn't want or expect to meet a dog while she was there, but Louise just "spoke" to her (Ah yes, the power of unspoken dog language).

Kristin's attitude was almost like that of a small child wanting that first puppy. How could I get in the way of this connection? It took no convincing for me to say "let's get her", and the process of bringing Louise to her permanent home began.

Kristin made the trek back to Best Friends in early November to pick her up. Since then Louise has brought nothing but joy and smiles to our home. Louise seems to be the happiest dog around. Our friends, family, neighbors, and even our Vet clinic staff have all fallen in love with our little refugee.

Louise bounces around our world with her interesting little limp. Her tail is always wagging. She has the cutest little snore as she sleeps. She's a world class "chow hound" when its feeding time; and she is always ready, willing, and able to spend some quality snuggle time with anyone who is interested.

Louise enjoyed the blizzard over the Christmas Holiday here in Colorado. We have a funny feeling that she never saw this kind of weather in Lebanon.

Thank you for the great things that you do for all animals. Most importantly, thank you for allowing Louise to join our home. She's a great addition to the family.

Kristin Bresnan and Mark Stefanowski
Boulder, CO