By Randi Bildner
When Beth Mersten of Best Friends Animal Society read a recent story about a dog named Daisy (accompanied by the photo above,) she commented,
“This picture would be great with the song ‘He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands’ in the background.”In reality, at that time, Daisy had the “weight of the world on her shoulders.”
But thanks to
a little help from her friends, which include generous donations from Best Friends Network members, including two all-volunteer non-profit organizations, Shelter Showcase and Kodi's Club, the weight has been lifted.
Now, when speaking of Daisy, we can breathe a sigh of relief and feel great, knowing it’s true: she’s really got the whole world in her hands!
On January 18, 2007 the following story was posted on The Pit Stop:
PLEASE GIVE DAISY HER ONE AND ONLY LAST CHANCEhttp://network.bestfriends.org/thepitstop/news/11333.tmlThe story, submitted by Cathy Ngyuen, came along with a desperate plea from Daisy’s original rescuer, Deborah Weinrauch. Daisy’s story was one of sadness and misfortune.
(Excerpt from post)Daisy was rescued from a drunk, homeless man in a park who was beating her. Daisy saw a mother putting her baby in a car seat, broke away from the man and jumped into the woman’s car and licked the baby’s face. The mother took Daisy home, cleaned her up and decided to give Daisy a forever home. However, the home also had cats and Daisy was not suited to live with cats, so the mother reluctantly yet very sadly gave Daisy to another responsible home.
In that home, Daisy was savagely attacked by the family’s other dog. She was severely injured; and after she recovered, the family decided to give Daisy away so she would not be harmed again.
They gave her to a young couple who ended up crating Daisy day and night. When the young couple broke up, they gave Daisy away. She went to another home and over the years the mother, Deborah Weinrauch (whose car Daisy had jumped into), tried in vain to locate her, wanting to make sure she was safe and secure. Years went by without any news of Daisy’s whereabouts.
Deborah kept a picture of Daisy on her desk and each day wondered what had happened to her. On Friday, January 12, 2007, she received a call that Daisy had been abandoned and was in a shelter. The staff of the shelter had found Daisy’s microchip which lead back to Deborah, who immediately went to see her.
Despite everything she had gone through, Deborah was relieved to learn that she was still the same sweet, loving Daisy. But now, she was on borrowed time and needed find a home where she would be an only pet. Daisy needed someone to give her what she never had – love and security.
Daisy’s sweet demeanor worked to her advantage, she received excellent assessments from two experienced shelter professionals.
In quote about Daisy’s plight one shelter worker said, “It is better to light one candle than curse the darkness – and Daisy’s candle should not be extinguished.” The shelter staff did not want to see Daisy die.
The ResponseA plea to save Daisy’s life was placed on The Pit Stop which led to an overwhelming response.
Shelter Showcase, devoted to helping orphaned pets find loving homes, immediately responded to the plea, saying “Shelter Showcase will sponsor up to $500 of the rescue costs to any responsible rescue group that takes in this dog and guarantees the dog's safety.”
An additional offer of generosity came from Kodi's Club Rescue of New York City. Lisa Hauer added, “Kodi's Club RSQ will contribute $200.00 to help Daisy as well; we hope it helps to get her to safety.”
Now the task at hand was to find a suitable rescue organization to take Daisy and offer her refuge.
Deborah’s UpdatesThe wonderful news that Daisy passed her 3rd evaluation with flying colors arrived along with the inspiring email below:
“Hi Fellow Daisy Fans: With a lot of love and support from caring people like you and Orange County shelter staff, Daisy has good news to share. She will be pulled by rescue group New Beginnings and then temporarily boarded in LA until there is a space at the New Beginnings boarding facility.”
”Ms. Diane Klein of New Beginnings is planning to post Daisy on the internet today and tomorrow and will be taking applications.”
“What I have noticed is that Daisy is desperate to love, be loved and to bond with a kind human being. The kennel has taken great care of her, and she has been bathed and fed well. However, she is so loving and so eager to please and be the recipient of affection that sometimes I just want to cry. I am so happy to have her back in my life safe and sound, and I have total confidence in Diane and New Beginnings. I just know they will find her a perfect AND FOREVER home. ”Daisy and I thank you!”
New Beginnings Updates by Diane Klein:“Thank you for contacting us and taking such an interest in Daisy. She's just adorable. Several trainers (including a behaviorist at the OC shelter) felt that Daisy was just a wonderful dog that was a little fearful of other dogs who may have attacked her when she was a puppy. She has been with other male dogs and has not shown any signs of aggression or fear.
New Beginnings will look for a loving home for this precious little girl and hopefully, her sad times will be all behind her.”
"How We Can Work Together to Help More Animals"
Beth Mersten advises “Any individual or organization can also offer sponsorships to help specific animals just like in this case. Working together and sharing resources is the key. Sometimes one group or individual has the foster or kennel space without the funds available, while another organization or individual can't foster but has money to donate ... it's all about working together.”
Organization InformationNew Beginnings will be in need of donations for Daisy until her forever home is found. Donations should be earmarked for Daisy and can be sent by PayPal to:
http://www.greatpets.org (New Beginnings’ web site -- Daisy is posted on this site) or regular mail to: New Beginnings, P.O.B. 2444, Mission Viejo, CA 92690.
Additional information about Shelter Showcase can found at
http://sheltershowcase.com. Donations can be sent to The Shelter Showcase P.O. Box 1067, Bloomfield, N.J. 07003.
Donations to Kodi’s Club can be made directly to one of the group's veterinarians, please contact Kodi's Club at hope42705@hotmail.com. Tax-deductible contributions can be made payable to "Kodi's Club," c/o Brett Verlen at 123 East 37th Street, APT 8D, NY, NY 10016. Also you can pay via PayPal at
http://www.paypal.com. The email associated with our account is hope42705@hotmail.com.