Article appeared in the Dec. 8, 2011 issue of the Interlake Spectator…
When Sally Hull, owner of Hull’s Haven, a Border Collie rescue shelter in Meleb, first saw a picture of Kawii, she felt her heart being wrenched from her chest.
“I freaked when I saw her. The ones that always get to me are the hard luck cases,” said Hull.
‘Kawii’, ‘darling’ in Japanese, had been hit by a car along a highway in Kentucky sometime in late October. She was left there with her front paw nearly severed. When she was finally found, infection had set in badly. Her entire leg was severely swollen and would require amputation in order to save her life.
Still, she was lucky. Her fate could have been worse.
According to Hull, the woman who found the dog would have left her for dead unless someone agreed to adopt her. Fortunately for Kawaii, the woman had contacted a rescue shelter in Kentucky, run by Alice Grover, who happens to have a working relationship with Hull’s Haven.
When Hull was told about the dog’s plight, the first thing she said was,” We’ll bring her here.”
“The day she came here she was cowering and skinny. In a month she’s come a long way,” said Hull.
Hull paid the $375 vet bill for spaying and amputation, then a series of volunteers transported Kawaii to Winnipeg, where she was fostered for a short time.
Then along came an ardent dog-lover named Lucy Hodge who would put an end to Kawaii’s hard luck story. After browsing the Hull’s Haven website, as she regularly does, Hodge came upon the dog’s photo.
“When I saw that picture I just started crying…The leg was totally mutilated,” she said.
On Dec. 1, Hodge took a flight all the way from Carbonear, Nfld. to pick up Kawaii. While at Hull’s Haven she was touched even more deeply when she saw how happily Kawaii played with her new found friend, Niblet, a five-month old Jack Russell mix. She agreed to take both rescued dogs home with her, to join the other two dogs she had adopted from Hull earlier this year.
“I feel very privileged that at this point in my life I am able to help. This is kind of like paying it forward,” said Hodge.
The dogs will be exceptionally well cared for at their dog-friendly home in Newfoundland.
“I tuck each of the dogs in at night,” said Hodge. “I promise them that they will never be hurt or abandoned again. They all have their own blankets.”
“This woman (Hull) has devoted her life to saving dogs who nobody wants,” said Hodge. “The reality is that the chance of their being adopted are slim. People want perfect dogs. They don’t realize how perfect this dog is.”
Hodge had tried to locate dogs for adoption closer to home in Newfoundland, unsuccessfully.
“I called the SPCA five times to find a rescue dog, but they never did call back. The attitude in Newfoundland is, ‘we don’t throw our dogs away,” she said.
“It’s not that I have an obsession with dogs. It’s just that they are so hard to adopt out. They hurt like we do. They bleed like we do. They’re just like us,” said Hodge.
