From Hopeless to Hope! A Love Story

From Hopeless to Hope! A Love Story

This story has two parts, the first is Before Adoption and the second is After Adoption.

Part One - Before Adoption: Once upon a time a long time ago there was a small, cute Boston Terrier puppy in a pet store. A loving husband got that puppy for his wife as a Christmas present. That was in 1995, before that woman discovered where Pet Store puppies come from. That little puppy grew up to be a very loved companion for the woman but the pup had many medical issues including Addison's disease and poor discs in her back. The pup lived a long life, until she was almost 17 years old. The day she went to the Rainbow Bridge was a very dark day in the life of the woman who had just lost her mother as well. The woman felt hopeless, her life became a sad journey with very little joy. The husband suggested another dog but the woman said "no." The husband began looking at Boston Terriers on Petfinder, he too had learned that Pet Story puppies come from Puppy Mills, even though the woman said "no." He knew his wife needed a dog in her life.

Around this time a Boston Terrier mama had been rescued from a terrible, horrible puppy mill that was worse than others, it was a hoarding puppy mill. This Boston had been born in a cage and went from puppy to mama in her outdoor cage. She lived in Tennessee where there are biting flies. These flies would attack her ears, drawing blood and eventually leaving notches in her ears. This brave girl had tried to escape from her cage, breaking some of her teeth and cutting her tongue and muzzle in the process. These cuts would be a permanent reminder of her life before her rescue. She had many litters of puppies while in her cage and they were taken away from her every time. One day, her world was suddenly changing, there were many humans in and around her cage. She did not what to expect, her interactions with humans had been minimal but the times humans touched her, were when they moved her to a breeding box, another horrible memory for her.

But this time she was taken out by a different kind of human, one that held her gently, coo'ed to her, telling her she was safe, they were rescuing her! The wonderful people who rescued this Boston told the rescuers at Old Dominion Boston Terrier Rescue (ODBTR) that it took three baths to get the stench off of her. ODBTR named her Hope. She had never had a name before. She was taken to a veterinarian, probably for the first time, where her teeth were taken care of and her baby making parts were removed, she would never have to be in a breeding box again, never have to go through labor and birth by herself.

When she was well enough to leave the veterinarian's office she was taken to a home that had lots of happy Boston Terriers trying to sniff and greet her. She was scared, overwhelmed and did the only thing she knew how to do, she growled and snarled, telling the others to leave her alone. The woman in that home tried to tell her that she was safe but Hope wasn't too sure. The woman, named Susan, decided it would be best for Hope to adjust to freedom in a home where she would be an only dog. Another woman named Shannon let Hope come stay with her. There she began to learn what it meant to be a pet. She learned to walk on a leash, where to go potty, how to let human hands touch her in a gentle way. She even got to wear really cute dresses. Shannon told her it was her job as a foster mom to help Hope get ready for a fur-ever home with a family that would love and take care of her. Hope wasn't sure what that meant, for now she just wanted to be left alone and feed. Strange noises like foil being torn off the roll scared her, she ran and tried to find safe places to hide. Shannon's family were very nice to her, touching her gently and saying nice things but no one seemed to want to adopt her. Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months.

Then God stepped in and made Hope and the sad woman's lives cross paths. I was that sad woman. My husband showed me Hope's picture and read her story to me. I began to realize that I could honor my little Boston Terrier pup's memory by adopting a Boston who had lived as her mom had lived. This could be my way of saying I was so sorry that we had perpetuated puppy mills by adopting from a Pet Store. I filled out the adoption papers and waited nervously, wondering if we would be approved. Susan reached out to me and we talked on the phone for a long time. She shared Hope's story and I shared ours. It seemed that Hope and I were meant to become family.

We met up with Shannon, the fabulous foster mom, and she handed us Hope's leash. I could see tears in her eyes, I'm sure they were a mix of sad tears because she loved Hope and happy tears because she knew Hope was getting her fur-ever family.

Part Two - After Adoption: Hope was not thrilled to be riding in a different car with strange people so she threw up on me, not a great start for either of us. We made it home and got out of the car. Hope looked at the stairs into our town home and dug her heels in. She would NOT come up the stairs. So, I picked her up and struggled to carry her upstairs. I did not realize it at the time but she had stretched her hind legs out straight behind her to try to force me to put her down, it was her survival instinct kicking in. I would later learn that she would use that technique when she was frightened when I would pick her up. We made it upstairs to the living room level. I put her down and let her explore, giving her lots of space and not forcing her to do anything. At supper time, I called her into the kitchen and put a dish of dog food down for her. She stood over it tentatively but did not eat. I walked out of the kitchen and I heard her eating.

For the next few days we struggled to establish a routine, my only requirement was that Hope needed to be in the same room that we were in. At night, I would carry her upstairs to our bedroom and put her on our high king size bed where she would spend the night at the end of the bed. After a few days of carrying Hope up and down the stairs, bemoaning her obstinatance, it dawned on me Hope did not know HOW to go up and down stairs. We worked on that for a few days and Hope learned quickly. What a relief.

Working to earn Hope's trust was a much bigger challenge. Finding the right balance of encouragement and patience was the key. Shortly after adopting Hope we made a radical change in our lives, we retired and moved in to a RV and began traveling the United States and Canada. Hope adjusted well. Because we were in close quarters 24 x 7 she began to be comfortable enough with me to jump up on the couch but she would sit at the other end. But as much as I tried to get her to play with me or a toy, she showed no interest. Hope had never been a puppy and had no concept of play. Then a miracle happened. We camped in a park where there were two Boston puppies. Their human mom was a horse trainer and had them off leash but they would recall to her with just a simple command. Those puppies were running around, sniffing, playing, all the things I wanted for Hope. The woman, Jenn, quickly became a friend. With her encouragement, I let Hope off leash and watched as Jenn had Hope lining up with her dogs waiting for treats. One of her pups, Brie, tried and tried to get Hope to wrestle play. Hope tentatively began to engage. Over two short days I saw a remarkable change. She would run a few steps then look back at me for reassurance and then run a few more steps. Over the next few days I saw Hope begin to perk up. But we were there for only a few days and I was sad to move on. Hope was sad, too. The spark I saw in her started to die. That is when we decided to get a puppy for Hope to keep. Enter Winston, a high energy yet submissive nine month old ball of fire! We also made a routine change. My husband stated feeding the dogs. This made a huge change in how Hope related to him. Over the next months we celebrated these small yet significant milestones:
- nudged my hand asking for more petting
- ran in the dog park just for fun
- would play chase and wrestle with Winston
- was able to be in a pet park with other dogs with no problems
- walked easily on a tandem leash with Winston in to the Virginia Beach Pet Expo and was around many dogs
- nudged my husband's hand wanting more petting
- jumped up on the couch to sit by my husband
- picked up a toy for a few seconds
- PLAYED TERRIER TUG OF WAR with Winston with a toy

Bottom line, Hope came into my live when I was hopeless. We have healed together, learned together, and gave become fast friends. This fabulous journey could not have happened without the ODBTR. Their excellent care getting Hope healthy and then finding the best Foster Mom. I cannot thank them for the gift of Hope.



ODBTR and all the other rescues dotted around your amazing country are doing something so needed,not just for the dogs but for us humans too..

NOTE FROM BTN: This heartwarming story has been reprinted with permission  of Old Dominion Boston Terrier Rescue (ODBTR).

Story written by Beth Ladwig, who adopted Hope.

Remarks made from the first publishing:

Shannon Barrett Knight, Oh goodness! What an amazing story. I'm in tears as well. We loved having Hope with us, especially her silly smile! She loved walking to the bus stop everyday to get my son. She was so sad for so long, at one point we spoke with a Pet Communicator.



Note from Author

  I was her first foster. The second message will have photos of Hope as blossomed, relaxed and got healthy   A couple of the photos look like she she snarling but that was her "smile". She made that face every time I spoke sweet to her  

I am so excited for Hope! Her mom and I met through her adoption and became friends. She is an amazing woman. Her name is Beth and her husband is Dave.