What a lucky girl Miss Sophie is! She had a whole gang of folks pulling for her. Soph was unceremoniously dumped at the Front Street Animal Shelter in Binghamton, New York. Shelter worker Deb Bryan was amazed at what a good girl she was!! So, Denise rounded up some Eskie folks, Carol Innerst of Ithaca and Martha Zettel from Rochester, who were willing to spring Soph and transport her to Quincy, Massachusetts, in time for New Year's Eve!! Martha is a Heart Bandits adoptor -- Abby's Mom (see Abby's story!), and, as luck would have it, Martha and her hubby had planned to drive from Rochester to Boston for the New Year's Holiday. After some quick maneuvering, Carol was able to spring Soph and get her to Syracuse in time to meet Martha and Bill. And the relay continued as Soph made her way from New York to Massachusetts, landing at Denise's in Quincy....where she managed to annoy the Angels From God in every conceivable way. Ignorant of the proper AFG pack protocol, Soph promptly planted her butt in Nikita's sacred crate, while he sat in shock. I swear I could hear him doing his Robert Prestion/Music Man imitation...."O Yes, My Friends, We've Got Trouble...right here in Quincy....Trouble with a capital S, and that rhymes with PEST, and that stands for SOPHIE." The Angels from God were relatively good-natured about Sophie's infractions -- but they breathed a collective sigh of relief when Soph's new family showed up. And what a family this girl got! Sandie, Tim and the oh-so-adorable Katie Roy drove down from New Hampshire to meet Soph. It was LOVE at first sight! Soph acted as if she had known them forever and couldn't wait to go home with them! She barely said goodbye.... The Roys report wonderful things about Miss Sophie; and she is in 7th Heaven, just as spoiled and loved as she deserves to be. Here is what Sandie writes:
Denise,
I wanted to send you an update of our recently adopted dog, Sophie. After meeting her for the first time at your place and seeing her practically jumping off the ground, I thought, this is NOT the dog for us! After a few minutes, we crouched down and she turned into a snuggler. The hour and a half ride home was totally uneventful, not a peep out of her from the crate. Once at home, she ran around for a minute then settled right in. It was then very obvious that not only was she used to being fed from the table, but actually at the table. She turned her nose up at the very expensive dog food-- but we didn't relent. After only two days, she now lies in the doorway while we eat in peace. She is getting better on the leash and once a day we hook up a 25 foot lead and head down to the high school football field to let her romp in the snow. She lays on our bed all day, soaking up the sun but knows that when it's "lights out", she heads for the crate. We don't keep the gate part on but she seems to like the closeness of it.
She
does great during work days. We have a staggered work schedule so there is always
someone in or out of here every three hours or so. We've been to the groomers
which was quite an experience with about 10 other dogs present. She barked up
a storm but the owner said she quieted right down once she was alone with her
groomer. The vet was absolutely delighted with her physical condition and praised
her behavior. There was a very large Persian cat in the office, but Sophie paid
her no mind. The statue of the Siamese in the corner however did not fare as
well, I'm afraid! We are trying to make peace with our next door neighbor's
Lab-Shepard mix, Fred... otherwise it's going to be a very loud summer! After
just two weeks, she is already so much a part of this family. I laugh when I
talk to my sister in Arizona who has owned her Eskie Fluffy for almost 13 years.
She tells me stories that I relate to. Sophie does the exact same things! It's
like having the same dog. We can't thank you enough for bringing her into our
lives. We truly seemed destined for each other. About the photos attached: one
was taken the day after we got her and we had about 15 inches of snow; another
is my daughter Katlyn with Sophie. I hope you will include the one you took
when we first met each other. I have one saved as a screen saver on my computer
at work and many people have asked about how she came to be with us. I am spreading
the word about Heart Bandits to everybody I can, hoping to find more homes for
these wonderful animals. Keep up the fantastic work!!!!
Sandie, Tim, Katlyn and Sophie Roy
UPDATE: CHRISTMAS 2002!
Hi Denise!
This makes our second year with our heart bandit Sophie. I never thought 25 pounds of dog could change our whole lives! We still can't seem to get along with our next door neighbor's lab but we have had several play dates with our border collie friend, Buster (even a couple of sleepovers!). Sophie continues to feign indifference to our 7 1/2 year old daughter, Katlyn but mopes around when Kate is not home. She does great walking (1 mile in the morning, 1 after dinner) except she seems to know where the icy patches are and thinks it's a riot to make me fall. Since we've had a lot of snow, it's funny to watch her walk: she keeps her tongue out and licks the snow as she goes. Rolling around in it is about as close to "playing" as she gets. She's just not interested in balls, tug-o-war ropes, etc.
She was obviously well taken care of by her previous
owners since she loves to be groomed and even sits still in the bath at home. We've had a few accidents in the house recently but it's been
attributed to the fact she didn't get 100% attention during the holidays, poor her! Anyway, just wanted to thank you and everybody at Heart Bandits for bringing her into our lives and for all the other families you help put together. Happy New Year!Sandie Roy
