In early December 2004, we received an e-mail from our webmaster, Suzanne.  Her mother, who lives in a small town in western Ontario, had gone to church and much to the congregation’s surprise they were greeted by a little dog who sat on the church steps.  It seems Suzanne’s mother drove up to the church to park her car and when she opened the door the little dog jumped into her car!

The dog had not been well cared for. His nails were long and curled, his coat was matted and dull and he was full of fleas. 

She took the dog home that day and on Monday morning called the local shelter to report finding the dog.  The shelter receptionist said that the dog should be admitted into the shelter as a ‘stray’ in case there was someone looking for him.  There may be extenuating circumstances to his physical condition, she explained.

During his “stray” period, Suzanne’s mother called the shelter often to see if the dog had been claimed, but seven days came and went and no one came or telephoned about the little lost dog. 

Unable to adopt the dog herself, Suzanne’s mother asked her if she knew anyone who could offer a loving home to the dog who had captured her heart.  Suzanne sent out an e-mail plea to several colleagues and rescue organizations. 

After playing telephone tag with the shelter for several days, arrangements were made to have the dog released from the shelter and transferred to our rescue group and transport arrangements were made to bring him to Toronto.

“Nicolas” as we aptly named him for the season, was about 5 years old and a mix of Pomeranian and terrier and was all of 9 pounds. 

When he arrived at our home he came bounding in, sniffed our shoes in the front hallway, ran over and licked my face and then promptly jumped onto a chair, wagging his tail feverishly. 

Nicolas was a wonderful, gracious house guest.  He got on well with our dogs, was quiet, mannerly and house trained. 

After having him vetted and groomed, we made him available for adoption through the web site.  It was getting close to Christmas and we were planning to take him off the site until after the ‘big day’ when we received a call and e-mail from a couple who were interested in knowing more about him and coming to meet him.  We explained it may be better to wait a week or so until after the holiday season.  The husband said it was just he and his wife and they had no special plans or activities for Christmas Day or the week following.  In fact, he said it would be an especially good time since both he and his wife had some vacation time they were planning to take.  I explained that sometimes it can become confusing and even traumatizing for some dogs who come into a new home when their family is ‘off’ and then they are back to work and suddenly the dog is left alone.  The man thought about this for a moment and understood how the dog might feel.  He offered a number of suggestions and adjustments that could be made to ease Nicholas into a ‘back to work’ mode. 

It was nice to see someone who was trying to understand life from the dog’s point of view and not just what worked for the human side of the relationship. 

We sent the couple an application and after reviewing it and checking their references we invited them over to meet Nicholas.  We decided to take a walk around our neighbourhood block so we could chat and the dogs could have an outing on a delightfully snowy evening.  When we arrived back home again we all sat down and had hot cocoa and some Christmas baking.  I noticed the couple’s eyes never left Nicholas.  They smiled as he brought out his “Oddie” doll to show everyone and then laughed and played with him for quite some time.  Watching them interact with him and he with them, we knew instinctively it was going to be a good match however; we still needed to conduct the home visit.  We made arrangements to visit the next day.

As we followed the directions to the couple’s home we noticed the houses and properties on the street were quite large and sprawling.  Nicholas sat looking out the window taking it all in.  We pulled into their address and Nicholas came bounding out (on leash) in his usual happy way.  The couple was waiting anxiously at the door and welcomed us into their home.

It was indeed a massive and beautiful home and I worried a bit that perhaps hair, dog toys and even the odd urine stain would not be a welcome addition.  I couldn’t have been more ‘off’.  The couple took my questions in stride and appreciated my concerns but explained that they were more interested in Nicolas’s needs than being house proud.

Little Nicolas seized the opportunity to explore and as I watched him running here and there, he did indeed seem quite pleased with these ‘digs’.  So pleased in fact, that after visiting for several hours he was quite content to stay and so he did.

We have heard from Nicholas’s mom and dad on many occasions since adoption day and they are delighted to report that Nicholas is doing wonderfully well and they love him so very much they could not imagine life without him.

Dear Nicholas will never have to worry about being abandoned again!