Luna

10-20-09

Luna was a shelter rescue.
She's been at our Apple Valley place for about a week or so, but is getting spayed tomorrow, so we brought her here.

After her appt tomorrow, she'll stay here to recuperate, then go to our event with us on Saturday.
We aren't sure of her breed, but are putting her as an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix.

She is desperate for love, and is a little clingy, but oh so sweet. She was great for her bath, didn't wiggle or whine.

She is a doll.

10-27-09

Luna is a sweetheart. She has a different kind of personality than any of the others that we have here right now, but she is so fun. She desperately tries to please us, and will do anything we ask her to. She is well behaved, but oh so full of energy! She doesn't have any brakes either, and that can be a bit painful. LOL
She is learning her basic commands, and doing really well.
She is just excited to be here, and shows that through her actions.
She's got a bit more of a dominant personality, but Ginger keeps her in line. She loves Kiya and Amara and the three of them play almost non-stop.

Right now she is sleeping on the floor, with Amikah's head resting on her. It's so sweet, and I can't get my camera because if I move, they will get up to follow me.

11-13-09

Luna is adopted! We made it final tonight.
She is going to a perfect home for her. I'm so happy!

She went to CA with us, and HWAC rejected her because she plays too loudly. It was meant to be though, as her new mom called us while we were on the drive home and she is PERFECT for Luna.

She won't go home till Monday after she is spayed, but she got to spend the day with her new mom today.
After M dropped her back off at the house today, Luna ran back and forth between the front door and the back door whining. They bonded so quickly.
I'm excited for her, and am so glad that she wasn't accepted at HWAC!!


12-01-09

Lots to tell about Luna since the last time I wrote.
First, I have to say that the person who adopted Luna is quite possibly one of the greatest people I've ever met. She has an amazing outlook on life.

M had Luna for only a few days, when she had a pretty bad allergic reaction. She'd had a dog before, so she was surprised to say the least that she was having this reaction.
She called us, and we talked about it, and decided that we would take Luna back while she waited to get some tests done to see what was up, and if it was fixable.

So Luna stayed with us for a little while, and M would come and get her for walks, and to play a bit.

Well, the results came in yesterday, and M came over to visit with us, and discuss everything. Ultimately, M is NOT allergic to dogs, but her allergy is breed specific... to whatever Luna's breed is. (We don't know what Luna is, but her DNA test should be coming back any day now).

It was a hard decision, but Luna is back up for adoption.
Part of what makes M and Luna so compatible is their activity level. If M has to be medicated all the time, and dealing with hives and breathing issues, then her quality of life goes down, resulting in Luna's quality of life also going down. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.

I truly believe though, that Luna was in M's life that short while for a reason. Or several reasons. And amidst the heartache of letting go, there is joy.

Luna cried when M left the house. I did too.

But through Luna, we have a new friend, and a supporter of the Rescue. One more person's heart is touched, and through her... many more.


12-01-09
M sent me a letter and said that I could share it with you. It is meant to be put on her petfinder page, to let any potential adopters know how special Luna is. But I wanted to share it here as well.

_____________

"First of all, if you are reading this you already fell in love with Luna because you saw her picture and that incredible look of innocence on her face.

I had no intention of adopting a dog. I just lost my cocker spaniel of 13 years to cancer abruptly in March. They tried everything to save her but just could not.
Her death has been the hardest thing I have ever dealt with because she truly was my best friend. I told everyone I just could not get a dog again, not for a long while.

One night I missed her so much that I prayed to God to heal my heart.
Out of nowhere, I started to look for dogs to adopt.

Luna was the first one I was drawn to on Petfinder. I called H.A.R.T. the next day and she was still available = WOW! I fell in love with her immediately and agreed to adopt her. I received Luna the day she was spayed and was able to nurse her back to health.

In so many ways this was a blessing = seeing a dog come back from not feeling well and simply just having a dog in my home again.

On the third day as she was feeling better I let her sleep in my room and unfortunately developed a really bad allergic reaction. I just could not figure it out because I have had cocker spaniels most of my life and had no reaction like this.

I called H.A.R.T. and they agreed to hold her until I could get an allergy test done in addition to a DNA test of what Luna's breed might be. I continued to miss her but I knew for her and I to have the best life together I would need to find out if I was allergic to her breed. I continued to want to go over to see her and walk her and prayed for the answers.

I had the allergy test yesterday and I am allergic to something in her breed. We are still waiting on the DNA test to come back to see what breed she is as it would only be responsible of me to know this if I adopt again.

What is ironic is that some of the other tests for allergies they did on me are so serious that I have to carry an EpiPen.

I feel like dogs are our little angels on this earth. Luna literally may have saved my life as I don't know that I would have ever had this kind of testing done if I didn't have a reaction to her coat like I did.

Why she deserves the best forever home with you...Luna is a "healer".

Trust me, when you meet her you will know exactly what I am speaking of. She healed me in so many ways.

She gets along well with other dogs, make that all dogs! She loves people and will become your best friend instantly. She loves to walk, play, and be outdoors yet she knows how to sleep well! We even began training together and she did incredibly well.

She is simply a wonderful dog and I think it is so unfair for her not to have the absolute best forever home. It pains me that I can't keep her, however, I trust there is a plan in all of this.

I hope if you are reading this that you consider adopting her and you can provide her with the best dog life she can have as she deserves this. Please know that I feel blessed to have had her for the time I did and may you be blessed to have her forever. She will be loved and dearly missed by myself and her foster parents.

Thank you Luna for healing my heart.

God Bless,

M.

_______________________

And yes, I'm in tears. Thank you, M, for loving Luna. You made a big impact on her life, and she will always remember and love you.


2-18-2010



Lots of stuff happening with Luna. When we got her back from M, she just settled right back into our lives. A couple months went by... only a few people were interested in her, but none seemed like a good fit.
We were starting to think that Luna would be one of our permanent fosters. And I wouldn't have minded. :)

Last week, Lorraine took Luna to her house for a little while. I had been so busy, that I wasn't able to exercise her the way that she needed, and the dogs at Lorraine's get a bit more exercise. So she went there. She loved her daily hikes to the river, and was doing really well there. I missed her terribly.
When Lorraine took her home, I cried for 2 days. Almost inconsolable. I know, I'm hopeless. LOL

Then, yesterday, Luna went for a 'job interview' at the golf course. They needed a golf course dog, and Luna seemed like the perfect fit.
And it turns out that she WAS. They love her. :)
Her adoption will be finalized tomorrow.

Happy tears and crazy happy dancing here. This is a PERFECT fit for Luna. She gets to run/work all day while being with her owner, and then spend the evenings with the family. She has kids to play with!

OH I'm SO happy for her!!!



Luna's Story continues:

1-20-10

*sigh* This is one of the hardest things, emotionally. To be so excited about something, and so happy, then the very next day get a blow that knocks you on your butt.

Luna is back. It's awful, and has been very hard on the guy who adopted her. Luna became aggressive on the golf course. We are all shocked, and don't know how to even respond to it. This was SO not typical Luna behavior.

The guy who adopted her said that he thinks she bonded so quickly and so strongly to him that she became instantly protective. Over-protective. And he feels like she thought people were invading 'his' space, and she needed to protect him. She chased down a group of golfers, and actually cornered an elderly woman. He took her out of the situation, calmed her down, then took her back out again, and she did the same thing with a different group of golfers.

We were all discussing it, because it is SO NOT Luna behavior, and realized that he was working hard with Luna for a couple days, teaching her to chase and remove anything on the golf course. He was asking her to do that, and she did it. Too well. She was so eager to do whatever he asked, that even though she knew it was wrong to chase people, she thought that was what he wanted. They were on her course, and they were to be removed. That was her job.

Silly girl is too smart for her own good.

I honestly feel that is what happened.

So anyway, she is back with us, and settling back in. She's been a little off, I think she's adjusting to everything that she's been through in the last few weeks.

I'm prepared to accept her as a long term foster. When Wade and I were talking today about the dogs, he said 'our 3 girls and the 4 fosters'. Yeah. I think we might have both accepted it. And embraced it. :)
I won't stop looking for a home for her. But I'm not going to be disappointed if she doesn't find one. She is happy here. And we love her.


4-1-2101
Luna is adopted. For good. FOREVER.
It's official. She is staying with us... the newest member of the Freitas family. :)