We adopted Dolly from the Betty Gambrell Animal Shelter in May of 2011. She had been found as stray and brought in to the shelter just a few days before my visit. Things were much different back then than they are today and our shelter was not a nice place to be. Thanks to the involvement of the Humane Society and the current employees it has made an unbelievable turnaround from what it once was. I stopped by on my lunch break to take a few pictures of the available dogs to display at work. This was before we had a Facebook page or a shelter website and euthanization rates were high. As I made my way down the hall stopping at each pen to snap a picture, this small blonde shape caught my attention. I asked a worker about her and he told me that she was anti-social, wild, nothing could be done with her, and she would have to be put down. I stared at her trying to see a wild lunatic dog, but all I noticed was a shaking ball of fur. She was terrified, cowering in the corner and my heart instantly broke for her. Instead of walking past I crouched down and waited a few minutes until she slowly made her way the front of cage. When we locked eyes something clicked between us and I just felt an overwhelming need to comfort her. I told the guy I was going to get her out, and he stepped in. “O you want this one huh? I’ll get her out. You have to watch her” He got a rope, opened the door, threw it around her neck, and then snatched her by it with her squirming and dangling by her neck. Anger rushed all over me. I told him never mind she is coming with me and I took her straight to my vehicle. There was no way I could let her stay there one more minute after the way I had seen her treated. Anti-social he called her. I would have been anti-social too if that was the treatment I received from people. I will note that this particular worker is no longer there.

When I got home I had to carry her inside, because she was too scared to walk on a leash or even stand in my presence. When we got inside I introduced her to my other rescue Katie, a min-pin mix, who we had adopted just a week or so before. By this time my lunch break was almost over and I had to rush back work. When I left them Dolly was still cowering in the floor and Katie was walking around unfazed. This was right before Carter and I got married. On my way to work I called him and told him I had brought home a new foster and she would be staying with us for a few days. Ok foster, few days, no problem. I had already made up in my mind that I would fight tooth and nail before I let her go back. I didn’t know what she had been through or even how much damage had been done at that time. All I knew was that I had her now and it was going to be new start. I called Shari later on and told her what happened and what I done. She agreed and got all the paperwork together for the adoption.

Carter beat me home that afternoon. She was waiting at the back door with Katie, until she saw him. Overcome with fear she dropped to the floor and scurried away to the corner. I had already warned him she was terrified and possibly feral. Not wanting to make things worse Carter greeted Katie and sat quietly on the sofa until I got home. When I walked in she did at least pick up her head to look at me but that was it. Even though she was a foster as far as Carter knew, she still had to have a name while she was with us. We decided on Dolly, after Dolly Parton, because of her blonde hair and maybe partly because in her past life she had been tossed around like a rag doll until she was finally thrown out.

I fixed her a bed of pillows and blankets in the corner of our bedroom and put an extra one right beside our bed just in case she felt brave enough to get close. It took her a week to finally get on the blanket beside the bed. After two weeks she would come to me if I was alone, but as soon as I stood up she fell to floor and crawled away. We took her and Katie to the vet to be spayed per the adoption agreement and went back to pick them up the next day. Katie was walking around visiting all the nurses, but Dolly ran straight to us almost snatching the girl leading them off her feet. Later that night when Carter and I arrived home from the store we found Dolly laying in her bed licking her stiches. We had been warned to try to keep them from bothering the site so I checked her stiches and saw she had pulled some of them out. After calling our vet who was in Sandersville at the time, he walked us through how to bandage her up and protect the rest of the stiches. The cone completely freaked her out, so she ended up having to wear an Ace Bandage around her waist until her incision was completely healed. Every night we had a routine of doctoring Dolly and changing bandages. She was still terrified of us at this time. She would shake the whole time and try to bolt free. The whole thing was a struggle and I dreaded bandage time. I felt like she had just started warming up to me then I had become the scary bandage lady, but it had to be done like it or not.

Finally the bandage came off, Carter and I got married, and months went by during which she grew more confident with me. Still she avoided Carter and always fell to the floor whenever either of us would enter a room or stand up. We had pretty much accepted that this is way things were going to be and whatever she had experienced left scars that would never fade. All we could do was give her a safe home and hope she would eventually realize not everyone is cruel. Then one day it happened. Carter and I were sitting on the sofa with Katie beside us watching TV when we noticed her slowly creeping toward us from across the room. I told him don’t move and don’t look at her. We sat there for about 2 hours not moving a muscle and staring at the TV which had long turned to a blue screen after DVD ended, while she made the 6ft journey that had taken her months to build up to. Eventually she standing directly in front of Carter and still we didn’t move. Finally after she laid her head on his knee and stared up at him, he brought his hand up to pet her head. I’ll never forget that moment, because it was the turning point in her life. She had conquered her fear and taken the baby steps to putting the past behind her.

Afterwards she was different dog; every day she improved. It wasn’t even a week later she was sleeping in the bed. Soon after she was sitting in our laps, laying on top of us, always wanting to be held. We even gave her the nickname “the forceful snuggler” because whether you are willing or not Dolly is going to snuggle with you. One afternoon while Austin was visiting, she even got up the nerve to steal the sandwich he was making right off the counter when he turned his back to get a drink from the fridge. We were so excited about her turn around we had actually let her get a little spoiled from being scared to get on to her since day one. In fact the night before we were supposed to leave for our wedding, she had chewed up the dress shoes he was going to get married in. We never said a word to her because at that time she was still cowering in the corner whenever we came near. We just called the Sir Shop, explained what a mess we were in, had them pull the only pair they had off the rack, and got the guy to agree to wait on us while we made an emergency trip to Statesboro. Eventually we had to implement rules even though she was tender-hearted. To our shock discipline didn’t really faze her or set her back. Ten seconds after you got on to her she would come right back wagging her tail and put her head on your knee as if to apologize.

Dolly became my best friend. We discovered she loved fishing. She would sit beside me at the edge of the pond and bark if my cork went underwater. I created a monster when I took her on her first boat ride. You can’t leave shore without her or she will jump in and swim halfway across the pond to get to you. It was such a turnaround it made us what to help more dogs. When we began fostering for the shelter, they were my helpers. Katie kept everyone herded together and Dolly enforced the rules. When one of us got sick she was Dr. Dolly and stayed right by our side. We were a family and “the girls” went everywhere with us. Events, Holidays, Vacations they did it all. Once we started the Paws with Claus fundraiser, they got their picture with Santa. Whenever we would talk about “the girls” people were shocked to find out they were dogs. To be honest we never called them that. The one time my niece called Katie a dog, Katie just looked around to see what she was talking about. To the girls a dog was a stray that trespassed on their yard.

After Katie passed away a couple years ago, Dolly went through a bad depression. She stopped eating and reverted back to some of her timid ways. Katie was dominate and always took charge even over all of the foster dogs that came and went over the years. Dolly lost her confidence when she lost Katie. She became my shadow. She went to work with me, the bank, the post office, everywhere and would only eat out of hand. Even while grieving for Katie I knew Dolly couldn’t make it alone and she couldn’t go to work with me forever. So I started searching for Dolly a sister. I knew she needed another personality like Katie, a protector. The traits we associated with her Doberman side. After checking the shelter, I broaden my search to Petfinder. After many inquiries and disappointments I came across a page for a female Doberman named Georgia Girl in Worth County, GA. After speaking with the shelter I learned that she had belonged to backyard breeder, who turned her in when they claimed they could no longer afford to feed her. She had lived her life in a concrete kennel and the only interaction she had with people was being fed, when it was time to breed her or when they were taking her puppies away. She was 5 years old and had been turned in pregnant with another female. She gave birth at the shelter and only had 3 puppies survive. This I was told is more likely why the breeder turned her in, because she was bred out at 5 years old from having so many litters. She wasn’t a money making machine anymore so to the breeder she didn’t matter. They told me she was dog friendly but needed a family with patience since she had never been inside after always living in a concrete kennel. Patience was something we had plenty of after our experience with Dolly. Everything fell right into place, almost as though it was meant to be. We arranged to pick her up a few days later once she had been spayed and was ready to go home. It was a long drive, so when we arrived Carter took Dolly around to walk and I went inside to take care of the paperwork. She looked like a giant version of Katie minus the tail. She wasn’t nervous or scared when they brought her to me. She just stood calmly waiting to go home. When we came out and headed for the car Dolly spotted us. I guess all she saw was a Katie look-alike and she drug Carter across the parking lot until she got to her. Tails wagging it was a perfect fit. We all loaded up for the long drive home. When we pulled out of the parking lot they were sitting on opposite sides of the back seat, but an hour later I looked back to find them curled up together fast asleep. Within a couple of days they were inseparable. This time Dolly got to be the teacher and helped Maddie to adjust. Everything was new to Maddie and she had to look to Dolly for guidance. They make an odd duo but they stick together.

About a year later we found out we were pregnant and we were so excited that Maddie and Dolly were going to be “big sisters”. They helped us make the announcement and do the gender reveal. The bigger and slower I got the closer they stayed. When we would on walks and I would fall behind everyone else, I never had to worry about being alone because my girls were sticking with me. At the end when the miserable uncomfortable phase started I always had a Maddie to prop on and a Dolly propped on me. It’s funny how they try to take care of you in return for the care you’ve given them. Once we brought Carter Lee home they were mesmerized. I guess they see him as a little bald puppy because they look after him like a member of the pack. Every day when we get home they run up to the truck and stand at his door until I get him out. First they have to sniff him to make sure he is ok and then inside we go. Usually Dolly has already snuck in several licks while I’m putting down the diaper bag before I can even get him out of the car seat. Once he is out of the car seat and down on the rug then the Dolly show begins. She rubs all over the rug, rolls over and crawls all around him dragging her legs behind her while making all sorts of snorting and sneezing noises. Once Dolly has him squealing with laughter then it’s Maddie’s turn to do a throughout inspection any make sure nothing has changed since he left that morning.

When Carter Lee was two weeks old he started sleeping in his own room and Maddie stopped sleeping in ours. Now she has claimed the sofa as her bed and sleeps guarding the entrances. When Carter Lee was smaller he went through a patch of fussy nights, and we ended up letting him sleep in his cradle swing in the living room. Even though I knew Maddie was keeping watch, I still laid wide awake with all sorts of irrational thoughts of people breaking in to take him during the night and coyotes coming in through the doggie door. A sleep deprived brain will run wild with things to worry about. I don’t know when I finally crashed but I remember waking up to Carter Lee crying when the swing stopped. The swing has a four hour auto-shutoff and when the swing stopped moving he would wake up. As Carter was getting up to go start the swing back I heard Maddie start whining as she got off the sofa and the click click click of her claws walking across the room. Before he even made it to the hallway Carter Lee stopped crying and the swing started squeaking. When Carter walked in Maddie was standing beside the swing pushing it with her nose to soothe the baby back to sleep. If Carter Lee cries Maddie will whine and come to find me. If he has a dirty diaper she’ll let you know that too. When anybody else is holding the baby and he makes a sound or cries, she will go bump them on arm with her nose and sniff him to make sure he is ok.

When I was pregnant people would ask questions like “What is going to happen to the dogs when the baby gets here?” “Where are the dogs going to stay?” “Don’t you think they will be jealous and go after the baby when you’re asleep?” “Where are the dogs going to ride after you put the car seat in?” And at first the questions confused me because I didn’t understand why they thought the baby coming would change the commitment I made to Dolly and Maddie when I adopted them. Then they angered me because instead of seeing my girls the way I did as a member of my family, all they saw was “just a dog”. Instead of a best friend they thought of them as a piece of property that can be disposed of when it is no longer valuable or convenient. How could they think my girls were the same as a piece of furniture you move out to make room for a baby crib? Why didn’t they understand? They didn’t understand because they’ve never looked into the eyes of a dog condemned to die because of people with that same attitude. They’ve never felt the unconditional love that comes when a dog knows you saved them. They just don’t know, but they could if they cared to look. To all those who asked those questions, now I have the answers. What happened to them? One became a Jester and the other turned into a babysitter. Where do they stay? Wherever they want which at the moment just happens to be the sofa and my bed. Are they jealous and did they go after the baby in my sleep? Yes sometimes Dolly is jealous but she is happy to share my lap with Carter Lee and No they didn’t go after the baby while I slept but they did push his swing for me so he could sleep. Where do the dogs ride now? In the back seat right beside Carter Lee.

5 years ago I could have just kept on walking right past her pen and missed out on the best friend I’ve ever had. Everyday my girls surprise me and I’m reminded how amazing a rescue can be if only given the chance. There is just something special about a shelter dog. You will never meet a more appreciative dog. They know how good they have it because they have experienced how cruel others can be. There is a bond that develops when you save them. You get a sense of pride from seeing their transformation from unwanted stray to beloved member of the family. Every time you look at them happy and healthy it is a reminder that if nothing else you have done one good deed in this world and had a positive influence on at least one life. So the next time you go to the shelter don’t pass up the ball of fur shaking in the corner or the scary looking owner turn-in. I’ve learned that in life, the greatest returns come from the things in which you invest the most of your time.