Phoebe's Story
Canine Zone|August/September 2021
This ugly little pup who was unwanted and unloved for so long, is now an incredibly happy, well-adjusted, self-controlled dog
Lisa Nel
Phoebe's Story

This is not just Phoebe’s story – it could be the story of every dog. Well, that’s what I believe.

I lost my very precious Great Dane, Schmeichel, in June 2017 to a traumatic and awful disease, Megaesophagus. I was absolutely devastated, and it took over a year for me to even begin thinking that I might get another dog. To be honest, I was only going to get another dog because everyone said my remaining dog, Snoopy, was lonely.

One day I saw a post on Facebook, shared by my animal rescuer friend Patti (who’s also on the editorial team of Canine Zone), of a six-month-old pup at SPCA Vereeniging. Well, this little girl was just stuck in my head, and I couldn’t get her off my mind. I loved her floppy ears (little did I know they wouldn’t stay floppy, but anyway) and her strange, “ugly” look which clearly put prospective adopters off. Eventually I sent her picture to my mom, who immediately said: “That’s your dog!”

I messaged Patti after two days of very careful thought and said, “I think I’m going to adopt this girl.” Well, Patti was in tears! I didn’t know how close she was to euthanasia and how hard Patti had tried – she’d all but lost hope. I immediately called and “booked” this pup and drove through the next morning with Snoops for a little meet-and-greet. Well, it was a whirlwind!! This puppy was super high-energy and being stuck in a cage all day meant that being let out for a meet-and-greet was anything but that. I’d planned to take photos of her, but all I got was blurred streaks – Snoops just stood aside and waited patiently for the hooligan to go away! I, however, had decided that she was definitely coming home with me.

This story is from the August/September 2021 edition of Canine Zone.

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This story is from the August/September 2021 edition of Canine Zone.

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