Happy Tails: Something to Wag About!!

Sarge has a story like no other. In his lifetime, he has risen from the depths of tragic poverty to the heights of luxury. In August 2008, Burke County authorities discovered one of the worst cases of child neglect on county record: 11 children living in unfit conditions with no running water, no electricity and little food. You can read more about the story here.

Old Fella was called in to assist with the family's pets. Sarge was the family dog. We would not cooperate with deputies and at first, he would not cooperate with Old Fella volunteers, as the article indicates. But we didn't give up on Sarge. In fact, our youngest volunteer, an eight year old named Carlie, was the key to finally winning the trust of Sarge. And once that trust was established, Sarge came willingly. He missed his family and they loved him. All eleven of those children loved him very much. But the tragedy of the circumstance prevented Sarge from staying with his first family. Standing witness to that love, the dedicated Old Fella volunteers that worked to capture Sarge and then foster Sarge for ten months did not let him down. They nursed him to health and he thrived. On May 1, 2009, Sarge was among the lucky Old Fella rescues transported to Salem, Massachusetts for a second chance with a second family. And that is when he met Margi.

We'll let Margi tell you about Sarge's Happy Tail:

I am Margi and am the fortunate person to have been able to adopt Sarge. I waited to write you until I had taken him to the vet. He is in excellent health and I describe him as a sweet boy. I adopted him the first day he was available. You can tell he has been well loved. So I do want to share with you what his life is like now.

I live in a large house on the ocean. I have an acre yard that is totally fenced in. I have had dogs all my life and they are a high priority to me. Sarge is now living with Ollie and Annie [two pugs]. I used to raise Akitas so it's nice to have a larger dog with me again. There has been no problem with any of the dogs getting along. We walk on the beach every day. Sarge was quite surprised by the ocean, but now loves it. The dogs also have 3 hikes a week in the woods, off leash. We took Sarge on his first walk yesterday and were really pleased with how well he did. I am happy to report that Sarge has bonded strongly with me. He basically follows me around he house. He was timid at first. I have started taking him with me in the car. Once I get him in, he settles down and enjoys the ride. He is timid with anything new, but with patience and love he is willing to try new things. As you can probably tell, I am crazy about him. I sincerely thank you for allowing me to have Sarge in my life.

If you have any questions or just want to know how he is doing, please just E-mail me. I would love to share the experience with you.

Take care,
Margi