August 4, 2001
Hi you guys,
Well, I made it back safely to Tulsa, from my Arkansas rescue run. What an interesting trip...hmm...where do I begin?!
Well, first of all, I went to pick up an OTI (Owner Turn In) from a family who is moving, and said they couldn't take their 4 year old Bichon with them.:(
I drove and drove, twisting and turning on pretty country roads, with lush green valleys and tall pine trees all along my way, WAY out in the boonies..to County Road number 28. The only way you know you are there, is that the local bar is right before it. The sign on the bar said,"The Bar".
Folks, I have seen rural..but this was R-U-R-A-L...if you know what I mean. I swear, I think I saw an outhouse on this road, and someone coming out of it, as if it were in USE.
Well, I drove and drove, and after I passed the low water bridge, I drove one more mile. There it was. A very cute yellow house...in the middle of an acre or so. No fence. And it was sitting ON A HIGHWAY.
I drove up and the young woman and her 7 year old daughter came out to meet me. No dog was in sight.
I asked if I was at the right place, and she assured me that I was.
I got out, and that is when my heart almost stopped beating. The lady called the dog. Out of nowhere came running the most matted, dirty, tick infested, little Bichon you have ever seen. The little girl started chasing her, and the dog thought it was a game.
This tiny little Bichon darted right across the highway with an 18 wheeler truck headed straight at her at 60 miles an hour.
As the driver BLEWWWWW his horn, the wheels of the truck missed her by inches. I did the death scream....you know the one..."NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"...and I began to pray right out loud...you got it.."Oh GOD...In the name of the Father..."...I began.
It was as if it was in slow motion. The world had stopped, and it appeared I was going to watch one of our precious Bichon Babies babies killed right before my eyes.
Well, the wheels missed her by inches, and she came running back to the property. The lady told me that she never gets hit..and this is the luckiest dog there is alive, as if this is an every day occurrence. I shuddered and just wanted to get out of there. The little girl started to chase her again and I got her to stop, while I called this baby over to me.
I picked her up and realized, OH MY LORD.... she was infested with TICKS. Oh my GOD...I had to put her in my car...I could almost see ticks crawling all over my car and all over me...in my hair, on the back on my neck...(Can't you FEEL them CRAWLING on you right now??!) HEEBEEJEEBIES!!!!! EEEEWWWW!!! BBBLLGH! (Robin shivers and shakes head and shoulders and hands WILDLY here)
The lady proceeded to tell me that she had never had a bath. (The dog, not the lady). She had never been groomed, was not current on vaccinations, had never been on HW preventative, and..get this..the owner had worked for a vet.
Her little human child was barefoot..walking on stickers. I said, "My... doesn't that hurt your little feet...walking in these stickers?"
The little girl answered me,"Nah...we gots tough feet...we're hillbillies."
You guys, I am not making this up. That's what she said.
After the dog was safe in a crate in the back of Glory...yes, my red Volvo station wagon is named "Glory: the Bichonmobile"...I filled her water dish and she was soooo thristy. The lady said,"I don't know why she is thristy..she has a pond down there".
Gulp. I swallowed hard. A POND? This baby drinks from a POND? This does not bother me. None of this bothers me. This is all normal. Everything is fine and peachy and rosy and all will be just fine. GOOD GOD HAVE MERCY GET ME THE HECK OUT OF THIS NIGHTMARE!!!!!!!
After we drove off, I passed THE BAR, and after I returned to civilization and cell phone service, I called Carol, my assistant, (whom without, I could not function and no I am not kidding) and I asked her to find a groomer, near where I was. I knew I could not continue on with this poor tick infested dog.
She gave me a number, and I called it and begged for grooming mercy, and yes..I needed it right now. They told me to "Come on ahead and head that way and they could see what they could do." Ladies, I was a headin'!
I went into the grooming shop, where the four groomers were on their lunch break.
I relayed the 18 wheeler story and the bare foot in the stickers hillbilly story, and these groomer ladies knew right where I had been!
Well, they told me to come back in an hour, which was really all I could spare. Thankfully, one of our list members, Sherri at Sdsskaggs@aol.com, saw my e-mail plans to drive to Little Rock, and offered to get the shelter dog there out for us, and drive towards me, saving me three hours of driving. Thank you Sheri!
Well, I went back to the groomers in an hour, and they pointed to a cage, saying,"There is your dog"...I said, "Where?"...they said,"There", pointing in the same cage. I said,"WHERE"?.....You guys, I did NOT recognize this dog. She was beautiful! With a red ribbon to boot!

(Of course, we had a waiting list a mile long, and were able to place her right here in Tulsa, with one of our own volunteers!)
The groomers told me they dipped her but it would take days for all of the ticks to fall off. I asked them what I owed them..and this is the part you will like. It seems one of the four ladies had seen our story on Animal Planet. There would be no charge for this baby.:)
So Glory, Tick baby, and myself, headed for our next meeting. What now?? Oh man, my cell phone was running out of battery. For some reason, I had left Tulsa without my mobile charger that I ALWAYS take with me on road trips. I had charged the phone in the motel, but as many phone calls as I get, well, I was out of battery, and still had yet to meet up with another volunteer....I needed that cell phone. I looked down..it had gone blank..dead as a doornail BLLLAHH. Gone.
I was praying no one would need me and that I would need no one! HAHA! I saw a truck stop coming up on I-40, and swung into the parking lot. Now, I had a problem...it was 105 degrees outside, and I could not leave this dog in the car while I went in. There was a man in his early twenties, leaning against the building, drinking a can of Coke, so I sort of hollered out the window to him. I asked him if I left my car running with the air on, could he please watch my rescue dog?
He was wonderful! He said he would, and he did! And, he did not steal Glory or the Bichon baby! (Glory would never have gone with a stranger anyway)
I RAN into the store, bought the charger, ran back outside, and the young man helped me to open the package which required a pocket knife.
Wouldn't you know it...the charger I had just bought did not fit my phone! AARGH!!! I asked the guy if he could watch Glory again, and I ran in to see if they had another one. They did not. I got my money back and ran back outside to see that Glory had not been stolen twice in a row.:))
I told the guy that they did not have a charger to fit my phone, thanked him for not stealing Glory, and said,"I guess the Lord will just have to get me home without needing this cell phone."...and I started to get into the driver's seat.
The white van, which was parked next to me, had a man in the driver's seat. He rolled down the passenger window, and you guys, I swear to you on the Bible..this is just how it happened.
The man said, "Ma'am...would this fit your phone? I have another one at home..."...and he held up a Nokia mobile charger. My mouth hung open and the fur, er...I mean hair on my arms stood at attention.
I finally composed myself and I asked him if I could pay him for it..and he said, "No, just get on your way with what you are supposed to do"..and poof..the window raised up and he was GONE.
The young man who had not stolen Glory, asked me if everything was alright, because I was standing there...holding my phone, my new charger, and my mouth was hanging open wide....no... WAIT....I mean WIDER than usual!
I told him what just happened, and he said, "No way! COOL!"...then he smiled and in a soft voice said, "Have a blessed day".
Were these angels sent to me to help me? I don't know..I do know this. Fifteen minutes after the cell phone was on the charger...I got a call. It was the Upshur Veterinary Hospital in Buckhannon, West Virginia.
A volunteer, who was about to drive several hours to take Calypso, our newest rescue baby, (who was a miracle in himself) to meet up with his Ohio foster Mom... was at the clinic to pick up this baby boy.
The lady on duty at the vet's office, had not been there when I told them about this volunteer coming, and she said,"I just didn't know for sure, so I was not going to release this dog without your permission"...
If I had not had the cell phone..well, we would have lost this transport for this dog! WOOHOO...what a day!
So, on we drive down the road, still in shock about the magical gift I had just received.
Sheri called to tell me she was there. I met Sherri with the little shelter baby, and during the transport from her car to mine, the little one slipped her collar! It was a miracle, but Sherri grabbed her fur and caught her. We were near the highway, at a motel parking lot.

I AM GETTING TO OLD FOR ALL OF THIS EXCITEMENT DO YOU HEAR ME????! HAHAHA!
I headed for home, and knew I would miss getting to The McKinney Hilton (the vet's office) by closing time of 6:00 PM.
It was now, 6:55 P.M., and I took a chance, and called the phone number of Dr. McKinney's in the back..and guess what?! There was someone still there, waiting for an insulin delivery! They said they had gotten the delivery and would wait for me and at 7:20 I pulled into the parking lot and unloaded the babies into airconditioned comfort! What wonderful staff they have working at the McKinney Animal Hospital!
The whole day could have been filled with bad luck, and just plain tragedy. Instead, I felt more blessed than any other human being on the face of the earth. It is days like this, when I wonder..how can anyone...not believe???
Both of the new babies have GREAT homes to go to, and I had a day I will not soon forget!
It is good to be home. Love, Robin

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