I was speaking with the residents at a local nursing home today and reminded myself of a story that happened years ago and wanted to share.
It’s a particularly poignant story for me and reminds me of why we do what we do at CVAS.
I’ll never forget the white boxer who came into CVAS years ago named Bella.
She was absolutely gorgeous and so incredibly sweet. She also happened to be deaf.
I never thought anything of it while she was giving me kisses or running and playing. She lived life as though nothing was wrong.
And that was as it should be.
It wasn’t until I took her with me to an offsite event that I realized how serious the situation could potentially be.
I always talk to the animals I bring with me on trips around the county and Bella was no exception. I remember at one point we had to move to another room and I said out loud to her, “Bella, baby, come on. We’ve got to go.”
But she was standing with her back to me and she didn’t move.
Because she couldn’t hear me.
That’s when I fully realized what we were looking at in being able to find a home for her.
What if she couldn’t hear her owners calling for her? What if she couldn’t hear traffic coming into the driveway or down the road?
Bella was going to take an incredibly special home to understand her situation.
The internet, as it turns out can be an incredibly questionable place – and that’s putting it mildly. But for Bella, it was the answer to a lot of prayers.
A couple from New Jersey saw Bella on petfinder and they were drawn to her. They put in an application and actually made the drive one day from the Garden State to meet her. They brought with them their three boxers.
I’ll never forget the day I saw that Volkswagen Beetle pull into the shelter with two humans in the front and three boxer heads in the back.
We introduced Bella to the family and the husband and wife just adored her – as did their three boxer babies.
In talking to the couple, we discovered they had actually trained deaf boxers in the past using hand signals, so they fully understood what was involved with bringing Bella into their home.
There was a point in time that afternoon when a lot of the staff just looked at each other and wondered if there may have been divine intervention in this story.
Needless to say, they took Bella home and I can see in my mind’s eye the Volkswagen Beetle leaving the shelter with four boxer heads in the back window.
We all left work that day feeling a little lighter, but it wasn’t until the follow up letter arrived that we knew we would never forget this story.
The couple wrote to tell us how wonderfully Bella was fitting in with their family. They said she recognized the golden arches of McDonald’s because her dad would always get her a plain hamburger when they passed by.
They said she was the sweetest girl they had met in a long time and was definitely her daddy’s princess.
They said she would only know kindness and love for the rest of her life and were so grateful that they had found her.
We were crying by the time we finished the letter.
I’m still crying to this day, many, many years later.
Bella’s story is just one of many others that shows what we do at CVAS.
We love our four-legged friends and want what’s best for them and we look to match the right people with the right animal so we can have outcomes like what Bella found.
Some days are tougher than others, but in remembering those that we help, we are able to keep doing what we do.
Bella’s story will always be one of those memories for me.
Jennifer Vanderau is the public relations doordinator for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and can be reached at [email protected]. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, readers may call the shelter at 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org. CVAS also operates a thrift store in Chambersburg. Help support the animals at the shelter by donating to or shopping at the store.
