BrightHaven Residents - Dog

Hope was born August 9th 2008 to a breeder in Rexburgh, Idaho. Shortly thereafter it was found she was blind and therefore unable to be sold, whereupon she was given to Animal Control and thence to The Rexburgh Animal Shelter, where she was kept (against the rules!) for two months!

This cute puppy soon captured the hearts of everyone at the shelter, and they determined to find her a home. Not an easy task! It seemed that no-one would come forward for this sweet dog, until their Chief Officer listed her on the well-known Petfinder website and Carol Smith from Meridian Idaho Animal Shelter, and Jodi Johnson of Four Paws Pet Adoptions stepped in to try to help.

After many phone calls, Jodi was lucky to connect with Lynn Tingle of the Milo Foundation in Northern California who, many years ago had lost her heart to a similar being—a dog named "Milo"...How could she resist? Sadly, just prior to her long journey west, Snap, as she was then know, was diagnosed with heart problems, although the extent of the damage was then, not known.

...And so began a special journey for a special dog, as Snap was transported from person to person and home to home across country—finally arriving in Marin, Northern California on February 23rd 2009.

Once there Snap/Hope quickly stole a few more hearts, and most especially those of Carolyn Kelly and her daughter Tara, who rallied to help as often as they could. Days turned into several weeks as a solution was sought for this special dog. The Milo team took her for specialist testing to determine the extent of her heart defect, and were saddened to find she had a huge hole in her heart—a PDA grade 6, which meant her only option for continued life would be a huge open heart surgery.

Facing the worst, Lynn and Carolyn decided to contact BrightHaven to see if we might consider accepting Hope for hospice care, to make her last days more comfortable. As many will know BrightHaven has been closed to new arrivals for some time, however many years ago we were given twelve years of joy by a dog named Sergeant Pepper, who was a deaf and blind Australian Shepherd......!! How could we say no??? The universe works in mysterious ways doesn't it?!

....and so Hope came to live, well die, at BrightHaven on the 26th March 2009 and on that same day her records arrived by fax.....Upon reading the report by cardiologist Dr Kristin McDonald I realized that surgery might be well indicated and felt I should at least place a call for discussion... After an exciting hour on the phone I knew I wished to proceed. Dr McDonald was cautiously optimistic and thrilled that surgery may be a consideration. Richard and I wondered and pondered—and soon decided that the BrightHaven credit card could stretch—Why, after all had this inspirational little dog travelled so far to get here—It seemed destiny was stepping in. To be on the safe side our friend and animal communicator, Vicki Allinson was consulted regarding Hope's own wishes—Well, it took barely a moment for Hope to say that she had come to BH to be one of our mascots and to teach the world about life, and that miracles can and do happen. She said she wanted surgery as soon as possible.

Things moved very quickly thereafter, as time was of the utmost urgency. Hope was terribly thin as her heart struggled with its battle. The date was set—April 1st....and I sent out an email to BrightHaven supporters telling them of the plight we found ourselves in and requesting "a little help from our friends"...
Gosh—a barrage of donations poured in and the money for the surgery was raised, with enough left over to cover her follow up visits for retesting procedures.
Surgery was set for April 1st and never will we be able to properly thank the amazing Dr Lisa Alexander of Animal Care Center in Rohnert Park, who performed the dangerous procedure and was as elated as we at its conclusion. Those were four very difficult hours for everyone!

Needless to say, Hope came through both surgery and the intensive aftercare with flying colors, to come home to BrightHaven ready to start new life—this time with a capital "L"!!

That was almost two weeks ago and at this time we are "somewhat" pleased to report that BrightHaven seems to have a puppy on our hands!!! Hope is now doing tremendously well—and starting to gain a little weight.. Next week will be her follow up appointment, when hopefully the news will be good.

Back to BrightHaven Residents of Dogs