Faith

My heart is aching so badly. I miss Faith, her smiles, her eyes, her facial expressions, her pushing into me to lay close to me and her just being here with me. It will take me a little time before my heart, mind and soul to heal. I know she is with me because she is planted so deeply in my heart. Mike is trying to be strong for me but his heart is hurting too.. Faith was my first foster for Rose’s Rescue over 5 years ago, my first foster failed. She was my teacher for so many future rescues and will forever be. We learned rather quickly what so many of her faults were. Didn’t like other dogs, not good with cats, reactive, over reactive dog, no training or basic training. With her I learned what decompression is for a pound dog, positive reinforcement training, the difference between dog aggressive and dog selective, I learned more about discrimination of the pit bull breed and how so many hate them, abuse them, over breed them, use them for money in their pockets, for fighter dogs, for bait dogs but then I learned there are just as many that fight for them, educate other about them, and love them. Because of Faith I got more involved with the pit bull laws and ordinances. But most importantly Faith taught me what true loyalty, love, friendship and forgiveness is. She came into the rescue malnourished, barely weighing 35 pounds, full of milk , she had been used as a breeder dog. Stark County Pound didn’t know what became of her puppies. Faith along with other dogs at the pound had been attacked by a larger dog that got out of a kennel that an employee didn’t latch or forgot to close properly the night before and she was. scheduled to be euthanized the day Vicki and I went to get her. Faith only had a small wound on her nose and the lady there said they given her an antibiotic vaccine and she would be fine. 6 months to the day that I brought her home, I was walking her down our dead end road. Approximately a mile or a little further from home, I blacked out in the middle of the road. Instead of Faith running off, chasing wild life, neighbors dogs or horses I woke up with a bloody face and this big beautiful snout cleaning my head. Long story short I called Rose from my hospital bed to tell her Faith was staying. She was my dog. Rose said to me I saved her and she saved me. And if I ever changed my mind we could put her on the website. She made me a better rescuer, foster and she made my home a better place to be. Like most pound dogs, no matter their breed or size, we will never know their full history or what is going to happen once we get them into our homes, But given a chance to live, a second better chance at life for them, is so worth it and sometimes a Faith and Pat story happens. Faith was by no means the perfect dog for most looking to adopt but for me, she was the most perfect dog. Mike and I can’t say “Thank you” enough to Rose and Rose’s Rescue for all that you helped us with from the day she came into our home until yesterday, the day we had to let her cross over rainbow bridge. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers.