New Beginnings Sunday

Shoshana Edwards' tale of the little lady who lights up her life:


I never thought I would be a dog person, even though I have always loved dogs. We always had cats. However, recently both of our cats died within a month of each other, and for the first time in my life I found myself without an animal in the house.

The call came in the early evening about three weeks ago. Would we be willing to take Bailey. She is a dachshund who had been given to a friend of ours by a rescue organization. She had proven too much for our friend, who is extremely mobility limited and has a very tiny income.

When Bailey first came into our lives she was listless, had difficulty moving, and cried out in pain or fear whenever someone tried to pick her up. As soon as we could we took her to the vet, where we learned that she had serious dental problems. Surgery and a huge bill later, she was without 17 of her teeth, and abscesses had been removed.

Already, three weeks later, Bailey is running, jumping, leaping and loving life. Not only does she not yelp at being lifted; she wants up all the time. She has totally bonded with us and appears to have many years left of happy play. Now we are looking for a second dachshund to give her a lifetime friend -- a rescue, of course.




New Beginnings Sunday is a weekly series featuring the story of a rescued pet and the ways in which the life of the animal and person has changed. This series will run through the end of 2009 in conjunction with Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit’s fundraising efforts for Bernie Berlin’s animal shelter, “A Place to Bark.”

**If you have a story that you would like to share, please email it along with a picture or two of your pet to BreakingTraditions@earthlink.net