|
 |
 |
| Name: |
Cleo
|
Age: |
Eight years old
|
| Gender: |
Female |
Breed: |
Chihuahua |
| Home: |
San Diego, California, USA |
Cleo
was found wandering as a stray. The family that initially picked her
up could not keep her so they reached out to the Chihuahua Rescue of San
Diego. She had a damaged left eye that had to be removed and the vet
approximated her age to be about seven years old. And we assumed that she'd
had some sort of trauma as she was also very skittish. She healed and
recovered from her eye surgery and was available for adoption. Jonathan
and I are a foster home for the Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego and as soon
as we got Cleo to foster, we fell hard and fast; she was special! The more
we came to know her, the more we realized just how much personality she
had. Once she knows and trusts you, the fear and apprehension melt away
and she morphs into such a sweet, loving, outgoing little girl. We quickly
learned that her two most favorite things in the world are going on walks
and mealtime! She shimmies with excitement, running around, smiling,
wagging her tail and "whining" for us to hurry it up please. It warms our
hearts every single time.
We were committed to fostering Cleo for however long it took until the
perfect forever home came along. Folks inquired about adopting her, but
they would usually decide that she was too old or too big. We were
convinced that she belonged with a retired couple or widowed senior as a
very mellow environment would be best for her - that's how she feels most
comfortable. A home with kids would definitely not be right for her. So
Cecy (a very kind and gentle mature woman) who had adopted Mattie, another
sweetie from the rescue, decided she might like a friend for Mattie. I
thought Cleo might just be the one to complete Cecy and Mattie's family.
They came over on a Sunday afternoon for a meet and greet and all went
well. Cleo left with them that afternoon and while these partings are
always bittersweet, this one was especially so. More than anything, I
wanted a happy home that was a perfect fit for them all.
A few hours after they left we received a distressing call from Cecy. Cleo
had gotten spooked and slipped out of her harness and took off running
into a busy street and then into someone's "yard." I got the address and
we jumped into the car. I was immediately overwhelmed and under prepared
for what came next. This yard was like a jungle - tons of land with trees,
bushes, weeds, hills and valleys for miles - just acres of land with too
many places for a petrified little Cleo to hide. We all searched for her
for several hours, talked to all of the neighbors, looked under every
bush, calling her name over and over to no avail. It started getting dark.
Everybody was warning us of coyotes. We couldn't stop looking for her.
We went home and got some flashlights, a familiar squeaky ball and Max
(adopted from the Chihuahua Rescue of San Diego). In the few months we had
been fostering Cleo, she and Max had formed a true bond and we knew that
she trusted him. We went back hoping that Cleo would want to rejoin her
pack enough to come out of hiding. And we were right ~ Max was and is our
hero! Within minutes, I heard some stirring in a bush and then ... there
she was. Cleo came running! It wasn't the first time Max had changed a
life for the better; we believe Cleo came out from hiding because of our
little Max.
Once we got her back, we knew that we were all meant to be a family and we
were never going to let her go again. She's a survivor, our little miracle
angel & we are going to cherish Cleo for the rest of her life. Today, Cleo
is a happy, spunky, carefree soul who is a loyal companion to her brother,
Max, and her feline sister, Bella. We will celebrate one year with Cleo in
November. What a gift!
She is a very special little girl!
See more images of Cleo!
|
|
|
|
|
