FROM ROCK TO ROCK STAR
Driving down a country road, one of our volunteers saw Minnie, starving and eating rocks and dirt to survive.  Even through the dense matting of her coat, Holly could see how emaciated Minnie was.  And she had recently had puppies!  Holly knew she had to rescue her.  She had a sandwich, but Minnie didn't need coaxing.  The minute Holly opened the door, Minnie bounded in.  Holly searched frantically, but no litter was found.  Could four-year-old Minnie have been dumped by a puppy mill?  We will never know. 

We do know that she was malnourished and dehydrated, weighing only 39 pounds, had bilateral ear infections, serious skin infections, and was heartworm positive.  Despite her happy disposition and eagerness to be safe, she could not look her rescuer and fosters in the eye.  She did not know how to cuddle or to play.  She was so starved that she inhaled food for the first few days.  Gradually she responded to her fosters and grew secure with their care and attention.  Her fosters knew that they'd achieved a turning point when Minnie reached up and gently licked Susan's face!  Although her heartworm treatment was successful, chronic ear and skin infections lingered.  It was two years before her hair quit falling out in clumps.  Because of her medical issues, Minnie was a prolonged foster and her bond with the Conlon’s grew so strong that they became Minnie's furever family. 

Daily walks in the neighborhood were a ritual and Minnie quickly became the neighborhood favorite.   Minnie's hunting instincts surfaced, and she appears to be a Poodle-pointer mix.  No longer food insecure, Minnie now weighs her normal 60 pounds and waits patiently for her people to eat before she does.  She has learned that play is fun, loves her toys, and is living her best life as a Doodle
Dandy Rescue rockstar.