Madeline

"In an old house in Paris that was covered in vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines ..." that is how all the books in Ludwig Bemelman's book series about the precocious Madeline begin. Well, it's not an old house in Paris and my rattie fosters would never be able to form straight lines but Madeline the rat terrier (named for the book character) will soon be joining us here in Washington.

Madeline was surrendered to a shelter in Northern California after she was attacked by a large dog. The 7 month old pup had a laceration on her inner thigh, abrasions, and was stiff and sore. The owners that brought her in wanted her euthanized but the shelter staff refused, saying that she should be fine with a little time and TLC. The owners left her and the staff kept little Maddie in the front office, working on nursing her back to health. As she recovered they called the owners multiple times, asking if they had changed their mind and each time the owners said to euthanize her. Since the owners where done with her and the shelter had no money for x-rays to check and see if there are any fractures to the bone that are causing her stiffness they began networking her to rescue groups hoping to find somewhere to send her where she'd get the medical care that they couldn't provide.

She was placed on New Rattitude's CA urgent list and that's where I first saw her. Catherine, the CA State Coordinator for New Rattitude found a ground transport that was driving from Ventura to Seattle, picking up urgent dogs for Seattle area rescuers along the way. Madeline will join 17 other dogs on the trek to Washington starting Saturday and we will meet the transport in Olympia on Sunday morning to pick her up.

So send healthy vibes to Miss Madeline and cross your paws that the x-rays don't show any serious breaks. I'll keep you posted.