The journey of Xena and Chronos
Where to start with this story? Back in the end of April I became aware of a Bull Terrier named Chronos who had made it to the euthanasia list at Miami Dade Animal Services in Miami Florida. I asked our friend Steve Abreu if he would visit and temperament test him. Steve did so and we decided to pull this boy and get him to Bayshore Veterinary Hospital for treatment.
He was suffering from skin/ear and eye allergies and infections. His tail was bloody raw and we thought that he might need amputation. Thankfully the vets got right onto treating him, bandaging his tail, keeping him in a cone 24/7 and giving medicated baths. He responded quickly and well. Then in May I was made aware of Xena a big Bull Terrier mix that was on the dreaded list…same call to Steve…same outcome. Off to vet with Xena and into treatment. Same things, skin/tail/eyes/ears. Xena had a large hematoma in one ear from shaking due to the infection. Her ears were cleaned and packed and the ear underwent surgery to drain the heatoma and seal the ear flap. During all of this I was putting out pleas for a pilot or a ground transport or…..honestly any way in which to get these two out of vet boarding.
The bill $1700.00. Just when I had reached a level of non response and frustration I reached out to Michele Geitz through Florida Transport. She jumped in and began gathering volunteer folks who typically drive a two hour leg. We ordered crates and Michele did her magic. Can I say that folks such as she do this in their own time. They expect nothing. She posted legs and off we went…or so we thought. The plan was to get them to our foster in Georgia, Lynit, park them for a few weeks and then fly them to Vermont. Somewhere in this process a fellow rescue person had mentioned Operation Roger. This is a non profit organization that pairs animal loving long distance truckers with animals needing transport.
The process is not for the faint of heart. It is a long and detailed application, as it should be. A very small donation and then a wait for a match. Kind of a Match service for your dog. We a call came in from the OR office saying that a trucker had stepped in and offered to help the dogs get to Vermont. In fact that he took a specific run in order to make it happen. This is uncharted territory for me and I am now officially questioning my own judgment. I asked Steve to screen them and get back to me. Steve felt that all was well. And so, I apologized to Michele and explained the new plan. I was concerned that she would be upset after all of her work. That was unfounded. She took the news so graciously and was nothing but happy for the dogs. And so June 29, Steve went shopping for double leashes, collars and harnesses for both dogs. June 30 Bayshore Vet worked frantically to make sure that all paperwork and tags were in order, bagged medicines and food and handed the dogs off to Tony in Miami.
The first leg was a run to Mississippi. The second leg to Macon, Georgia. The plan from there is a weekend with Tony at his home in Knoxville. Then a long run to Maine and lastly Vermont. Tony is sending pictures along the way and reports about the dogs.Can I even imagine what an adventure this is for these dogs who were as close to death as they could get. They are in an awesome 18 wheeler with a guy who just loves animals and wanted to help. I am almost speechless.
For all of the darkness and horror that we see, this tips the scales back. Without Steve, without Bayshore Veterinary Hospital, without Operation Roger and lastly without Tony, these two dogs would be just another statistic.
