Rosey has a new home — not to mention more flying experience than most of the four-legged former residents of the Bonnyville & District SPCA shelter.
In fact, Rosey, a four-year-old wirehair griffon cross pooch who had been living at the shelter since last fall, is now an American citizen.
She was adopted from the Bonnyville shelter earlier this month by Ray and Betsy Baker, an American couple living in New Albany, Indiana.
How does a dog up for adoption in Bonnyville end up in southern Indiana? Read on.
The Bakers, empty nesters who live in a country residential subdivision with lots of room for a dog, were saddened earlier this year by the loss of their beloved longtime pet, Katy, who had to be put to sleep.
They had adopted Katy as a rescue dog from a shelter in the U.S., and were hoping to find another rescued pooch they could love as much as they loved Katy.
Ray was surfing the Internet when they stumbled across the Pet Finder website, explains Heather Mutch, manager of the Bonnyville shelter.
They clicked on Rosey's picture and immediately fell in love with her, and her resemblance to their last pet. They then contacted the Bonnyville shelter — thinking initially that it was in Bonnieville, Kentucky, a few hours away.
They quickly learned Rosey was residing in Bonnyville, Alta., but they weren't prepared to give up that easily on adopting her.
“We even ordered our passports. We were going to come and get her,” Betsy sells in her polite Midwestern drawl, “and it was going to be a 30-hour drive each way.”
It turns out they didn't need to make the trek.
After working out some flight logistics with the Bakers, who happily paid the tab for Rosey to fly, and after Rosey was given a clean bill of health by the local vet clinic, the Bonnyville SPCA shipped Rosey to her new home on Air Canada.
The story is a particularly heartwarming one because Rosey had been adopted from the local shelter twice, but returned in October 2009.
As an adult dog, she faced less of a chance of being adopted than a younger dog might have, but the Bakers are happy to get her — make that out and out joyful to have welcomed Rosey into their home.
“She's an angel, and everybody in the neighbourhood loves her,” Betsy says of Rosey. “I couldn't ask for anything better.”
Rosey boarded the plane to Indiana on April 16, and is getting familiar with the long grass in her new yard, and the thunder storms of the Midwest.
“I sat there and held her most of the day on Saturday,” says Betsy, adding Rosey is still scared by storms.
While the local shelter's staff miss their four-legged friend, Mutch says the adoption of Rosey by the Bakers is an indication that love has no boundaries.
“Although we miss Rosey, we wish her all the best in her forever home,” says Mutch.
Betsy Baker says their new family member arrived in great health, and that Rosey must have been very well looked after in her former temporary home.
With no children left at home, Betsy says she and Ray will be making sure Rosey is the focus of their attention.
Says Betsy, “I couldn't ask for anything any better.”
