I Corinthians 13:13.
Charity, of course, is the giving of unrestricted love and without expectation of anything but love in return. Charity is what we are seeking for these girls, but we have our own "Charity" to give in return to one caring person. We also have "Hope" and "Faith," each of which is available to a charitable person.
These girls were siezed pursuant to the Animal Cruelty provisions of the Health and Safety Code of the State of Texas. They were given to The Humane Society of Montgomery County, Texas and subsequently given to Rescue. We think they are in good hands for the time being, but they need to go to new homes where they will get the love and care they deserve.
Faith, Hope, and Charity [a.k.a. The Conroe Girls] have moved in with the McDaniel Dogs. The transition was without incident, much to everybody's relief. The only change is that the parade is longer - now I have four sheepdogs and a Briard in tow instead of just the one of each. In between the shelter and our house, the Conroe Girls spent a week with Grace, our regular groomer [That's Carlisle's for those of you in the Houston area]. The pictures on the right below show the girls after they were cut down and cleaned up at Grace's. [The text in italics here and below is the update as of 10/17/98]
I measured and weighed these dogs. Charity is 20 inches tall and weighs 50 pounds. She is truly a puppy in disposition. She is the most active of the three, and engages Mackie in play. Mackie obliges and seems to enjoy it. Charity's skin problem seems to have gone away; and when she gets some hair, she will be as cute as a speckled pup.
Hope is also a small girl, 20 to 21 inches tall and light weight for the same reasons as Charity. She, too, is affectionate, moves well, and walks on lead without difficulty. The shelter vet thinks Hope is about 4 years old.
Hope measures 20 inches tall and weighs 55 pounds. She is of a different build than either Faith or Charity. Hope has a heavier bone structure and a larger rib cage. She is broader built, too. Hope is still in need of some special care, despite her greater weight. Another five to ten pounds gained from a fully nourishing diet will do her wonders. Hope is the "loner" of the bunch. She explores the back yard by herself, goes into and out of the house irrespective of what the other two girls are doing, and seems just to hang out by herself.
Faith also is the most undernourished of the three. She is going to need a good diet to get some meat back on her bones. Despite her looks, Faith shows no signs of any physical disabilities. She moves well, walks on lead, and is affectionate. Faith is about the same size as Hope and Charity. The shelter vet put her age at about 6 years old. Faith is going to need that special person who has the faith that this girl will come back and be all that could be wanted of an OES.
From the two pictures above, it is hard to believe that they are the same dog. Faith is up to 43 pounds from the 37 she was reputed to be when she went to the shelter. There is noticeable improvement. Faith is still way under weight, but is moving in the right direction. She's going to do just fine, however.
Taking the picture through the gate was the only way I could get the Conroe Girls to stand still far enough away to be in focus. [See reference to parade above.] Later on, though, as they roamed the back yard, I got the individual pictures shown above. They all made themselves quite at home here. They have a good disposition with people, typical velcro in a lot of respects. There were no problems with Mackie or Sadie, although the Conroe Girls and Sadie had a barking match when they met for the first time through the gate. Sadie has barking matches with falling leaves, however, so not much is to be made of this. The point, of course, is that Faith, Hope, and Charity get along with men, women, and other dogs. We have no data on children, cats, or other such organisms. If and when we do, we will share them. The Conroe Girls were started on Program today and will begin heartworm preventative next week. As soon as each becomes healthy enough, she will be spayed. All three seem to have had experience with houses, as in going into and out of them. They were quite at home in the yard and inside the house [limited to the kitchen, I might add]. It's getting to be bedtime here, and all the Conroe Girls were put into kennels. They put up no fuss and have settled down. All of this suggests that they are house broken and crate trained. We'll see.
In the meantime, click on the logo below for information about other dogs in the program, to get an adoption application, or to get other information about Rescue. The dogs that we have need all of your charity and any other support you might feel able to give.
POST SCRIPT: All the above appeared in October, 1998. As of now, all three of the Conroe Girls have been placed as appropriate. Word received back on them indicates that they are doing fine.
Faith is doing all the things that a good OES should do: she guards the house, plays with her toys and ice cubes, is affectionate and protective, and is lovable and goofy all at the same time. Our wish has come true, and our faith has been rewarded. Faith has the home she deserves.
