By Judi Curry

My 13 year old Golden is having some hip issues

Trying to watch him walk down the stairs brings out the crying tissues.

He doesn’t seem to be in much pain and he “smiles” all the time,

Except when he tries to stand up and then you know he’s not fine.

He just helped me “dog sit” my daughter’s big dog,

Who really is a cross between a kangaroo and a frog.

Buddy went swimming to iron out the kinks,

Toby grabbed the ball every time Buddy blinked.

But now we are alone and the house is very quiet,

Even my eldest daughter has said “find a dog and buy it.”

Trish, Buddy’s physical therapist told me about the Baja Animal Sanctuary,

You see, “Shadow”  was found in Ensenada close to the estuary.

I looked on-line and found the page

My goodness, this little Golden was just the right age.

He likes big dogs – and Buddy is just that.

The only thing he doesn’t like is big, meowing cats.

My vet, my trainer, the therapists galore,

Have suggested that Buddy have a roommate to perk him up some more.

So Saturday I will go meet him, at the Carmel Mountain PetCo store,

He will be waiting for us right at the front door.

And maybe it will give Buddy a few more healthy weeks,

A playmate for both of us is all this owner seeks.

For those of us that know him it is only a question of time,

Hey, what the hell, I’m all out of rhyme.

Before I close off this poem, I would like to say something about the Baja Animal Sanctuary.  We found Buddy at the “Retrievers and Friends Rescue” in Temecula.  We found Pal, our Golden before Buddy, at the San Diego Dog Pound, and Shalom, our black lab, was a gift to me by my hairdresser who felt that I needed a dog because I didn’t have enough to do as a Principal of a 1300 student middle school; the mother of 5 children; and a wife.  But this time, knowing that Buddy’s hips are going from bad to worse, I decided that I needed to brace myself for his impending death.  John, my vet, has assured me it is not imminent, but  probably will happen during this year.  Buddy was my late husband’s dog – and he followed Bob around like a “shadow.”  I once said that if I ever got my own dog I wanted him to shadow me like Buddy did to Bob.  Buddy is my only link to Bob, and by getting another dog now I hope will ease the pain when it is time for Buddy to go to the Rainbow in the sky.

Trish Penick, Buddy’s physical therapist sent me an email message that said, “check out Thomas.  I did, and fell in love with the picture of Thomas immediately.  (I thought it was rather ironic that the man that scammed me sometime back was named “Thomas.”)

I made contact with the sanctuary, and within 12 hours I had a response from  Judith Ayn Sobel, the Program Director.   I was so impressed with the rapidity of the response that I did some research and this is what I found.

“The sanctuary is located in Rosarito, Mexico, and was founded in 1997 by Sunny Benedict, a native New Yorker, who was working in real estate in Rosarito. From her office window, Sunny would see the local animals mangy and starving roaming the streets in search of anyone who might toss them a morsel of food or give them a kind pat on the head. She knew she had to do something.  With a mere $180 she gathered from friends, she turned her dream into reality and started the Baja Animal Sanctuary.

BAS, the only no-kill shelter in Northern Mexico, provides a safe haven for dogs, cats, that are rescued from the streets of Mexico. They receive food, medical care, and love.  Once the puppies are old enough they are spayed/neutered.  Their goal is to find them a “forever home.”  If a dog is unadoptable, it remains at the sanctuary for life.

In 2011, they placed 262 dogs and 49 cats in loving homes throughout the United States.  Presently the Sanctuary is home to over 300 dogs and over 90 cats!  It is a recognized 501©(3), non-for-profit corporation, qualified to receive tax-deductable donations.  The sanctuary receives NO assistance from the Mexican Government.

I made my original inquiry into adopting Thomas – (now Shadow)  on April 8^th. Today, April 12^th, I met him along with a contingent of friends – Mary and Marco, to be specific.  We all fell in love with him and I was allowed to take him home.  Buddy accepted him with a shrug and a smile – and he is firmly ensconced in my house, where  half of the neighbors have already been in to meet him.

In two weeks, members of the staff of the BAS will come out to complete the formal paperwork, and, if it seems we do not click in the next week or so we can always bring him back. (Fat chance!)  But Buddy has a playmate; I have a new “love”;  and things are once again active at the Curry house.

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Judi Curry

High school dropout who decided to show the educational community what learning is all about. If it's the status quo something's wrong with it and I'll scratch the itch!

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