Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Ginger! - Another Vick dog heard from.

On the heels of the messy dog fight bust in Texas, we present Ginger, one of the lessor known Vick dogs that trekked cross-country in the pit bull crowded RV trip to start a new life with the folks at SPCA for Monterey County.

This is the same shy little sprite that appeared in the video with Tim, leaving her VA shelter kennel for good. The road wasn't easy for Gingerette. She was one of the more timid dogs that came this way and she forced her foster mom to downshift big time so she could perform a modern day version of the patient art of soul retrieval on this little lost girl ... (Hey, it IS California, after all)

We were thrilled to hear from her foster-mom turned forever-home in an email update, along with this beautiful PHOTO SERIES outlining Ginger's evolution.

Bless you Stacy...You're an inspiration!

From her update: "Our early days and months were not easy - her clinging to the back of her crate for hours on end as I cried and wondered if we would ever be friends, her fleeing from any attempt at a gentle touch, refusing to eat for days as I tried a variety of techniques to prevent her from wasting further away...it goes on and on and has probably been experienced by many a person fostering an abused animal ....

.... It has been such a pleasure watching her evolve into a happy and loving dog. She loves running about the yard, playing with toys, treats, riding in the car, snuggling on the bed (how a 35lb dog takes up the entire bed I do not know), and did I say treats? Her exuberance (or perhaps clumsiness) at times has unfortunately led to her crashing into many a wall, tree, piece of furniture, my shins, etc…she shakes it off in that bully way even as I am still muttering various expletives thinking that must been painful and surely this will be a visit to the vet .... It is a delight every day to see how happy she is when I get home, to see her sprinting up when I whistle for her or like now, to simply have her curled up at my side snoring away..."
- Stacy Schmidt

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was so great to see, thanks for sharing Ginger with us. The "Adoption Day" photo literally brings happy tears to my eyes! Having spent 8 transformative months with my own little damaged adoptee, I recognized all of the expressions Ginger evolved through. I'm sure Stacy would agree that seeing them blossom is the most rewarding thing imaginable.

Boris said...

Ginger you snapped our hearts,
Ya gotta love redhead pairs that inspire and uplift.

Watch-it, those pictures will make you late for work or hurt your teeth, they are so sweet.

Was Ginger a rooster for Halloween?
I was an angel, Boris

Anonymous said...

What a great recap and new beginning for this girl.

I thought that was Frodo in that video.

Is it possible that Frodo,Spyder and Ginger are litter mates?

Anonymous said...

Oh, the heartbreak and joy at coaxing a sweet and happy soul from a broken past. Ginger is so happy, silly and gorgeous now! Stacey, you and Ginger did a great job and make a perfect pair!

Anonymous said...

YAY Stacy and Ginger....you've found each other! What a heartwarming story!

Anonymous said...

YAY Stacy and Ginger....you've found each other! What a heartwarming story!

Anonymous said...

You can definitely see that worried wrinkled brow from the first picture become a smooth and happy smile in the final ones. What a great job and a great match.

Anonymous said...

Giger you have hit the doggy lottery in finding your momma. I can see how spoiled with affection you are. Eat it up girl, you deserve it!!

Nancy said...

Ginger you are so sweet.

Thank you Stacy!

Ginger looks like my Bently, 'cept Ben is a male and 50lbs heavier, LOL

Their color and marks are the same at least =)

pamipoo said...

Ah Jeez! Crying at work again..what a beautiful story gotta love a happy ending.. sigh

pamipoo said...

Ah Jeez! Crying at work again..what a beautiful story gotta love a happy ending.. sigh

Anonymous said...

This story warms he heart. Welcome to the good part of life Ginger :)

Anonymous said...

This series is stunning in every sense of the word-- I am literally sitting in my office cube with goosebumps! Ginger is a most beautiful (and fortunate) pittie; Stacy is a most beautiful (and fortunate) woman. Thank you for your tenacity, Stacy--it sounds like there were some tough moments. Now, we should send these photographs down to the folks in Houston . . .

Anonymous said...

Beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Stacy, Bless you for having faith in Ginger and for bringing her back. She is gorgeous - and you are a very talented photographer!

Marie

Anonymous said...

For the wine lover you can help support the Best Friends Society vick dogs by buying some wine from here http://www.dogloverswineclub.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showList&productcategoryid=4a7a1d39-1cc4-fbb6-23d7-ea81395fce34&isMarketingURL=1&orderby=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.Price1&startrow=1&CFID=3764173&CFTOKEN=63795522&jsessionid=f030f03cdcaf18883e5b4f2f7b351f7a3c75
The art is pretty cool :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful pictures, incredible dog. Hey, we'll be in Carmel this weekend! See you at The Beach!!!

Kirsten said...

oh, yay!! What a sweet story. Ginger's certainly sporting the pitty smile now. :)

Pip said...

Stacy - I'm so impressed, it takes a sort of saint to deal with the tears, the uncertainty, and Ginger's fear in order to give her the gift of a smile. Thank you for sharing it with us. Give Ginger-girl kisses from all of us!

R3K9S said...

Ditto to what pamipoo said;"Ah Jeez! Crying at work again..what a beautiful story gotta love a happy ending.. sigh"

Thanks again to everyone for fought for these dogs

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much to everyone for their wonderful comments! Bringing Ginger into her new life and the great big world was done with a lot of help and support from my friends and co-workers who have all been a part of her progress.

Boris: She was a chicken for Halloween - the headpiece was on a whole two seconds and I didn't get a chance to get a photo of the complete costume. You were probably an adorable angel!

Unknown said...

Stacy she is so cute! Good job. I hope we can meet her soon.

Kate Marie Wintz said...

My day/week/month have officially been made.

Anonymous said...

God bless ya!! We have a timid pit as well who just lost her partner of the last 7 years...we hope to find a new friend in the summer!! At least she has a two year old girl to get her through the sad times!

Amanda said...

YAY for Ginger and Stacy! What a great story.

I've seen the video of Ginger and Tim before, but for some reason today it brought big ol' tears to my eyes. Just imagining how unfamiliar such nice human touches were to her (and the other Vick dogs)...well it is just sad.

And then to see the beautiful slideshow of happy Ginger with her new Momma, wonderful!!!

Thoughts said...

That dog has a HUGE smile on her face! How sweet!

Anonymous said...

I knew when I bought my PBRC calendar, and when I got the Bark! dog book of smiles, that I knew that smile! Stacy, I'm not sure who is luckier... you, or Ginger! You go Ginger Girl!! Congrats and thank you Stacy for giving Ginger a second leash on life! May God always bless your home! Mollie's Nana