From the old Cairn list, posted in January 2000 (1 of 3 posts on
Impossible Placements.)

Sue, my wife and I have been working with the Northern California Cairn
Terrier Club rescue for just over a year.  This past year, we've been able
to place 6 of these guys.

As I suspect is likely with most rescues, they are not always the prettiest
specimens. Half of the dogs this year were not poster dogs for Cairn Terrier
Gazette, it's likely they wouldn't even make the side of a milk carton.  When

we get one of these dogs,  Sue and I look at them like the proverbial glass of
water.  I see, half full, a dog that we might place, in time, maybe, nest year.
She sees half empty, a dog to worry about placing,ever, and worry about them she
does, with large amounts of love and attention.  Me, I give moral support.  She
gives the love, food , and treatment for what ails them. Together,it helps us
balance things out. Our last placement,today, is one of three, seemingly
impossible to place dogs,who now have homes.

First came McDuff, from a home of neglect, where he spent his life in a concrete
yard and no treatment.  This guy had no hair, read that has zero hair, on his
hindquarters.  His skin was something stolen off of a pigmy elephant.  Someone
had, strangely enough,tried to groom half of his front end, not his front end,
half of his front end.  He had little in the way of facial furnishings, indeed
his nickname was now, "Weasel".  Jerrie Wolfe posted pictures of him on her web
page, (www.rose-croft.dk), with suitable warnings for those with a weak stomach.
He was a game little guy, who, as I explained to many who looked askance, had no
clue what his butt looked like. At best, a strange looking dog who could be part
hairless, we liked him and touted him but deep in our hearts,we knew no one would
ever adopt this strange little creature.




Enter a pair of cairn angels, Jerrie Wolfe had heard from a couple with a Westie
looking for a rescue, to partner with their Westie. She talked to them, warned
them, got them to check out the pictures,and then gave them our number.  They
called, came to visit and took a look.  They had spent thousands of dollars on a
Westie with severe allergies and had a firm grasp on the implications of severe
allergenic reaction which would take years to correct.  With all of that,I should
not have been taken aback when they were very obviously disappointed that I
didn't surrender the dog to them,on the spot. Actually, McDuff had a return
appointment with our vet to confirm the results of his last testing, and I
wanted to have those in hand before considering releasing him.  By the next
week, he was off to his new home, a very happy, bare tailed cairn, going to a
home where he would go to the office every day they were in town and where dog
sitters came in if the owners were going out of town. This was our first lesson
in making a seemly impossible placement.

The Epilogue

The other end of the story.