In mid January, 2002, a club member called. She had learned of a Cairn terrier that Rescue should pick up. After a phone call to the shelter on the Peninsula, Cassie came into rescue. Her story was that her elderly owner had died and 10 year old Cassie sat with her for 2 days until someone noticed.
Once we got her, Cassie was sprightly enough, given her gimpy hind leg, the result of a repair surgery. Other than the leg, she was in great shape for her age. She couldn’t jump up on the couch but she could skitter around the yard with the best of them. She was obviously well cared for, although as is typical of Cairns raised in a sedentary lifestyle, she was a little over weight. She wasn’t perfect as a Cairn but she was a great little dog. She fit right in with our guys and had a good time. She showed off all of those things we love in Cairn attitude.
As a 10 year old, placement opportunities were few. Finally I did get a call from an older lady, “D”, up in the hinderlands of the north state, she was familiar with the breed, she used to have one. “D” had been left behind by a gallivanting husband after 40 years, she was looking for a good friend. She wanted someone to fill her life. She lived on the 2nd floor of a small apartment house, living on SS and a very tiny pension in a small town in Northern California and a bit loving by a good dog would make things better.
I told “D” we would work something out. We made arrangements to meet in a little town up on I-5. I had a 2 1/2 hour drive, “D” would have 4+ hours on the road. “D” would have a friend drive and would meet us. She had some old memories of the little town on I-5 and told me to meet at a certain fast food place. The night before I took off, she called, confirmed the details, and gave me a cell phone number.
I belted Cassie in the front seat of the truck and we headed up the highway. I had checked the address on the web and I thought I knew where I was headed. This was before GPS. I found the turnoff and went to the address of the fast food place, it wasn’t there. The address simply didn’t exist. Well, I went to the other side of the overpass just in case I had the wrong place. I was right, it was the wrong place. Due to some highway improvements, it had been demolished, old information on the Internet is still old information.
I pulled out my cell phone and tried “D”‘s number. Eventually I got an answer but after hearing all of the beeping in my ear, it was clear that “D” didn’t know how to use it because she kept pushing buttons while I talked. We conquered that problem and agreed to meet in a bank parking lot I had seen on the other side of the highway.
We met, they met, it was instant love on both sides. Cassie wanted another woman in her life and she seemed to agree that “D’ would fill her needs. I watched them, recognized a great match, so I pulled out the adoption papers. We have a standard fee we suggest when we place dogs but in this case, I said, “Senior citizen, Senior dog, Senior discount.” When I handed back half of the money, “D” was surprised and thrilled. I was more than happy and headed down the highway, sans one older Cairn. One more successful rescue. Count one for the good guys.
We had gotten Cassie in January, placed her in February. I always make a follow up call shortly after I place a dog. In this case, the problem was how to get “D” to stop talking about her new friend. Over the next few months, I got a series of phone calls from “D”. While some details would change the theme would be the same. Her former Cairn would bite her if she tried to groom her. Cassie was a love, never a bite, never a growl, just the best little Cairn in the world. Cassie had that bad leg and “D” was a tad overweight but Cassie would drag her to the park, make her walk and then drag “D” back up and down those apartment stairs. Both of them were loving it and getting good exercise. It would always be the same, the calls would last about 20 minutes or so, a long list of all things wonderful about Cassie and a continual thank you for bringing Cassie into her life. I was seldom allowed to talk, just to say “that’s great” or something like that. It was always about that great little Cairn and how she made “D”‘s life so much better. I always listened and smiled.
Some time in late August, I got call from the original shelter asking about placing the dog. Now, I get a lot of calls from people who have surrendered their dogs to us so we will place them and their calls usually mean one thing to me, “What happened to the problem we dropped in your lap?” I consider them to be feel good calls for the caller and I tend to be a tad curt when I get them. This call seemed like that but it was from the shelter. I answered a few questions but then cut things short. Later, there were a couple of other calls on my recorder, calls talking about something I didn’t understand. I don’t think I ever followed up on them. Then finally, there was a call from the club member who picked up Cassie. She told me to return the call, it was a lawyer???
A lawyer?? Call a lawyer? I did, I didn’t understand what the questions were about at first but the bottom line was this. When Cassie’s owner had died, she had set up a small trust for the care of Cassie if she was placed into rescue. I needed to Fax any paper work I had to show that Cassie was in a new home. I did but I had one request. I wanted to tell “D”. No problem. The benefactor’s son just wanted to be sure the money got to the right person.
So, once things were in place I called. I got “D” on the phone, before I could tell her why I called, the litany of Cassie’s virtues began. I let her go on for awhile but then I interjected, “”D”, you will be getting a letter and a check from a lawyer for $5,000 for the care of Cassie”. She didn’t miss a beat, she kept talking for a while longer and then a complete stop. “You almost made my heart stop”, she finally understood what I had said. She caught her breath and we talked. This came at just the right time for “D”, things had been tight. It was all good news.
Some years later, “D” called, Cassie’s life had run it’s string out. “D” was heart broken. Little did she know, Cassie had timed things just perfectly. Cassie was a great dog but not a perfect Cairn, she was probably a pet store Cairn, a perfect Cairn but a pet store Cairn. It just so happened, a former club member had died and her only daughter could not take care of her remaining Cairn, a finished champion, who still looked like he could walk in the show ring and make heads turn. Not only that, he was a great pet.
Once more, I took the drive up I-5 with a small dog belted in beside me. This time, we had a better place to meet. No wrong turns. When “D” saw her new dog, she was completely taken aback. She could not believe anyone would ever give her such a beautiful dog. She walked him around, wiped the tears from her eyes, fumbled for words, gave me a hug, and headed back up the highway with her new best friend.
It’s true that dogs love us unconditionally, in Cassie’s case she gave “D” that, it was that, plus a small reward, and finally another Cairn to take her place.