Ok, I know, we already have two puppies, (Beau weighs 78 pounds and Xena weighs 60) what are we doing getting another one? Well let me tell you the story and you decide what you would have done.

It all started one Saturday evening. Holly and I were headed to the movies when all of a sudden a horse comes bolting across highway 27, which you may know is a very busy road. Cars are swerving and slamming on their brakes and being the avid Animal Planet watcher I am, I instantly became one of those Animal Rescuers I\’ve always admired. I pulled into the medium, jumped out of my truck, and began to pursue the horse on foot followed by a couple of other motorists who apparently were also rescuers. After running about a block and having a coronary, I managed to corner the steed and held him until the owner and a deputy sheriff arrived at which point the horse broke loose and continued his run down the road. Anyway, that made it official, I am a Animal Rescuer!

Cut to a week later, Holly and I are returning home from Pizza Hut on Old Highway 50, which you may also know is a very busy road. We notice a red truck pulled over to the side and a lady with her young daughter trying to coax a small puppy to come to them. About that time the puppy runs into the road and cars are slowing or stopping to avoid hitting her (not as dramatic as the horse but still a little scary). As you well know, being an Animal Rescuer, I had no choice but to take action. I pulled over, jumped out of my truck and within minutes we had cornered the pup but couldn\’t persuade her to come to us. So like all good Animal Rescuer, I came up with a plan. I would take some of the beef off the pizza we just picked up, throw pieces to the pup, and when she got close enough I would grab her. Giving up a pizza topping would be a huge sacrifice, so this shows my heart was totally in the rescue. The plan was working like a charm. I would throw a little chunk of beef, and she would come a little closer. This continued until she was right next to me. Now, as an experienced Animal Rescuer I probably should have noticed that the rain and thunder, the cars on the highway, the puppy being lost, and that when a big stranger initially feeds a puppy and then grabs it all probably contributes to a puppy\’s nervousness and what happened next. She literally bit the crap out of me. Within about two seconds she had bitten me a total of five times and had my blood dripping from my hand. At that exact point in time, I quit the Animal Rescue business. I set her down (I wanted to throw her) and she disappeared. I continued to look for her, now not as a rescuer but as a bite victim needing to know if the puppy could possibly have rabies. The lady in the red truck mentioned she had groceries in her truck, she would go take them home and come back and help look for the now missing attack dog. Upon her return, she mentioned that the puppy followed her home and that she managed to get it into a neighbors garage. She told me where the house was so I called Animal Control to notify them and they told me they would pick her up and put her into quarantine. I thought that would be the last time I would ever see that puppy.

Ten days later I received the call. The puppy did not have rabies so I was out of the woods. I then asked if the owners had shown up and the person on the line told me unfortunately they hadn\’t. I then asked if she would be put up for adoption and she responded that she wouldn\’t because when a dog bites and the owner doesn\’t come forward, they are automatically put down. Without their owners they are not given a second chance. I asked would they consider giving her to me since I was the one bitten. She said \”sorry no\” but she would ask the Animal Control Director just to make sure. Apparently, the vicious man eater that was scheduled to be put to sleep the next morning had made an impression on everyone at the pound. She was a good puppy but rules are rules. I hung up the phone feeling the puppy\’s death was because of me. If I hadn\’t grabbed her she wouldn\’t have bitten anyone. The next morning I got a call from the pound. The Director would grant a stay and the case would be brought to the board (whatever that is) and discuss the puppies fate. That afternoon the decision was made to allow one person to adopt the puppy, the person that was bitten, otherwise the puppy would have to be put down the next morning. Now I ask you, life or death for a little 4 month old puppy, which would you choose?

So I would like to introduce you to Suzy. She\’s a great addition to our family, actually she is the last addition to our family, I hope.

Steve from FL