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The Road to Berlin

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It was only a handful of days ago that another call came in from the East Holmes Veterinary Clinic in Berlin, Ohio. The good people there don’t ring us to say hi though.  A call from them is an opportunity to rescue more animals, and this situation was no different.  FAPL staffer Brianna and I took the van, loaded it up with half a dozen travel cages and made the hour-and-a-half journey to Mennonite country.

 Over the twisting country roads and rolling green hills of farm land, we arrived to pick up six dogs of varying size and age. The first pair to exit the clinic were a male/female chocolate lab couple, each at a year and a half old (Snickers and Hershey Kiss).  Surprisingly, both were, for the most part, eager to hop into their travel cages.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say pure bred dogs like these won’t take long to get adopted…just a hunch.

hershey-kiss
Hershey Kiss – female Chocolate Lab
snickers
Snickers – male Chocolate Lab

The next pair were also of matching breeds; two female English bulldogs (Lollipop and Candy Corn). The expressions on their faces will make your heart melt, though their frightened uncertainty of the situation at hand was quite evident.  If I could ever see a pair of dogs do their best impression of the proverbial stubborn mule, this was it.  I could’ve hire a competitor from the world strongman competition to take a leash, but it wouldn’t have mattered.  These dogs were simply not moving.

candy-corn
Candy Corn – female Old English Bulldog

While I do make it a point to go to the gym regularly, I quickly learned I’m either not lifting enough or these dogs were no lightweights. I’ll go with the latter…okay, maybe a little of both.  With walking them not an option, we carried them to the van to which they were rather stubborn subjects of travel.  Almost mimicking a Bugs Bunny cartoon, both dogs outstretched their legs to avoid fitting into their travel cages.  Want a challenge?  Hold 50+ lbs. of unwilling weight that does its best impression of square peg/round hole.  With a little gentle maneuvering, we finally managed to get both girls in their crates.

lollipop
Lolli Pop – female Old English Bulldog

Finally, there was the youngest pair of the bunch at both pups clocking in at an estimated ten weeks old. First was a Doberman who recently underwent corrective surgery.  While the English bulldogs wanted nothing to do with a car ride, this little gal was more than happy to be a part of the journey.  Her youthful counterpart, however, was not.  Dot is a cute yellow lab mix who is currently recovering from scabies, a parasitic skin disorder that she will soon make a full recovery from.  She’s got a little bit of hair to grow back and some traveling to get accustomed to, but you can bet she will light up someone’s life as soon as she becomes adoptable.  After all, she is already painting smiles on FAPL workers.

doberman-pup
Milky Way – Doberman pup under 10 weeks old
dot
Dot – Yellow Lab pup under 10 weeks old

Still, our story doesn’t end there. Sure, these dogs still need to find good homes, but after a quick vet check-up, that will come to fruition.  The rest of the story has to do with the human star of this story, Brianna.  Unfortunately, the spunky, hard-working employee moved on from FAPL as of October 22nd.  While she approaches her new endeavor that we all wish her the best with, it is her undeniable work ethic, knowledge and her care for the animals that will be missed greatly.  She sets quite the admirable standard in what it takes to succeed at Friendship APL.  Good luck, Brianna!

Friendship APL of Lorain County

Friendship APL

Friendship APLWe are a private, independent, non-profit humane society founded in Elyria, Ohio. We proudly own and operate the largest animal shelter in Lorain County.

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