What
a journey! What great teamwork!
A
friend of mine, Minna, was flying down to Milano, Italy to pick up a car and
then drive it back up to Sweden with her husband, Mats. I saw the opportunity
to maybe get some animals driven back up from Southern Italy to Northern
Sweden, with a small stop in my town outside Stuttgart, Germany. Down in Napoli, we had the three legged cat Willy
Wonka, that had been rescued by the veterinarian team at Dr. Carlo Damiani’s
clinic. Willy Wonka was fostered by Dr. Carlo and his wonderful family. We also
had Fochetta, our senior from the hospice, which was to be adopted by my lovely
friend Mia in Sweden. I asked Minna if she could possibly bring some animals
with her back?
Minna
is also in the rescue business and didn’t hesitate one second to help us out.
If only all the animal papers were ready, and if someone could drive Fochetta
and WW up to Milano, then there would not be any problems.
Two
wonderful American ladies volunteered to drive up to Milano with the precious
cargo. They packed the car and only drove one hour, until their tire exploded!
They called a tow truck and were being towed back to Napoli. These ladies
didn’t go back to their homes, sobbing over a cup of coffee. No, these
remarkable women rented a car, un-packed the broken vehicle, re-packed and drove
up North. Delayed because of the tire mishap, they floored their gas pedal and
arrived right on time. We are forever thankful and grateful for what Lori Alston Garcia and
Valerie Funk did.
You started a new chapter for Forchetta and WW in their “book of
life”.
Minna
and her husband continued the drive up to Mia’s (President) place outside Stuttgart,
Germany. WW was being introduced to his new family, Mia’s (President) wonderful neighbors. Already,
he is very much loved and happy there.
Everybody got a late lunch/dinner, and
Fochetta got to stretch her little sweet legs in Mia’s garden. After the small
break, Minna and husband started the long remaining drive back to Sweden, a 23
hours drive. With them they also had another dog named MIA, (there are a lot of
“Mia’s” in this story) that had been returned from her first owner after nine months, but was going to a nice home with a lady and her daughter in Sweden that
Mia (President) had found. (That story will come in another blog update.)
Hours
later, in the middle of Sweden, MIA the dog was dropped off to her new family, and
after some remaining hours of driving, the journey for Minna, Mats and Fochetta
would finally end. Fochetta had to sleep over at Minna’s place. It was midnight
by the time they got there, and everyone was bone tired. The next day my friend
Mia and her father drove down to pick up Fochetta from Minna. My sweet friend
Mia was totally in love with Fochetta, just as she had imagined it during her
meditations. Fochetta already loves Mia and gave her so many kisses and snores
loudly during the nights.
This
couldn’t have been done without you all. And especially a big thank you to Lori
and Valerie, that was amazing what you did. Minna and Mats, for sponsoring
the whole drive from Milano to Sweden. And being the contacts to MIA dog’s home
and Mia with Fochetta.
The
Mercer family sponsored from Naples to Milano.
And
to all hospice volunteers, thank you so much for taking such great care of
Fochetta. Loving and nurturing her back to life, I know you all loved her
dearly. To AWL’s board who got her picture and story about Fochetta several
months ago, and decided to take her away from the horrible place: A
Governmental shelter with nearly a thousand of dogs locked in cages and nowhere
to go, ever.
A big
THANK YOU to the brave Italian volunteer who got her out from that hell-hole.
And
lastly, to Mia, my friend who dared to adopt a senior dog.
Now,
That’s Amore.
