During a walk with her dog Margreet discovered by accident next to a heap of straw a small brown chained dog. The bitch was so thin, that she had trouble standing up. She could hardly move, as her chain was too short.  

Again a sad case of neglect. Margreet had tears in her eyes when she saw this small, desperate dog. She gave her food (she always carries food for animals in her car) and the next day I came along to look at the dog. In spite of the miserable situation she was in, it was an endearing and sweet dog. She was happy about the food and the affection. We also brought her a blanket and straw, as there was frost at night.

The farm woman was friendly towards us. She told us, that the dog belonged to her son who had moved out and had left the dog with her. According to her the dog was ill and did not want to eat. But all we gave her she devoured immediately. The woman could not understand why we worried so much about such a small dog and told us that we could take her with us. The next day I went there with my husband to pick up the dog. There are so many chained dogs, but this dog was in such a bad state and so sad, that we could not leave her there, at least not during the winter. We let her stay with us and she will stay until we have found a new home for her. Every dog needs a name, therefore we called her Nina.  

Now Nina sleeps in her basket next to the radiator, she goes regularly on short walks and drinks and eats small portions every few hours. She has problems walking as she is weakened and her muscles are not well developed, because she was not able to move much. Tomorrow she will be bathed and taken to the vet. Let’s hope that Nina gets back on her feet quickly and is soon completely well again. She always looks quite content and gets along well with our other animals. 

Behind our house on the next day.                                                    Nina in our home on her pillow.

 

Author: Monique Hoolt (5-1-2009) 

14-1-2009:
We have fantastic news! Nina has been with us for a week and we have already found a new home for her. The owner of the store ‘De Vergulde Hond’ in Amsterdam would like to adopt Nina.  ‘De Vergulde Hond’  is a store that sells biological animal supplies. Nina is faced with a beautiful future and a very kind owner. The turns an animal life can take ….. As soon as Nina is strong enough, she will be taken to Holland.

02-02-2009:
On January 25th she got a ride in the car of Dutch friends. On January 26th she arrived at the home of her new owner in Amsterdam. Nina was met with a warm welcome from Eva and her family and friends. Now Nina comes along to the store during the day and spends the evenings and weekends with Eva and the dog Bas at her new home. She gets to eat fresh bio-food and takes beautiful walks in the woods near Amsterdam and in the park. Nina probably has had more contact with humans during the past month than during the previous 8 years of her life. 

On January 30th we visited Nina and her new owner Eva in the store “de Vergulde hond”. Eva had invited friends and customers. Among others there were people who were interested in combining their holidays in the Marches with voluntary work, e.g., taking dogs from the Cagli shelter on walks. Nina already looked much better and by now weighs 13 kilos (before she was only 9 kilos when we had found her). She walked around as if she had been living there for years. It’s unbelievable that only one month earlier she had been lying lonely and chained in an open barn. We can for sure say that this has been a successful adoption.


Monique, Nina and new owner Eva.                                                   Margreet and Nina. 

 
More Success Stories:
The story of a hunting dog    
Chicca the Pony  
Help for a chained dog