4/09/2014

The story of Ned and Carmen



Our friend and associate Carmen has been the involuntary main character in one of the saddest stories that has reached Scooby lately. One of the saddest but at the same time also one with the most hope. She, together with Ned (who used to be called Rufo) are the main players in a story of love, courage, respect and the ability to overcome hardship. Carmen wrote us a letter, telling us about Ned, and after reading this we think there is no one who could better tell the story of her life. We hope it touches you the same way as it did us and that it teaches us to appreciate the enormous heart and respect of people like Carmen. Carmen, we thank you, we can never thank you enough for all you have done and are doing for our animals and I am sure that Ned will always carry you in his heart, as we do in ours.
“Ned”was born around mid july in 2013 in some straw bed with some other puppies, of which only 2 survived, close to a small village with about 500 inhabitants called Carbajales de Alba, in the province of Zamora, Spain.
His mother was a hunting dog, left behind and probably mistreated, because she never came closer than 50 meters to any person, even when they brought her food or water.  This was the kind of conduct that she taught her pups too, so that is why Ned has grown up with little confidence in people. She was admired by people because of her intelligence (the same as Ned), her dedication, strength and sacrifice to get her little ones ahead. It was a beautiful sight to see them together, seeing how she took them to the village in search of food, and to  how they were playing. Untill she got pregnant again and them someone decided to call the shelter to have them picked up.
The pickup was difficult and not very nice, Ned escaped but saw everything that happened. The first days he came back to where they took his mother and sister, alone, scared, barking and hiding when somebody came close. He was  truly lost and did not have anything or anybody to turn to.
In this difficult situation I decided that for the periods I was going to be in the village, to work with him and try to socialize him through my dog (an adopted dog, very old and very exceptional that had also been mistreated in the past). I decided to give him a name so he could respond to that but some people and kids already gave him one: RUFO.
Day by day, petting and talking to my dog in front of him (Ned is very observant and  clever)and later on taking long walks (where he joined us every day), he took a fancy to my dog who he used as help and support and his reference point. He loved him and covered him with kisses. When I was not there he stayed with him and copied his behaviour and in time he started to trust me. I even managed (after a long time trying) to touch him and to have him give me licks. He loved to go on walks and especially to run into the fields chasing birds (he’s very quick!). Playing with other dogs, even with me, trying to steal some rags away from me. Since he is very clever, he started looking for me in the places he used to see me, he recognized cars but he never went into closed spaces, especially if they had a door (he must have remembered the situation when they picked up his mother).
Because of personal problems, I could not stay in the village, nor take care of him anymore and I figured this was the moment for him to find a new owner, because it seems he cared more for me than for my dog. I don’t know if I did the right things, but I never thought it would hurt so much that they took him away. I remember him every day.
This is the story of Carmen, and she is still very occupied with Neds fate, looking out for him and hoping that he will find a home. Now is the time for you to decide and help us find him a family he deserves. Carmen and us will be very grateful. And you Carmen, you did a lot for Ned, don’t feel guilty, there are situations in life that even though we want to, we cannot change them, but we can try to make them as easy as possible. THANK YOU for your efforts, your care and for trusting us.






Update: Ned has already found his loving forever home in the USA and he is doing amazing there and making a lot of progress in becoming a happy dog!