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!
