A Christmas card from Tony in Maine and an update from Nicholas on Tohi remind me that (way) more often than not, there are happy endings for my dogs.

Fluff went off to Tony, a retired teacher and coach on the Maine coast, just before Christmas last year. I had turned down more than 20 people who wanted Fluff …and in walked Tony. I felt it was right from the first, for Fluff and for him. And my gut didn’t lie. Fluff has brightened Tony’s life and all of those around him. Fluff is a celebrity in Blue Hill, Maine. Most importantly for Fluff, she has Tony all to herself. That’s what every dog wants. The photo on Tony’s card doesn’t lie, Fluff is a beauty.

Fluff Takes Center Stage on Tony’s Holiday Cards

Some of you will remember Tohi, sent over from Wales to me earlier this year. She arrived a complete wreck. She escaped getting out of the car from the airport and spent 7 nights and 6 days out in the rough before I could catch her in a coyote trap. She was that traumatized …not by the trip here, but by ALL that had come before. I have never seen such a desperate dog. I did not have the bandwidth or expertise for Tohi and two friends stepped up.

Tohi transitioned with Kathy, an experienced dog rescuer, and then went on to Nicholas, a dog expert of the first order. If Nicholas had not agreed to take Tohi out of a sense of duty to another creature and at the strong urging of his wife, Jackeline, Tohi’s future looked bleak. Taking Tohi as she was, was an act of exceptional compassion and generosity. Nicholas is a young entrepreneur, and every hour with Tohi was going to be an hour away from his businesses and his other very capably young working collies. And yet, he felt he had to do it, for another creature in need.

I had video from Nicholas yesterday, of the 12 month old female I had no hope for in June, now 6 months on. The title of the message Nicholas sent to me yesterday was “Tohi has taken to sheep!“

And indeed she has! In the video is a beautiful, healthy, happy young dog, all confidence with sheep …but more importantly, ALL EYES FOR NICHOLAS. Nicholas and his wife Jackeline saved the un-savable. They believed in Tohi, they gave her all they could, they met her on her terms …and out of the scared, withdrawn and basket case yearling who arrived to me in June, has emerged a stunning specimen of a sheep dog. It isn’t a miracle, it is devotion and care, the likes of which I have rarely seen. Tohi has found an extraordinary life with Nicholas on his farm, where she is safe, encouraged and loved –and will be for her entire life. She has blossomed. The video confirms that.

A couple of stills screen cammed from Nicholas’ video

There is much that is not right with the world this Christmas season, but Tony and Nicholas remind me that important small things are *very* right. Two happy new beginnings for my dogs. Thank you Tony & Nicholas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!! …and especially to Fluff and Tohi.