BY JANET McAFEE
Molly is an absolutely beautiful, brilliant, well behaved, trained, intuitive, and loving dog. How is it possible that this marvelous 2-year-old animal was given up by least three human homes in her short life? We ardent dog lovers would live in our cars rather than give up our pups. We consider them family, and hope to be worthy of their love and loyalty. Nothing about Molly would seemingly warrant abandonment.
An unclaimed stray dog at the Redlands Animal Shelter, Molly was eventually adopted. However, Molly lost that home when her human experienced the death of her spouse and had to move. Molly’s next human cited health problems when he relinquished her to Loving All Animals. We suspect, despite losing several homes, that Molly was well treated.
Molly made a long journey to her final and “furever” home. In May, 2018, she was adopted by my cousin, Roberta Benoit, and her husband, Michael Benoit, who live in a quaint New England town in New Hampshire. Now 3,000 miles away from sunny California, Molly has an incredible new life filled with lots of love and a promise she will never be homeless again.
It began with a Facebook photo of lovely Molly, just surrendered by her human, greeting foster dad T Santora with a kiss. Roberta, “dogless” for 7 years after losing her beloved Corgi, Chesapeake, began browsing the homeless rescue dogs posted on my Facebook page. Meanwhile, Michael was still thinking about another Corgi. Roberta convinced him a larger size dog would better meet their lifestyle, and Michael realized a replacement Corgi might be subject to comparisons.
Roberta sent a Facebook message with questions about Molly. Our conversation culminated with plans about how to adopt a dog on the other side of the country. Her daughter Maddie, a Southern California resident, was unavailable to take Molly as she was leaving for a vacation to Spain. Loving All Animals prefers not to ship dogs “sight unseen” to prospective adopters, particularly given the added risk of shipping them alone in cargo.
Roberta flew to California, trusting reports that Molly was a fabulous dog. She discovered the best route for Molly and herself to return was a direct Alaska Airlines flight from San Diego to Boston. It was love at first sight when Roberta and Maddie drove out to meet Molly in Palm Desert. The following day, Molly navigated two very busy airports, charming passengers and airport personnel with her calm and happy go lucky demeanor. After the five hour journey, Roberta rushed to the large item claim area where Molly happily bounded out of her crate.
Michael recalls, “When I met Molly at the airport, it was like she’d been with us her entire life, she just exudes happiness. She loved the car ride to our home in North Hampton. She wants to go everywhere we go, so we usually take her along. She recently went with us to help select a granite slab for our new bridge. We both work at home, so we are almost always together. Molly is always at my feet.”
Roberta reports, “Molly is one in a million, the smartest and best behaved dog either of us has ever had. We are now empty nesters, and Molly has brought so much fun back into our lives. We both drive Jeeps, and she sits on the console and tries to kiss Michael during our rides. Molly has opened more doors for us socially as we meet more dog lovers, and it seems everyone in New Hampshire has a rescue dog.” Roberta suspects Molly may be part Border Collie. An upcoming DNA test will reveal more clues about Molly’s background.
Living on 16 acres, mostly covered with lush woods, Molly has lots of space for hikes and adventures. Her favorite place to hang out is Michael’s organic garden. She guards the garden, ensuring that rodents, mice, and other pests keep out of the 64 raised beds. Molly never disturbs anything in the garden, though she did take out a couple heads of lettuce while chasing a toad. She traveled to Massachusetts and Maine. Her paws have touched the soothing but cold Atlantic Ocean on a trip to the nearby beach. Soon she will experience the crunch of fall leaves while she bounds through the woods, and later her thick double coat will protect her from East Coast winter snow storms.
Great things come to those who wait. With the joyful optimism of a dog, Molly instinctively senses her New Hampshire home is forever. Contact Loving All Animals at www.lovingallanimals.org to foster or adopt a special dog like Molly.
Jmcafee7@verizon.net
