Stella’s story resembles the ever-popular fairy-tale Cinderella; hence, she is now known as Ella. In her previous life, Ella was made to work. She was overbred, producing litter after litter, to line the pockets of her greedy owner. She was unkempt, full of fleas, severely underweight by more than 20 pounds, and she had muscle atrophy in her hind legs that at times weakened her so severely she was unable to hold herself up. Her knight in shining armor arrived, Law Enforcement with Ruckersville Animal Welfare in Virginia. Ella was confiscated and taken to the Greene County Animal Shelter. The owner was required to surrender Ella or face stricter animal abuse charges. From here, T Anna Swanson, the ACO of Greene County contacted Almost Home Foster & Rescue and asked if we could help. We could and we did.
Ella spent two weeks in the foster care of Jennifer Matias Dufner. Ella was thriving, putting on weight and gaining some muscle mass. She loved the attention and had a family at her beck and call. She had found her first pair of glass slippers.
Ella was then transported to AHFK in Minnesota where she spent two weeks, gaining additional weight and living life as it should be. Michelle Zdybicki Coordinated the transport. A team of dedicated, volunteer drivers ensured Ella’s safety to Minnesota. Another group, also under the Transport Coordination of Michelle, logged additional miles to the Pacific Coast, taking Ella to her furever home and family in Oregon. This brave furbaby literally traveled from one coast to the other to find the perfect home and family.
Jill, all too familiar with the bull-breed, had seen AHFK’s posting of Stella. Emails and phone calls were exchanged. Jill was trying to arrange transport but hit roadblocks at every turn. I assured her that we could get Stella to her… And we did. 43 drivers, 4 Overnight Hosts, 4 Weeks in Foster, 13 states and 3100 miles.
Thank you, Jill, for giving Ella the life, the home, and the family that she deserves. Thank you, Michelle, for once again coming to my aid. To all the drivers and overnight hosts, my deepest gratitude. Jennifer Matias Dufner, for once again saying “yes” to fostering and to T Anna…Heart hugs in saving another!
Ella is thriving. We recently passed our 1 month anniversary on November 15th. She snuggles with me on the couch, and on the bed. She is a festival of sounds: snoring, snorking, snorting, and grunting. All her adorable sounds have earned her the nickname of Snarfles. Ella loves belly rubs and has gained all her weight back. After such a long journey across the states in order to be my forever dog, she now pulls away if I try to lead to her to my truck to go for a ride. She’ll need time to realize she’s always coming back home with me. No more hand-offs, no more homes. When she learns this, I think she’ll love going on errands with me. I’m so blessed to have her. My last American Bully passed away at the age of 14 in Aug. I was heart broken. I went on petfinder and found another pocket AB in southern CA but could not work out transportation to get her. Then I found Stella, now Ella, but she was way far away in VA, and I’m in Oregon, on the coast. All I can say is, it was meant to be. Diane and Michelle and all the volunteer drivers made it possible. Special thanks to all involved and to her foster home and the officers who removed her from a horrific life. So many individual people changed Ella’s life for the better. It really took a village of heroes to make this fairy tale reality.