A Very Special “Angel” Story!

~ Stories that Touch Your Heart & Soul ~

This is the story of a very special, tiny bundle of pure sweetness named “Honey Bear”.   At the end of June, 2013, a very small dog arrived with an irritated owner at a local shelter.  This poor, almost hairless, frightened and shaking tiny bundle was carelessly dismissed by being dumped into the hands of a shelter worker, accompanied by a terse, aggravated comment from the owner that “she couldn’t deal with these flea allergies anymore,” and didn’t bat an eyelash when the worker quickly informed her that owner-surrenders get euthanized first, with no “hold” time as is given to strays brought in.  Nothing mattered to this woman who quickly turned her back and without a backwards glance at the tiny, shaking bundle, walked away.

Looking at the little creature, you couldn’t miss the fact this little dog had many issues, along with missing most of her hair.  In fact, she was in such poor shape, it was hard to tell what breed she was!  It was also very clear that little Honey Bear’s “issues” had never been dealt with at all – not only was she eaten up with fleas, she also was infested with the vermin and other medical issues.  Wide swaths of hair were just “gone”, leaving exposed, damaged skin covered in flea dander.  Her nails were painfully long, curled, and looked as though they had never been trimmed.

It was finally decided she was a Pomeranian, and weighed in at a mere 4 pounds!  She lay quiet and terrified within the shelter worker’s hands, almost as if she knew what her fate would be.  A true picture of what being neglected and unloved looks like almost every day in the world of animal rescue.

As they pondered her fate, a blessing walked through the shelter door in the form of an “angel” – a rescue volunteer from Angels Among Us took one look at this sad little ball of scared and scared flesh and said, “we’ll take her and help her become good as new!”  Fate had smiled down from the heavens upon this poor girl and her entire life was about to make a huge turn for the better!  As Angels sent out a plea to their supporters and followers asking for help with this precious little girl, another wonderful “angel” named Stephanie Kelly stepped up and said, “I’ll foster her!”, then promptly gave this little hairless muffin her Angels name: HONEY BEAR!  So, now this girl had a NAME, was going to have a FOSTER, and a HOME to recover from the trauma, rest and to get better, physically!  What a blessing!

When Stephanie came to see little Honey Bear that 1st day, it was immediately apparent and shocking just how bad a shape she was in!  The vet tech brought her out to Stephanie in a towel.  Leaving foster mom and foster baby alone in the room to get acquainted, Stephanie’s first thoughts as she gazed down on the little fragile, hurting, abused body of a 4-lb. girl was, “Am I really up to this?”  If you’ve ever taken care of an abused animal, you can relate to what Stephanie was feeling in those first few moments!

But she had made the commitment and she wasn’t about to let little Honey Bear down now!  Honey needed her, and she decided she needed Honey – they made a pact that day to see it through together!

Stephanie’s dog, Piper (also a Pom) waited anxiously at home for her new foster sister to arrive but when she did, poor Piper was disappointed to hear Mom say she had to stay in “isolation”.  That turned out to be just fine with Honey Bear, though, because in those 1st few days in her foster home, coming out of her little cave of protection known as her “crate” was an ordeal for this frightened, scared girl!  Stephanie had to literally pull her out to go on potty breaks.  And when she came back inside, Honey immediately scooted back into her little protective world – hoping nothing bad was going to happen!

In the days that followed, little Honey began to get somewhat accustomed to what would become routine – 3 medicated baths per week!  When wet and medicated in the sink, poor little Honey Bear looked about as pitiful as any little hairless dog could ever look!  But it only made foster mom’s heart love her even more!  Slowly, Honey Bear started to make some progress.  And there finally came a day when Stephanie went in to open her crate, and out popped/bounced little Honey Bear, ready to greet the day!  Foster mom was shocked, to say the least!  Then came the day when Honey Bear decided she didn’t want to run back into her crate and chose, instead, to gently place her little hairless paws on Stephanie’s leg and shyly asked to be picked up!  Shortly after that, “snuggles” with Honey Bear became part of their daily routine!  It became clear that Honey was feeling finally secure enough to actually lie on her back, like a little baby, and peacefully go to sleep alongside of her foster mom.

Soon, little tufts of “peach fuzz” began to sprout where only scarred, dirty skin had once been!  And then the vet told foster mom that Honey Bear could cut down her medicated baths to just 1 a week!  Honey liked hearing that and mom liked it because she knew her foster girl was making real progress!  While she still wasn’t interested in leaving mom’s lap as her snuggle cave, sweet Honey Bear decided it was a cool thing to go for walks with mom and Piper, and have fun barking at strangers along the way!

Things were going along really well, until one evening when Stephanie noticed Honey kept yipping to go outside to potty, and once outside, she would squat here and there, but not doing anything much.  By the next morning, when time to go outside and potty, it became quickly obvious little Honey Bear wasn’t able to tinkle a drop.  Foster mom knew that signaled a real problem! 

After consultation with the Angels vetting team and an appointment made at the vets, Stephanie wrapped little Honey up and swiftly got her to the vet’s office.  Knowing her little bladder was full, the doctors did an ultrasound on Honey and what they found was NOT good:  Honey had large stones in her bladder and it was at the point of rupturing!  Realizing she needed special care, they rushed her to an animal surgery hospital, knowing every moment was of the deepest urgency.  Once again, little Honey Bear found herself in a bad situation where time was NOT on her side!

Stephanie’s alertness to Honey’s problems had helped buy her little bundle of joy some time, but things were still very critical with little Honey Bear!  Stephanie was a wreck, thinking about her poor foster, the horrible life she had to deal with before coming to Angels, how she had been so brave and worked so hard to get her hair and her health back – knowing this poor baby had lived through neglect, trauma, living outside and being eaten on by pests, unloved and unwanted, so appreciative for any little crumb of love and affection.  And now….here she was….once again, fighting to live, to survive, to be loved!  It didn’t feel or seem fair for such a tiny, miniscule bundle to have to fight so hard to live and just be to loved!

“Honey Bear deserves those years back,” Stephanie’s heart echoed deep within her.  So, she prayed.  She asked her Angel friends, and all her friends, to join with her in prayer for Honey Bear.  She had been told to prepare for the WORST, but Stephanie’s heart could only believe in and ask for the BEST!  Angels’ volunteers and followers began to reach out in prayers, good thoughts, and best wishes for little Honey. 

And then they waited…..prayed some more, wept a bit…..and waited.

The combination of prayers, thoughts, wishes, and a strong belief that Honey’s life wasn’t over, along with Honey’s fierce will to live and continue to be a survivor, finally brought GOOD NEWS!  She beat all the odds, came through her surgeries with all the large stones removed and her bladder not rupturing!  Even the vets and surgeons were amazed at her fierce will to live, knowing how close to death she had really come!  She was, once again, a living, breathing MIRACLE girl!

When time to come home, Stephanie tearfully scooped little Honey Bear into her arms and snuggled her close to her chest.  While Honey Bear snuggled in, making herself even smaller against her foster mom, Stephanie said a prayer of thanksgiving and promised that tiny bundle next to her heart they would get to do lots of snuggling in the coming days, and that she would help her find her “forever home and family.”

Although we are all so happy over little Honey Bear’s miraculous survival and how far she has come with her physical and emotional issues, please know those miracles do NOT come cheap!  When it comes to paying for these kinds of miracles through surgery and treatments, Angels Among Us Pet Rescue relies totally on our supporters and Angels family to help us meet our financial obligations.  If you would like to make a donation in the name of “Honey Bear”, please go to www.angelsrescue.org/donate.  We appreciate your help and support to make help make these medical miracles happen every day!

Precious little Honey Bear is making strides each day in her recovery, and is now actively looking for her forever home and family who will love her, take care of her, and treasure her the way her wonderful foster mom truly does!  Foster Mom Stephanie Kelly is determined her little bundle of love and joy will have a family who will treat her like the little “lap-dog princess” she was truly born to be!  If you are interested in meeting or possibly adopting precious Honey Bear, please send an email to Angels at info@angelsrescue.org.

We ask that, in Honey Bear’s name and all the nameless animals dumped into animal shelters all over Georgia, to open your hearts.  Join the fight against animal neglect, abuse, cruelty, puppy mills, kill shelters, over-breeding and worst of all, dog fighting – whether animals trained to kill or the countless other puppies and dogs used as bait in this cruel, inhuman “blood sport”.  Adopt – don’t Shop!

Everyone can do something:  CARE, SHARE, DONATE, VOLUNTEER, FOSTER, LOVE, ADOPT!!  Little Honey Bear and every rescued soul says, “Thank You!”

Earn Your Wings By Saving A Life! ~ Rescue ONE Until There Are None!  www.angelsrescue.org