One Forgotten Soul In Need Of One Imperfect Heart!

Inside the boarding facility, it’s quiet – late in the evening, as things are winding down from a busy day. While the owner cleans up, her daughter quietly steals away to take a few pictures of the dogs who are boarding there…one, in particular, whose name is “Savannah”.

As the young girl inches closer to Savannah’s “home” – a boarding cage of metal, with a nice bed and some toys – Savannah softly reaches her nose through the bars and gently licks the hand of the young lady who stopped to look at her, take her picture, and show a bit of loving kindness and attention to this heart who has almost stopped believing she’ll ever have a home and a heart to call her own.

You see, Savannah isn’t just any weekend or weekday-boarded dog at their facility. Savannah’s “different”. Savannah has been in boarding with them since 2010, when she was rescued by an Angels Among Us volunteer off a backstreet at a gas station in the downtown part of Atlanta that’s considered a “rough” neighborhood – a place where she had survived as a stray pup: abandoned, forgotten, hungry, alone, left to fend for herself while she roamed the deserted, dark areas - scared to death each day might bring about her last meal, or her last moment on earth – a fear that permeated the very depths of Savannah’s soul, leaving scars many of us hopefully will never feel, or live, in our lifetimes.

Those kind of days and nights leave deep wounds and scars on animals as well as humans. Savannah didn’t come in a nice, soft, fluffy“package”. No, her package contained lots of baggage: she was “rough around the edges” some said…she wasn’t afraid but came with a dominant, fight not flight nature…a sweet girl long-ago hardened by her traumatic past on the street. But she also came with other things: she showed everyone she was an extremely smart girl, “very bright and intelligent”, they said and the most important thing: she showed them her “heart” – she showed everyone she was desperate for “someone” to call her own.

Oh, there have been occasions where Savannah got to go to adoption events, and she is a very good girl with the volunteers who love and respect her limitations around kids, other dogs, and crowds. They know her past, and know how difficult it is for her. But she tries hard to be the best girl she can be, given the scars inside her and the dark memories of her past. You see, Savannah is totally fine around humans, but she isn’t “fine” with other dogs around her in open spaces where she might feel those old urges to “protect, defend” – those skillsets that helped her survive the other stray dogs who roamed the area where she had to fight to eat, to live, to survive. And she doesn’t do well with children, kids really under the age of 18 –because all the movements, energy and scampering about cause her to feel that her “territory” or “space”might be under attack. That nervousness causes precious Savannah to bark and to be unnerved.

She needs calm, space, and a chance to be that one and only dog.

She has made large strides in the years she’s been in boarding – but anyone who loves this girl must respect the difficult baggage that follows her. This special dog needs desperately a special heart who maybe has walked a similar path, and understands better than most of us the resulting scars, memories a life spent surviving can bring. You see, this girl has the heart of a lion and she doesn’t run scared.

Let me tell you some of the many wonderful things about Savannah: She is a brindle mix of Greyhound and Boxer mix. Contrary to some who would wish to label her such, there is NO Pit Bull in her – mixed, or otherwise. She loves to play ball – loves to fetch – loves to play outside in the yard but needs to have a gated privacy fence so she can feel secure while she’s outside –she loves to chase birds and the Greyhound side of her runs like the wind when she’s happy – she loves to hang out and bask in the sun – she walks nicely on-leash – most of all, she’s extremely intelligent and has a heart that begs to “belong”, to “love”, to be a companion and friend to her human forever!

At one time, Savannah had a chance to be in a foster home and was there for a short while, until people in the neighborhood “labeled” her as a danger and the family had to bring her back to boarding. Their hearts, and Savannah’s heart, were broken that day. You see, it wasn't anything Savannah DID, it was how humans who didn't take the time to get to know her judged her falsely and unfairly. Since then, no one comes to take her as a foster in their home, or to adopt this loving girl into their lives and homes.

One of the hardest blows for Savannah to take came recently with the death of another long-time boarding dog named “Chloe”. Chloe and Savannah loved each other and would play for hours, side by side in the exercise pens – taking turns rolling over, throwing sticks in the air, pawing lovingly at each other through the fencing. The boarding owners discovered a small tunnel they dug between the two pens that gave them the opportunity to lick each other’s faces. They were best buddies through the fencing for over a year. Now that Chloe has passed away, Savannah has been very depressed. Savannah now wears Chloe’s collar each day, and we’re sure she still can smell the presence of her only friend.

Some might ask: “Does Angels Rescue ever make her needs known to the public?” Absolutely! In fact, Savannah is featured almost weekly on the Angels’ Facebook page – yet, it seems she’s almost become “invisible”. No one calls about her, no one reaches out to foster her, and no one applies to adopt her.

Some might say: “She’s too risky to take on”, “she’s one of those types of dogs”, “well, if no one has come forward, she must be a liability”, “oh, I know Angels will find the PERFECT home for her someday”.

The truth is this: Savannah doesn’t need that elusive“perfect home”… what Savannah longs for more than anything in her life is just one “perfect heart” and one imperfect human who will love and accept her for WHO she IS, with no expectations for Savannah to be what she could have been long ago before her life of desperate survival on the streets changed her life forever. One heart – perfect or imperfect – who will understand and put Savannah’s needs above any human desires for a “perfect” pet.

Honestly, there is no such thing as a perfect pet, a perfect home, or a perfect human and Savannah’s not looking for that. She knows “perfection” doesn’t come packed inside her suitcase of “baggage”. What she prays for most of all is an “open, loving heart” and one human who will open their life and home wide enough to invite her to come inside – to rest at their feet and know she is loved and accepted – for a lifetime. Savannah deserves that. And that’s what we pray for as the best gift of a lifetime for this wounded, weary heart who just wants one human to feel her hurt and pain, and open their heart.

If you would like to know more about Savannah, or possibly consider fostering or adopting her, please send an email to "Inquiry@angelsrescue.org" and place her name, SAVANNAH, in the subject line. We cannot promise you perfection, but we can promise you a heart that will be grateful and full of love and loyalty for every moment there is breath in her beautiful body. We pray YOUR heart will be the ONE.

"Rescue ONE Until There Are NONE" - Earn Your Wings By Saving A Life.