Annie’s Story

Annie, my sweetheart.  We still can’t believe that you left us so quickly.  One day you were just fine and the next day you lost your ability to walk.  We tried so hard to save you but the vet felt you should be in the hospital where you could receive your medication by injection since you also suddenly refused to eat.  We are also going to ask the question about why you suddenly became paralyzed.  You were always the “perfect” dog since the day you came to live with us.  And all of a sudden you were so confused and upset that you couldn’t walk or go outside.  You would look at me with those beautiful brown eyes and beg me to help you.  After a couple of days, when we would go to visit you in the hospital, we realized that you just weren’t in there anymore.  The loving looks you used to give us were now just empty stares into nowhere.  Your beautiful body was now just an empty shell.  We knew we had to say goodbye and transfer all of your pain to us as we let you go.

Annie, it rained all day the day you began your journey to the Bridge.  You were always so scared of the rain and would always hide in the closet whenever the rains came.  There is no rain or thunder at the Bridge so I know you will find happiness there.  I also know that all of your pack mates who left before you were there to greet you. What a reunion that must have been.

Have fun but always remember that we are always thinking about you.  You will be in our hearts forever.

Annie’s original story continues below

While on his way home from town during a thunderstorm, John noticed a small dog running around in the middle of the street.  The dog seemed to be very disoriented and scared.  John stopped the van at the side of the road and called to the dog, which immediately ran to him and jumped in the van.  He brought her home and she was greeted and accepted by the rest of the pack immediately.

I phoned the newspaper that night and asked them to run a “Found” ad in the local newspaper.  The ad started the next day.  I also contacted the two animal shelters and the County pound to report that we had found a dog, gave them a description, and asked them to put the information on their “Found List” in case anyone went in searching for their lost pet.  The dog was obviously well taken care of and we thought she may have run out during the storm.

Five days later we were still waiting for her owner to claim her.  Since we didn’t hear anything, we returned to the area where John first picked her up.  On one of the side streets we discovered this poster nailed to a telephone pole.

We now had her name and phone number.    So later that night we took her home.  Her name was Reece and she was almost 4 years old.  She is a mixture of Boston Terrier, French Bulldog, and Beagle.  Her owners were waiting outside for her return.  We let her out of the van and she ran to greet them.  Then she turned around and ran back to the van and jumped in.  Just a quick HELLO and a quicker GOODBYE.  So we pulled her out and handed her back to her owner, and then we left.  They put her down and she started running after the van as we drove down the street.  Again we stopped, opened the door, and again she jumped in.  So back to her home we went!

I told John that since he found Reece on his birthday, surely she would be his birthday present.  He replied that it wasn’t in the cards this time………….or was it?  

A couple of weeks later I had a dream that Reece’s owners contacted us and wanted to give her to us.  I told John about my dream and he just laughed and said my brain was working overtime again.  But, just two weeks after that, my dream came true.  Reece’s owner did contact us and told us that she thought maybe Reece was missing all the other dogs as she seemed so depressed since returning home.  Personally, I think if this was true, Reece was missing John since she had bonded so closely with him.  The lady said her teenage daughter wasn’t home very much and soon she would be leaving to go to college.  The lady herself worked all day long, leaving Reece home alone every day.  She asked if we would consider adopting Reece so she could have a better life.  I asked John, and of course, he said YES.

So we picked Reece up the following day.  We got to her house and they were walking her out in the front yard.  They released her and she ran to the van, jumped in, and sat on the driver’s seat.  It was as if she never left.  She had already memorized where things were, like the water bowl and the doggie doors to go outside if she wanted to.  So Reece was home! The name REECE just didn’t seem to fit.  John renamed her ANNIE and she seems to like that.  And she is still John’s Velcro dog.

Here are just a few photographs of our Annie.  More photos will be included on all the future update pages to this site so please visit us often.  

The links to the Picture Pages below will take you to pages on my old website. It may ask you if you want to download the music from the original site. You may cancel this request and go directly to the Picture Page. Feel free to browse all these original pages but then please use the back button or close the tab on your browser to return to the new website.  Thank You!

Click Below For Max’s Story