ANGELICA & RINGO...A RESCUE STORY!

Angelica & RingoA Rescue Story!

TODAY’S HER LUCKY DAY...SHE GETS TO GET OUT OF HERE TODAY, HUH?” SAYS STEPHANIE “SWISS” BELLER AS SHE BATHES ANGELICA WHO IS 5 YEARS OLD. SHE IS ALSO WHAT IS KNOWN AS A LETHAL WHITE AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD...A BREED BORN WITH A GENETIC DEFECT WHICH ROBS THE DOG OF SIGHT AND SOUND!

“SHE’S DEAF AND MOSTLY BLIND,” SAYS SWISS. “SHE CAN STILL SEE BUT NOT VERY MUCH...” A FEW YEARS AGO, THERE WASN’T MUCH FUTURE FOR A DOG LIKE ANGELICA. BUT NOW, THANKS TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF UTAH’S ANIMAL RESCUE PROGRAM...THERE ARE BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL GIRL... “UTAH DEFINITELY HAS A TIGHT RESCUE COMMUNIT Y & WE WORK ALOT WITH OTHER SURROUNDING STATES,” SAYS JESSICA ALMEIDA OF THE HUMANE SOCIETY. JESSICA AND SWISS LEAD THE HSU’S ANIMAL RESCUE TEAM THAT JUMPS ON THE TELEPHONE AND NETWORKS WITH RESCUE GROUPS IN AND AROUND UTAH TO SAVE DOGS LIKE ANGELICA.

ACCORDING TO JESSICA, “WE’RE REALLY LUCKY TO HAVE A LOT OF ORGANIZATIONS TO WORK WITH AND TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY AT THE SHELTER WHERE WE’VE DEVELOPED SO MANY RELATIONSHIPS WITH SO MANY DIFFERENT RESCUE GROUPS SO WHEN DOGS LIKE THIS COME IN WE KNOW EXACTLY WHO WE NEED TO TRY...”

IN THIS CASE...JESSICA FOUND A RESCUE GROUP IN DENVER FAMILIAR WITH THE LETHAL WHITES, THEIR SPECIAL NEEDS & THE TYPE OF HOME THEY SHOULD GO TO. NOW, SHE JUST HAS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ANGELICA TO COLORADO! “...EVERYONE JUST KIND OF WORKS TOGETHER FOR THE DOGS,” SAYS JESSICA. “YESTERDAY WE JUST KIND OF SCRAMBLED AND IT WASN’T TILL 9 O’CLOCK LAST NIGHT WE HAD ALL OF OUR DUCKS IN A ROW AND EVERYTHING LINED UP.”

JESSICA’S FOUND A WOMAN IN MOAB WHO CAN DRIVE ANGELICA AND RINGO, A TINY AUSTRALIAN SHEPHERD...ALL THE WAY TO DENVER. BUT FIRST THEY HAVE TO GET FROM SALT LAKE TO MOAB. AND THAT’S WHERE PAUL ZACCARDI COMES IN.

ZACCARDI CLAIMS “I’VE BEEN ALL OVER THE STATE RESCUING DOGS ON THE EUTHANIZE LIST. WE’LL GET ‘EM SOMEWHERE THAT’S SAFE.” PAUL IS A VOLUNTEER WHO’S AGREED TO DONATE HIS CAR AND HIS TIME...TO TRANSPORT THESE DOGS TO MOAB. “THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW I’M GETTING A CALL FROM A COMPLETE STRANGER SAYING I’M 100% ABLE & WILLING TO HELP,” SAYS ALMEIDA. “SO THINGS LIKE THAT NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME...”

ACCORDING TO ZACCARDI, “WE’D RATHER THE DOG BE TRANSPORTED THAN PUT TO SLEEP, SO...THAT’S MY HEART...THAT’S WHAT I LIKE TO DO...”

WITH PAUL, JESSICA, SWISS, A WOMAN IN MOAB AND A RESCUE GROUP IN DENVER ALL WORKING IN HARMONY...ANGELICA AND RINGO ARE ON THEIR WAY TO A NEW LIFE.

“IT’S THE RESCUE GROUPS THAT ARE SENDING & RECEIVING THAT, AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, DO THE BULK OF THE WORK,” SAYS ZACCARDI. “THERE’S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF SATISFACTION FROM KNOWING SOME OF GODS CREATIONS ARE NOT GOING TO BE EUTHANIZED BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO ASSIST IN SOME WAY.”

THANKS TO INTER-STATE TRANSPORTS BETWEEN RESCUE GROUPS...HOPEFULLY MORE DOGS LIKE ANGELICA AND RINGO...WILL HAVE THEIR DAY...