JULIET'S STORY
AnimalHouseCo.com
 We first met Juliet in the summer of 2001. Her name was Tasha then and she was homeless ... destined to be euthanized at Pennnsylvania's Lancaster County Humane League where she had been surrendered by her family. It's a familiar story to those in the rescue arena .... the family did not have enough time for her. Their lives had become too hectic - too busy for a pet - so they had discarded her. The odds that Juliet was to find a new forever home were pretty bleak. You see, Juliet was a Doberman ... a Doberman with a handicap - she had only one eye. The previous family had stated that she lost her eye in a traffic accident, which we had always interpreted to mean that she had been hit by a car. My love for Dobermans had brought me to Juliet. After coming across her picture and reading the story on petfinder.com, I had to see if I could help. Doberman's, by their nature, do not "show" well in a shelter situation. Add stress and the fact that she had only one eye, I knew her chances were extremely slim of ever finding a new family. At the time, Tina - my niece, friend, and business partner - and I owned and operated a dog rescue. After communicating with a representative of the Humane League, it was arranged for Juliet to be turned over to The House That Animals Built in the hope that we would be able to find her a new home. It took us about an hour to make the drive from Mechanicsburg to the Lancaster County Humane League. Our shelter contact, Jessica, met us upon our arrival and we were immediately taken to the kennel area to see Juliet. At our initial meeting, she viciously lunged, barking and snarling at us from inside her run. This poor little girl was never going to get adopted given the situation. Very few people would understand that she was doing what she had been bred to do. We asked to meet with Juliet in a private room, out of her familiar, albeit temporary, environment. Juliet, once in the private room, was a composed and proud Doberman, who introduced herself in a dignified, mature manner with just a touch of excitement. She had a regal, serene demeanor that one could feel. After the introduction, she promptly turned and sat on my feet in typical Dobie fashion. That's it ... that's all it took. Juliet left with us that day in search of her new forever home.
As time went on, Juliet was discovered to be a head strong, proud young lady who loved people beyond anything I have ever seen, only tolerated other dogs, and absolutely hated cats. We had Juliet's eye cosmetically repaired and we worked on her training. Her lack of socializing skills and her phobias needed to be addressed. We educated ourselves on canine vision and what this would mean to Jules, having only one eye. We worked with her so that she would become more comfortable in her monocular world. Juliet, in the first year of her life with us, had gone out to two new homes only to be returned to us both times. The first time we discovered that she needed a family with a firm grasp of discipline and knowledge of the breed as it applied to adopting an adult dog. It was also decided that she would have to go to a family with older or no children since Juliet had a tendency to dominate them. The second family thought they could make it work even though a cat also lived in the home. The challenge proved too much. For the next three years, Juliet lived with us, however, we knew our home was not the best for her. We had several dogs of our own and Juliet merely tolerated them. Her ideal environment would be a one or two person home, with no young children, perhaps one other dog, and definitely no cats. The search for Juliet's new forever home was always on our minds but if she ended her life out with our family, that was ok too. She was an absolute delight and her love of people made her special with all who knew her. So life went on .... Jules came to work with me whenever she could. Tina and I also own a dog services business and this provided an ideal environment to broaden Juliet's skills. She was introduced to customers in the hope that one day she would touch someone's heart in the way in which she had touched ours. She deserved no less. But, as we discovered life has its own way of working things out. We always said that Juliet knew who her new family was and she was patiently waiting for them to come for her. So for the time being, we were the stopover on her journey in finding that new family ... and that was ok with us. Juliet had one habit which we were unable to break ... she ate absolutely EVERYTHING in sight ... clothing, washcloths, cigarette butts, food left on the counter - not chew but eat! I recall once she actually got into a pot on the stove and removed a piece of chicken that was going to be used for soup. Many times we thought a trip to the vet was in order but eventually she would regurgitate the article and be no worst for wear. Her luck ran out only once. She had eaten a leather belt. Juliet had emergency surgery performed to remove the article from her stomach and intestines. She survived only to continue in her quest to devour anything left in her path. Our house was so dog proof, we were down-right neurotic about the subject. Every night, Juliet would take her position as alpha on the couch and we would all watch television to wind down our day. At bedtime, Juliet had a 'special' blankie that she would wad-up between her front paws and suckle. This ritual was performed every day that she lived with us. For the time, Juliet was content and we were content.
Annie came to work with us at the Animal House in the fall of 2003. She started as a groomer apprentice and quickly mastered the skill ... becoming a groomer in no time. While working at the Animal House, Annie had developed a bond with Juliet, as was normal with Jules' special affection for people. In the summer of 2004, Annie had to leave the Animal House because she and Jeff, were to move to West Virginia. They asked if Juliet could make the move with them. It was a hard decision for us. Juliet had become one of ours ... but we also reasoned that we always knew our home was not the best. Annie & Jeff had one other dog, a passive, male German Shepard named Gryphon, no children, and they would live in the country where Juliet had lots of room to run. Annie loved and respected Jules and the feelings were returned. So we allowed Juliet to move to West Virginia. As life has a way of working out, this was the family that Juliet had been waiting for. She quickly won Jeffery's heart and they became inseparable. He spent hours teaching her tricks and working on her discipline. Much to Annie's disapproval, Jeff attempted to spoil Juliet. We saw the family often and would baby-sit Jules when vacation time came. Jeff would pack Juliet's favorite blankie and pillow along with a family picture so that she would be able to see them whenever she wanted. We received many pictures of the family ... some even with costumes adorning both Juliet and Gryphon. Juliet truly had found her new forever home and she was very happy. She had a family to love and a doofus of a brother who would never challenge her. What more could she ask for? One day, a little over a year after Juliet had entered their lives, Annie came into the lobby of our store in a state of distress. It took some time for her to draw enough strength to give us the sad news ... Juliet had died the night before. She had tragically been hit by a vehicle on a road near their home in West Virginia. A house door had inadvertently been left ajar and Juliet had wondered away. Jeffery found her a short time later, still breathing, waiting for him before she died. Although Juliet's life was tragically shortened, she had finally found the family she had always longed for .... and, she could not have been more loved. Who's to say why things happen. Who's to say what the Lord's plans are. I just know that I am not going to allow Juliet to leave us unnoticed. For as long as I live, I will spread her story so that others may take from it what they need. Everyone who knew her, loved her .... her love for people, her love for life, and her courage to survive. She never gave up hope that one day her forever family would find her. And find her they did, only to have to let her go again.
No one's death comes to pass without making some impression, and those close to the deceased inherit part of the liberated soul and become richer in their humaneness. ~Hermann Broch
This was written so that your strength, determination, and love lives on forever.
For all who knew you ... from all who knew you ... with love. Written by Sharon A Eckenrode Janes, Mommy for a time |
Feedback | Newsletter | Services