It didn’t look good for Dee Dee. I’ll admit, when I went to retrieve her from her kennel at the BARC animal shelter, I was not impressed. It didn’t help that she shared the name of someone’s evil step-mother I know. Yes, Dee Dee and I started off on the wrong foot. No fault of her own, of course.

But it got worse. She was an owner surrender and was scared and confused being in a cage by herself, surrounded by chaos and barking dogs. I opened the kennel door but she didn’t budge. She wasn’t going to move. I knew this was a bad sign.

I helped her up and we walked outside together. She didn’t know what to expect. Neither did I. I turned her loose in a large dog run so the BARC Photographers could take Dee Dee’s picture and market the hell out of her on the BARC website and social media. Pretty much the only way to get good, used dogs noticed.

And just a word about the extremely talented group of BARC photography volunteers: FREAKIN’ AMAZING! I know it’s two words, but I was never good in math. Or spelling. These folks get ‘er done and kick butt during the week and weekends, fighting the elements to get just the right pose so that dog can be seen by others for the beauty he or she is. And in this case, you get way more than you pay for. But I digress…

Poor Dee Dee! When I took her leash off she wanted absolutely nothing to do with people. She had a very interesting coat and was a great size, but completely anti-social. I walked toward Dee Dee but she walked in the opposite direction. She kept her distance. I looked at a fellow photographer and said, “She doesn’t have a prayer of getting adopted.” She silently nodded her head in agreement. It’s hard enough getting an older dog adopted, but if they won’t interact with people, it’s damn near impossible.

Then, a funny thing happened. Within three minutes, Dee Dee walked up to us and started kissing everyone. Her tail wagged so fast I thought she might fly away like a helicopter. Three minutes is all it took. And to quote Donald Trump, “Believe me,” we loved her just as much as she loved us.

She became our mission. We knew she would be passed over because she would be initially shy. We made sure rescue groups took notice of her. Thankfully, Rescued Pets Movement, who has saved over 15,000 animals from BARC, tagged her and pulled her from the shelter. And wouldn’t you know it, the amazing Wisconsin organization, Hoping Fur A Home, drove down and scooped up Dee Dee along with 50 other dogs. These folks are heroes.

Dee Dee now lives in Wisconsin with her new humans. And oh, how they love her. Sometimes you really can’t judge a book by its cover. Dee Dee’s dilemma turned into Dee Dee’s delight.

Now I’m going to go smoke a cigar in Dee Dee’s honor. Have a great life sweetie pie!