* UPDATE!! November 2014 *
Rocket left Elfes World on the island of Koh Samui early last week, flying to Bangkok with travel companions Busy (still looking for a loving home), Babe, and another small friend, Lee Lee (being adopted in Europe). All four dogs enjoyed four-star accommodations with lovely Bangkok foster mom Christine Sudmann, while sweet Soot Liang Woo made travel arrangements and completed all their paperwork to fly to the USA.
Rocket, Babe, and Busy arrived at O’Hare Airport on Friday, November 14, where they were greeted by Dawn and Chuck. Rocket had a fun night at Dawn and Chuck’s house!
On Saturday, November 15, Rocket – now renamed Ellie by her forever people – went into an AMAZING home with the lovely Young family in the Milawukee area! They came to our Petsmart adoption event to claim her.
Mom reports that Ellie loves being cuddled and is enjoying all of her new toys. She is also a huge fan of belly rubs! Thank you to all who made this possible, from Elfe and her supporters for saving this dear girl from the streets of Koh Samui; to international supporters of Elfes World and ISDF for donating towards her flight fund; to the Young family for welcoming dear Ellie into their hearts and home with open arms.
* * * * *
My name is Rocket.
But maybe you should just call me “Hot Potato.”
You know….Hot Potato? That kid’s game? The one where they sit in a circle and pass a potato round and round at high speed, pretending it’s too hot to handle? I’ve hardly been on this planet half a year – I’m just 7 months old – but I know how that potato feels. I’ve been passed around since I was barely born. I’m such a happy-go-lucky pooch that this hasn’t bothered me as much as you might think it would. But even the most good-natured of gals would find this routine a little tiresome…and I’m no different.
After landing on so many different doorsteps, I am finally ready to find a place that I can call home for good.
I was born on a Thai island called Koh Samui. I know what you’re thinking. The images splashed across the tourist brochures are LOVELY…and rightly so. Our island is a haven for visitors, a paradise of white sand beaches and palm trees and resorts with infinity pools overlooking the ocean.
And in part because of kind-hearted tourists and foreigners, more of us survive than usual. We have learned to beg from strangers and to accept their affection, and in return we often receive a few chips or a bit of leftover dinner. Even the most unsocialized among us survive on the surplus of food waste to be scavenged.
But as with all popular tourist destinations, there are two sides to every story. The flip side of this constant influx of visiting or temporarily-residential farang (foreigners) is what is left behind in their wake.
Of course, almost without exception, the intentions of the farang are good. But sometimes one of us is favored with food for a split second in passing, only to have a pack of dogs turn on us moments later for the tidbits we managed to procure. And sadly, a handful of us even become living waste, only to be discarded when we become inconvenient, when wayfarers move on to the next destination, or when money dries up and they return home to parts westward. That is how my story begins.
Life on the streets for me among many roaming soi (street) dog packs posed a constant threat to the livelihood of myself, my litter, and my mum. One day, when I was just six weeks old and hardly big enough to be away from my mother, a farang took pity on me and brought me home. He meant well and he probably saved my life, but in his own way, this careless act also brought me great sorrow. For I am Dog, and above and beyond that, I am a soi dog, raised in chaos, dodging cars and predators (human and animal) that inflict great damage, often seemingly on a whim. I can be your best friend, as I am so grateful for the little things in life that I will attach powerfully to you if only you show me the smallest kindness. But my little heart is also easily broken if you tire of me or decide to move on, for then I am left behind and even more powerless than I once was, as I must start anew on the streets, older and more vulnerable to aggressive attention from those who have called them home from day one.
So it was for me. My farang was not much of a dog person, and my adorable puppy antics quickly gave way to more excitable juvenile play, which he found tiresome. But all I really wanted was a little attention, a game or two of ball, and a kind word or a pat now and again. I guess it was too much to ask for, because he began turning me out.
When I would find the door closed against me, as I so often did, I would spend my days roaming around the apartment complex he lived at, seeking safety and shelter with other residents. Luckily, I am adorable, very affectionate, and a petite 11 kg (22 lbs), with a happy, sweet face that few could turn away from. If a street dog pack came too close, I knew where to go and which doors would open if I barked or desperately scratched at them for emergency assistance. I made friends not just with the other resident humans but with their pet dogs, those lucky souls whose humans actually cared for them, and who got regular meals, and who – not sure if this is a fable or what?? – claimed to even get to sleep in their human’s beds at night and doze on their human’s furniture by day. I am too big-hearted to be envious, but it was a little hard to imagine all they had, compared to what I got – that is, when I was actually allowed into my so-called home.
I was 5 months old when I returned “home” one fateful evening at the usual time – the time of day when I could generally count on my human being around to let me in, drop me a meal of sorts, and offer me safe shelter for the night, the time of day when the streets are most dangerous. But there was no answer to my barks or my scratches. I scratched harder and the door creaked open. The apartment smelled strange and echoed back my barks. I walked in further and was greeted with closets emptied and hanging open. None of my human’s bedding or furniture in sight. Cupboards hanging open in the kitchen with no tins or boxes.
What had happened? Where had he gone?
I suppose you will ask why I even cared…but I am a terribly affectionate girl, and even his somewhat-reliable presence every day was enough to make me feel like we were our own little pack. Luckily, I had not given away my whole heart, as it might not have survived such an abandonment.
Now came the true “hot potato” stage of my life. I began hopping from one apartment to the next. The neighbors were all kind-hearted and felt terribly for my plight, but many already had dogs of their own. Most were farang, like my human had been, and responsibly did not want to take me in temporarily, only to break my heart again when they left. Luckily, they knew what to do. While I bounced, “too hot to handle”, from place to place over the next few weeks, they offered me safety when needed and a place to lay my head at night. Meanwhile, they were talking amongst themselves to hatch a plan for me, knowing that I needed some solid ground to place my paws upon, lest I end up on the streets for good.
This is how I met the people who would change my life: Tina McCready and Elfe. One of the neighbors knew kind-hearted Tina, and knew of Elfe’s World from Facebook, a dog sanctuary on the Koh Samui. They called Tina, asking her to come meet me. It was love at first sight for us both when our eyes met. Tina was so touched by my condition. She saw I had been eating any scraps I could scavenge, and was heartbroken at how thin I was. I was also covered in ticks, and they were making my young life a misery. But despite these hardships, I ran to Tina, tail wagging, to meet her and cuddle.
I have a heart of gold, and only desire the company of kind humans. I also love playing with other dogs. I am on the submissive side and haven’t met a friendly dog yet that I wouldn’t play with. The neighbors also reported that I can be left alone, without chewing or destroying things – rare in a puppy my age. I am generally quiet, although I sometimes give a bark of happiness when I see people I love. Tina and Elfe knew I deserved a chance at a better life. Tina reached out to Elfe to ask if there was room for me at the sanctuary. Elfe has over 600 dogs to care for already, but when she heard my story, she agreed to take me in.
So I was passed along from one place to another, once again – this time to Elfe’s dog and cat sanctuary, where I have been living for two months among many friends, both dogs…
…and humans!
And Tina also became my monthly sponsor. For just 20 Euros a month – less than $1 a day – some of us are sponsored by kind humans around the world who help Elfe do her yeoman’s job by providing us with food, monthly flea and tick preventative, and medical care. We love it at Elfe’s World and enjoy our island paradise! But for a small percentage of us, our dreams rise even higher…for a handful of us are chosen every year by loving families around the world who open their hearts to us and ask us to join their homes.
I am living that dream.
I am flying to Chicago, USA on Friday where my new life will begin. And my guardian angels continue to stand by me – and now they are magically multiplying. Kind Tina, bless her to the moon and back, is paying for me to fly to the USA. I am grateful beyond words! Dear Elfe, who I love so very much, is kissing a tearful but elated goodbye to me this very morning as she sends me on my way to Bangkok. Wonderful Christine Sudmann is fostering me there for a few days while animal angel Soot Liang Woo prepares my final paperwork. Then Soot will take me to the airport and put me on the plane to Chicago.
So many kind people passing this potato along to her final destination! I am so very thankful to all of them. But I have never wanted anything as badly as I now want this – to be a “cool potato”. Never to be passed again! Are you the one waiting at the end of this chain of helping hands, ready to pull me into your arms and hold me there forever? I sure hope so. Thank you for reading my story.
Love, Rocket
Please contact Dawn at 414-426-4148 or trimmel@usa.net if interested in adopting.
