Contributed by her New Mom
and a CP Volunteer
Roxanne aka Roxi joins sister Rye, also a CP girl, on her new favorite perch
“Roxie
is going to be a project. She has not
gotten this way overnight and will not change overnight, but there is a loving
little girl just dying to come out and I going to find her!” says her New Mom.
Roxanne
started her life crammed into a small house with 100 other dogs, her
hoarder/owner so overwhelmed that this poor little girl never even had a name
before being rescued, along with the thirteen other Cairns in the group, by Col. Potter Cairn
Rescue Network (CPCRN) on Valentine’s Day, 2011… CP’s Famous Lovers.
With no loving Mom or Dad to care for her and guide her, Roxanne
spent the first two or so years of her life relying on her own instincts to
survive.
One
of her former housemates, Aphrodite, nka Tess, was known to be pregnant at the
time of rescue, giving birth to six healthy puppies three days after arriving
at her CPCRN Foster Home. The big
surprise came when Roxanne was taken in for her spay and the vet announced that
she too was pregnant, and was within two weeks of delivering her own
litter! Roxanne gave birth to three
healthy boys soon thereafter, and her Foster Mom in Kansas saw her through the whelping and
helped her raise her little boys, until they left for their Forever homes. After she had recovered from the pregnancy
and the subsequent spay, Roxanne moved on to a new Foster Home in Indiana, determined to
further her education in the ways of Freedom.
There she stayed, gaining confidence and social skills until December
28, 2012, when she left for her Forever Home in New York – 22 ½ months after
her rescue from an unimaginable life as a neglected, nameless little girl.
And
here a new chapter begins!
Roxanne joins brother Jasper, sister Rye, and nephew Reno
for a 1st Family walk
Roxanne now has a brother, Jasper (a shelter rescue), and a
sister, Rye (another CP kid), and a big human sister
who visits with her own rescue dog, Reno. “Roxie
and Rye are
getting along very well,” reports New Mom. “A lot of tail wagging!”
Roxanne
was known to scale a four foot fence, so it was not a big surprise that she
found a baby gate to be of little consequence.
“I finally let her into the living room while Jasper was outside, just
for a few minutes,” says Mom, “and she found a toy that she really, really liked. She picked up the toy and headed for her
bedroom, got to the baby gate, and jumped right over! Yes that's right she jumped the gate to get
back into her room - not to get out!”
Roxanne’s New Mom and Dad knew all about her troubled past and
were determined to finish the job that the wonderful Col. Potter volunteers had
started. It was not all smooth sailing,
however, given the reservoir of terror still deep in her little soul. “We have been through feelings of excitement,
to remorse, to jealousy, to heartening,” says Roxanne’s Mom. “Roxanne’s start in this world was deplorable,
to say the least. Roxie has trust issues,
as many of these rescue pups do, but it is our dreams for her that she will
someday be able to experience life as innocently as the day she entered this
world. We are committed to helping her
find her happiness.”
Roxanne gets a kiss from New Mom
After three weeks of lunging, snarling, and biting in fear,
Roxanne has turned a big corner. New
Dad was the primary trigger, not because of anything he did, but just because
he was a man. A man she didn’t really know. A man had hurt her before, and she reverted
to instinct to keep herself safe.
With the welcome help of her Foster Mom, Roxie’s Dad learned to
play the touch game with her, and slowly, ever so slowly, started earning her
trust, progressing to meals and walks. “God
bless his soul,” says Mom, “because he has been patient, persistent, and gentle
with Roxanne, while most men would have tossed her out like the garbage. He has stepped up and looked beyond her
aggression (all fear based) to become her main caregiver!”
New Mom continues, “Roxie’s scars from her past may not be
physical, but they are quite apparent. It is shameful to see the way so many people
treat animals. There is a sweet, loving
little girl under all the fears and aggression. Although the road will be rocky and long, we
will continue this journey with Roxanne for she so deserves it.”
Roxanne’s Mom and Dad are so very appreciative of all that the
Col. Potter volunteers have done to help their new little girl, and truly that
is a two way street. The volunteers who
give so much of their time and resources to save little Cairns like Roxanne are deeply grateful for
this wonderful Forever Home and their absolute commitment to see Roxanne
through to a Happily Forever After!