The two dogs seem to be compatible as Darla Fort gently holds Helen while Winston tries to give his mom a kiss.
Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log
SUNDAY DECEMBER 1 2002
Helen must wait a few more hours, but she's a very patient doggie
Neal Fort just called at 12:45 from Texarkana. It'll probably be another three hours before they arrive.
It's almost five now, and we should be hearing from the Forts any minute now.
At five-thirty Neal called again, and they're still about an hour away. Lots of traffic between Texarkana and Dallas.
EVENING UPDATE
Helen has been adopted and is on her way home with her wonderful new family!
This is a dream come true for Helen (the nearly blind and totally deaf Great Dane pup). Her new family arrived around 6:30 this evening to meet Helen, introduce Helen to their dog, Winston, and (if all the introductions went well) to take Helen home to become part of their family. They have been waiting for this day since Darla first emailed us inquiring about Helen a couple of months ago.
Darla and Neal Fort are very compassionate people, and their hearts went out to Helen the minute they saw her pictures and read the story about her on our website--how Helen had been born deaf and practically blind and how she had been found in a dumpster when she was just three months old. Neal and Darla wanted to adopt Helen and take care of her for forever. We've kept in close touch by email, these past two months, and now Helen is on her way to her new home.
The introduction of Helen to her new family
It was about 6:30 p.m. and already dark outside when Neal and Darla arrived in their big SUV with their two young children, Darla's parents plus their family dog, Winston. Because we wanted to introduce the two dogs on neutral territory, we chose to make the introduction outside the wood fence that surrounds our 32 kennels filled with more than 64 barking dogs.
Bill had taken a flashlight and walked down to the entrance of the driveway to help guide the Forts in and halfway up our hill to the planned meeting spot, while Guy, who had come in on his day off just to help us with the introduction, took charge of handling Helen because she is so strong. Guy harnessed Helen and walked her outside of the shelter fence and down the driveway to meet her new family. Shortly after Guy left with Helen, I went to "borrow" one of Mother Dog Krissy's three-month-old puppies, Pepsi, and I put Pepsi immediately in with Sweetie, who had been Helen's companion, so Sweetie wouldn't fuss at the sudden disappearance of her best friend, Helen. Much to my relief Sweetie and Pepsi took off chasing each other playfully all around Sweetie's kennel. With those two pups happy, I went to join the others for the big introduction.
All ended up beautifully!
Darla and Neal fell in love with Helen immediately (all over again) upon seeing her in person for the first time. Then came the introduction with their friendly, sweet dog, Winston, who is a handsome four-year-old fellow. (You have to remember that Helen is deaf and she cannot see well at all--especially at night.) When they brought Winston from their car, the sudden smell of another dog startled Helen at first, and she was a little snappish, but after several sniffy greetings and several walks beside Winston, up and down our driveway (which was lit up by the headlights of both Guy's truck and the Forts' car), the dogs began to get along fine. The short walks, side by side, let Helen gradually realize that Winston was there close to her and that Winston was friendly.
With the introduction being a success (we were all so relieved!) the Forts got back in their car along with Winston and Helen. Their little girl and Darla's mom were in the back seat with Winston, Darla and their son were in the second seat with Helen (who was sitting on the floor in front of Darla, being petted and hugged by Darla, and Neal drove with Darla's dad in passenger seat up front.
I'm sure we'll be hearing from the Forts soon! Helen is in for the time of her life, living as a very pampered house pet with her wonderful new family.