By Diana Czarnecki

Annabelle was a skinny scared stray living in a field behind my office building. She was eating scraps from the garbage and sleeping in the bushes.  Annabelle was extremely terrified of people and would run every time someone tried to go near her. She never walked on the main roads, instead found short cuts thru the fields and only came out when she thought no one was around. She was becoming a survivor, another lonely scared stray living without love or trust. It took me two months to gain her trust and I believe her story is a true testament of what love and determination can accomplish.

I spent the next few weeks looking for her. Annabelle had found a new hiding place, surrounded by fence and there was no way for me to get in.   I left food out daily at both my workplace as well as this new hiding place.   After a few weeks, one Saturday my husband and I decided to check on Annabelle.  As we drove up to the fenced area we spotted her and we got closer, I started to call her name.  Something moved, looked at me, and walked away.  IT WAS ANNABELLE.  She saw me but obviously no longer trusted me but I was relieved to know she was still around.

I spent the next few weeks going back to her location every morning and during breaks.  At lunch I would buy her roast beef sandwiches.  After work, I would park my car and look through binoculars in hopes of seeing her walking through the bushes. I finally saw Annabelle again.  She knew that I was the one feeding her and she would come around the same time each night to eat the food, but she wouldn’t let me near her and would only eat the food when I walked away.  I knew that I was starting all over, it wasn’t going to me easy, and it would take time.

Annabelle then began showing up at my job again.  She was getting brave and would walk the parking lot looking for me.  My security guards would call early in the morning and late at night advising me that she was in the parking lot.  I pleaded with them not to call Animal Control. They were willing to work with me, as long as they weren’t receiving too many complaints from other employees.  I kept the trap in the field in hopes of catching her, but she was too smart.

She was slowly beginning to trust me again.  Over the next month I spent my time in the field with Annabelle and even got my husband, Chris involved.   We spent one of our weekends out in the field with Chris dressed in camouflage, in an attempt to catch her.  Annabelle knew when Chris was around and wouldn’t let me get close during those times. She never allowed anyone else near her either.  I was still too afraid to attempt putting another leash around her neck again.  Over time, though it became apparent that Annabelle was now happy to see me; she would wag her tail as she greeted me.  At night she didn’t want me to leave and would follow my car out of the parking lot. But every time I stopped and opened the door, she wouldn’t get in.  I brought her a bed, toys and treats.  I spent my lunch hour playing ball with her in the field. I even took a couple of days off so I could spend more time with her.  Annabelle was still skeptical though every time she saw the leash.

Unfortunately, complaints from co-workers who were afraid of her, were mounting and I knew I only had a couple more days before someone would call Animal Control.  To make matters worse, there was construction starting in the field behind my office building. She was losing her home.   I decided to try to line up a foster home for Annabelle.  I knew I could not keep her since we already had a cat and two dogs including Angel who was a recent rescue. I was finally referred to a rescue who agreed to take her in.  I was thrilled; Annabelle was going to be saved.

The following Friday, I was getting ready to leave Annabelle for the night but she didn’t want me to go.  This time she jumped in my car.  I finally did it; I got Annabelle in my car and took her directly to the vet for a check up and shots. It was late so we kept her overnight and on Saturday we would take her to her new foster home.

The next day, we took Annabelle to CC Ranch and although my heart was breaking, I knew I had to let her go.  She was safe now and would never have to live in the field again. When we arrived at CC Ranch, Annabelle was hesitant but walked in the yard without her leash. I met Robin and she told me that it would be best for Annabelle if I did not walk her back to her pen.  Robin put the leash around Annabelle and started walking away.  I began to cry but could not let Annabelle see me upset, so I turned around got in my car and left.

40 minutes later we were back home and my phone rang.  It was Robin who said “Diana I am so sorry Annabelle is gone”. After I left, she walked Annabelle into her pen and when she turned her back, Annabelle jumped two six foot block walls and escaped.  Robin and her volunteers had been looking for her for over 30 minutes but she was no where to be found. I blamed myself, what had I done? She finally gave me her trust again and I betrayed her.  I should have left her alone; she was a survivor and was coping with living in the field.  I took her away from an area she was accustomed too and now she was lost in an unfamiliar area.  She would never go to anyone else and probably will never trust another human being again.

We drove back to CC Ranch and I began my search. For 3 hours I walked the ditches asking everyone I ran into if they had seen her.  I must have walked the ditch 10 times and I was emotionally and physically exhausted when I suddenly heard a faint voice “Diana, Diana hurry”.  I began to run towards the voice, and as I got closer I realized it was Robin.  She was standing on the side walk pointing to her left and telling me to continue calling Annabelle, she was coming.  As I began to run faster towards Robin, I saw Annabelle running into the ditch.  She saw me and we both ran into each others arms and collapsed to the ground.  Robin ran over to us, sat down and began to cry.  She said she didn’t think we were going to find her.

As we were heading back to Robin’s she asked me what I was going to do now.  It was apparent that Annabelle loved and only trusted me. At that point, I knew I couldn’t let Annabelle go; our bond was too strong and I decided she was coming home with me. My husband agreed that we needed to foster Annabelle and help her overcome her fears so she could become adoptable.  We both knew it would be a challenge.

The first month was very hard as Annabelle did not like men.  She was extremely afraid of my husband and would not let him near her for over a month.  There were other challenges, Annabelle was extremely dominant towards my other dogs and got into a fight with Angel. She was very jealous and wouldn’t let my dogs near me.  She had separation anxiety and could not be trusted to be left alone.  I took a week’s vacation because I was so fearful of leaving her alone with my other dogs. We had a lot of obstacles to overcome; but with each obstacle my love and determination to help and keep Annabelle grew stronger.

It has been 17 months since Annabelle’s rescue and she is a totally different dog now.  She is so happy, goofy and full of life. She loves being loved; she has become best friends with my other rescue dog Angel and gets along with my dog Taz and cat Toshiba.  Annabelle and my husband have bonded as well; she no longer fears him and actually thinks she is his lap dog.  We are still working on some issues, but she is getting better everyday and we love her with all of our hearts.

Annabelle has made my family complete.  I still can’t believe how well she has adjusted; you would never know that she was a stray living in the fields by looking at her now.  Annabelle had to be someone’s dog and was abused to the point where she no longer trusted people.  When I rescued Annabelle she was approximately a year old, not spayed, and was diagnosed with Valley Fever.  She has since been spayed, is on medication, and getting stronger and happier everyday.

I hope you post Annabelle’s story. She is living proof that even the most untamed dogs can be tamed with love and patience. I honestly believe that anyone else would have given up on Annabelle, but I knew there was something special about her and no animal deserves to be thrown away like garbage.  Annabelle is an amazing dog and I would do it all over again. (Which I have and continue to do with other stray dogs.)

Editor’s Note: Diana Czarnecki has first hand experience in rescuing semi feral dogs and turning them into loving pets.  Diana and her husband Chris  have made two of them part of their family and they are the reason why she continues to work hard to save the animals in need. Diana is the founder of 2^nd Chance Dog Rescue in Queen Creek, AZ.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 4th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.