Most Unlucky Dog ... in Need of A Good Home

publication date: Mar 3, 2008

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author/source: Jonathan Copsey / STAFF

By Jonathan Copsey/ STAFF

Needs a home: Daisy has been in foster care for five years, much longer than any other animal at Atlanta’s Canine Crusaders.

Imagine a child at an orphanage who had continually been passed over by possible parents in favor of his friends. Year after year the child stays in temporary housing while good homes go to other children. Now, imagine that child is actually a dog and you can imagine the plight of Daisy.

Daisy, a lovable six-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, which is in the Pitbull family, has been with Canine Crusaders, an Atlanta rescue organization, for five years – much longer than she should be. Her luck has been terrible, with home after home falling through at the last minute.

“Daisy’s just got a black cloud over her, it doesn’t make sense,” lamented Leigh Myers, president of the Canine Crusaders. “The homes that have fallen through at the last minute are just crazy situations. One was transferred overseas the week before she was to go home; someone had their house foreclosed on a few days before she’s to go to them. Daisy was in a foster home in Roswell for two years, but then the girl got engaged to a guy who didn’t like animals, so Daisy had to go.

“I really don’t know. None of us can figure it out.”

It should not be this difficult to get a dog adopted, and it all started out so simply. Daisy was picked up as a stray about five years ago and taken to Canine Crusaders. There, she received the best of care from volunteers. Three times a month the organization puts on pet adoptions where the dogs are shown to potential adopters and each time – for five years – Daisy has been passed over. Even the breed has not historically been an issue, with Myers claiming the typical adoption time for these dogs in about one year, never five.

Myers is at her wits end as to what to do. She really does seem to have tried everything.

“[Daisy’s] on six Web sites, and TV and got zero calls. Various ads in various newspapers. I even have a magnet with Daisy’s picture on the back of my car… . I’ve spent about $9,000 trying to find Daisy a home and keeping her alive. She’s a wonderful dog, but she’s been with us for way too long.”

Canine Crusaders does not practice euthanasia on the animals it houses, so each one costs the group money to care for, feed and vaccinate.

A major sticking point with Daisy’s adoption has been other pets – she does not react well to other animals and it is a requirement of any potential adopter that they have no other animals in the house. According the Myers, Daisy is perfectly happy by herself and will only glare at passing dogs when on a leash.

“She must be the only pet, but she’s very manageable by herself,” said Myers. “She loves to go on walks and is great in the car, playing with toys. She’s been in a foster home with an older woman who had a very sedentary lifestyle and didn’t go for long walks and she did great there. Then she was with a younger girl who was a runner, and she did great there too… . But she has to be the only pet.” This has proven to make placing Daisy difficult, even among the volunteers who care for her. All the volunteers personally care for multiple animals and so are unable to take poor Daisy in.

As with child adoption, the pet adoption procedure takes time, with applicants being thoroughly vetted by Canine Crusaders. The last thing Myers or her volunteers would want is for their dogs to go to someone who engaged in dog fighting or was cruel to animals. Any applicant who would adopt Daisy based solely on the fact that she looks cool or cute should probably stay away. 

Somewhere there is a home for Daisy. She just needs to find it. Only then will Myers be happy.

“She’s so special, she deserves a good home more than any other dog.”

For more information about Daisy or adopting any other pet, call 770-374-6194 or visit www.caninecrusaders.petfinder.com. Donations are accepted.