Finally safe forever

Jennifer Vanderau
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

(11/2020) Every once in a while, I get reminded of what we really do at CVAS. I’m talking about the true, "this is it" goal of this animal shelter. We have tough, difficult and overwhelming times, but at the end of the day, it’s what we’re all about.

Naturally, this time, the reminder came exactly when I needed to hear it. Coincidence? I no longer think there are coincidences. After all, there are no accidents.

I spoke to an adopter via Facebook. She was helping me with a fundraiser that we were having online. During the typed conversation, she said something to me that rang so incredibly true to me, I felt it in my heart.

And I wanted to share it with you.

It begins last year with a pup named Gussie.

Gussie is a Chihuahua/terrier mix, so he’s a little squirt. Not much bigger "than a loaf of bread" as one of the DJs I visit likes to call them.

Gussie was a pistol, to say the least. Cute as the day is long, but he had that terrier attitude in spades. He tended to choose the people he was okay with and if you weren’t on the list, you needed to give Gussie a pretty wide berth.

He came into the shelter in March of 2019 and we weren’t sure who on earth we were going to find to adopt this little package of pep and vigor.

Gussie stayed in our isolation area because his attitude wasn’t terribly conducive to the adoption kennels – you were never really sure what Gussie would do and that kind of temperament didn’t bode well for a constant influx of visitors.

We talked about Gussie and put him up on the websites we have for our adoptable animals and kind of crossed our fingers that the right person was out there.

The right person arrived in the summer of 2019. A gentleman asked about him and even after being told what we’ve seen in the little firebrand, he still wanted to meet him.

We try to be as upfront as we possibly can about the babies in our kennels. Yes, we want to find them homes, but we want potential adopters to be aware of what they may experience once they get the little bundles of fur home. What we’ve noticed, we tell people.

So, the gentleman had a pretty good idea of what he was walking into – and Gussie didn’t disappoint.

Man, did Gussie set up a racket when he first saw this fellow. Barking and growling and going nowhere near him.

The man must have seen something in Gussie, because he didn’t let that deter him. At all. In fact, he came back to visit time and time again (nine times total), bringing treats and giving Gussie the kind of attention and dedication that I hadn’t seen in a long, long while.

The man’s persistence and endurance was quite a sight to behold. He was going to get that little stinker to like him, no matter what.

And it worked. He eventually adopted Gussie and Gussie even has a canine sister in his house named Molly. The two are inseparable and make sure to protect one another.

The whole family is doing incredibly well and had a birthday party for Gussie that resulted in photos where that dog absolutely looks like the cat that ate the canary. I’ve never seen a more satisfied look on a canine’s face before.

It’s as adorable as it is hilarious.

In the neighborhood, Gussie is known as the Mayor of Ricklyn Drive. When I heard that, I actually laughed out loud.

So in the Facebook conversation, they said they can do anything with Gussie. There’s no worry about his "attitude" that we had seen in the beginning.

They said they know he feels finally safe forever.

And that’s the one that got me. I teared up a little and got that shiver down my spine that makes me realize the universe is talking to me. I knew I had better listen.

"Finally safe forever" is what we work toward at CVAS. We often don’t know where our animals come from or what their background has been. Sometimes we wish they could tell us, but sometimes I think we’re better off not knowing.

The goal of our adoptions is to give our animals that feeling – the innate knowledge that they are where they belong and that they will never be abandoned again.

Gussie found it. So did a lot of the babies we adopt.

You can see it in the photos we receive from our adopters. I don’t know how to fully explain it – and maybe it’s one of those things that isn’t meant to be described with words – but you can tell from the expression in the animal’s eyes that they are home and they know it.

It’s heartwarming to witness that sentiment and know you had even a little part in bringing it into being.

"Finally safe forever" is what we’re after at CVAS and if you think you can give that to a four-legged friend, check out our babies at cvas-pets.org.

I promise you, like Gussie’s family, you’ll be glad you did.

*****

Jennifer Vanderau is the Director of Communications for the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter in Chambersburg, Pa., and can be reached at cvasoc@innernet.net. The shelter accepts both monetary and pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at (717) 263-5791 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org.