Tracy @jsmpups

Joined August 2012

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Tracy @jsmpups

2 days ago

@FunInMia @Suzierizzo1 such a big FAT liar!

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Tracy @jsmpups

5 days ago

@Jerrybraden92 She is growing up so fast! Such a pretty girl! ❤️

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Gabriele Corno @Gabriele_Corno

a week ago

This was recorded last Tuesday morning at Meadow Creek Animal Services in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The woman is Evelyn. She's 83 years old. The dog in her lap is a small white flutty mixed-breed named Snowbell. Nine years old. They'd been together since Snowbell was eight weeks old. Evelyn's daughter Margaret had driven her to Meadow Creek that morning. Neither of them talked much on the way over. Three months ago, Evelyn had a serious health event that affected her balance and mobility significantly. After two months of rehabilitation, her doctors and family agreed that she needed a higher level of daily care than she could receive at home alone. Arrangements had been made for Evelyn to move into a residential care facility the following week. The facility did not allow pets. Evelyn had called four different facilities over six weeks looking for one that would make an exception. She'd asked her doctor to write a letter explaining Snowbell's importance to her daily emotional wellbeing. Two facilities reviewed the letter. Neither could accommodate the request due to resident allergy policies. Margaret had offered to keep Snowbell. But she lived four hours away and worked full time. She told us: "I wanted to say yes. I tried to figure out how. But Snowbell had never been away from my mother. I didn't think it was fair to either of them." The decision to bring Snowbell to Meadow Creek was made on a Sunday evening. Evelyn barely slept that night. At the shelter Tuesday morning, the intake coordinator placed the paperwork on the desk in front of Evelyn and gave her space. Evelyn had Snowbell in her lap. The security camera shows Evelyn picking up the pen. Looking at the first line. Stopping. Snowbell pressed both front paws against Evelyn's chest and pushed her nose into Evelyn's neck. Then wrapped her front legs tighter, the way a small child clings when they sense something is wrong. Evelyn put the pen down. Wrapped her arm around Snowbell. And sat there. Margaret stood behind her mother's chair with her hand on Evelyn's shoulder. Neither of them spoke. The intake coordinator, a woman named Rosa, told us she stepped away from the desk and gave them as much time as they needed. She said: "Evelyn didn't explain what was happening. She didn't have to. Snowbell knew something was happening. You could see it. She just kept holding on." Evelyn signed the papers eventually. She asked Rosa to note in Snowbell's file that she liked to sleep tucked under a blanket and that she preferred soft food over dry. Rosa wrote everything down. Evelyn kissed Snowbell on the top of her head. Handed her to Rosa. Stood up slowly with Margaret's help. And walked out. Rosa held Snowbell until she stopped trembling. Meadow Creek has flagged Snowbell as a priority adoption. Rosa checks on her every morning before her shift officially begins. Evelyn called the shelter on Thursday to ask how Snowbell was doing. Rosa told us: "I gave her a full update. Evelyn thanked me and said: 'She's not used to sleeping without the sound of my breathing.' I told her we'd make sure she wasn't alone." Some goodbyes aren't chosen. They're arrived at through a long road of trying every other option first. And some dogs hold on right until the last moment, not because they understand what's happening, but because they've always held on. That's just who they are.