Ready to love you! [Photo: Bob DeCosemo]

DOLLY UPDATE:  Rescue Diva’s sponsoree darling Dolly found her furever family!!!  The fabulous group Stichting AAI in the Netherlands reports that an adopter met Dolly and it turned out to be a pawfect match. What we love most about Dolly’s story is the international cooperation among caring folks in three different countries—Greece, U.S., and the Netherlands. Together, the team rescued a dog who was tied to a post and beaten, then, with patience and diligence, turned her into a pampered, beloved family member. We at Rescue Diva feel privileged and grateful to work with such dedicated people, and we are over the moon with joy about this lovely result for sweet angel Dolly. If you missed reading our Dolly article earlier, here ’tis below. To help Rescue Diva save more sweeties like Dolly, please buy one of our fun fiction stories—just $2—and please share share share this post! 🙂

by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris ~

“She adores people,” remarked photographer and rescuer Bob DeCosemo when he visited a lovely young pointer mix named Dolly for a photo session. “There has been a traumatic experience in her life, because she is quite scared. However she came straight to me wagging her tail and looking for pets and strokes.”

It’s always amazing to see abused dogs forgive us humans, then even go so far as to love us.

Dolly is one example of such miracles.

Dolly was a little nervous during her preliminary photo shoot at the office of veterinarian Dr. Amanda, yet still very affectionate toward all. [Photo: Bob DeCosemo]

Tied to a post and beaten

She was tied to a post on the Greek island of Kefalonia, where witnesses observed her being beaten. A kind woman, Maria, came to her rescue and took Dolly to her daughter, who is one of the island’s vets, Dr. Amanda Micheletti.

Tender loving care from Dr. Amanda as well as from foster mom Nikoletta Tsagari allowed Dolly to feel safe and to thrive.

When Dr. Amanda asked for Rescue Diva’s help in re-homing this sweet girl, we couldn’t say “no.” This was not only because Dr. Amanda is a friend who has helped us rescue dozens of animals, and not only because Dolly is an angel highly worth of help, and not just because Dolly has black and white “tuxedo” markings (for which we have a soft spot), but also because she looks a lot like another angel—Julia Jr., one of our own—who hubsy and I recently lost to the ravages of the vicious parasite Leishmaniasis.

So “no” was not an option. We had to pitch in.

Help from afar

Rescue Diva headquarters are in San Diego, California, while Dolly was in Kefalonia, Greece. How to help from 8,000 miles away?

We’ve managed, even from afar, to sponsor and re-home more than 200 dogs in recent years, but we can only pull it off because we are blessed with great contacts who facilitate these long-distance rescues every step of the way.

First Rescue Diva sponsored all of Dolly’s veterinary expenses with Dr. Amanda. Then we hired fabulous Akis Alevizopoulos of Athens Pet Taxi to transport Dolly along with three other rescued pooches—Roki, Sandy, and Sally—from Kefalonia to Athens. (Articles about those three coming soon.) In the Athens area we boarded all the dogs at Anna Petraki’s excellent pet hotel Petraki Pansion.

Meanwhile, Rescue Diva contacted stellar rescue group Stichting AAI in the Netherlands, asking if they could accept Dolly into their adoption program, as they’ve done for several of our previous rescued pooches. Thank heavens they agreed.

A dedicated volunteer from the Greek rescue group Ilioupolis Animal Welfare Union (Ζωοφιλική Ενωση Ηλιούπολης) – ZEIL kindly assisted with the logistics of Dolly’s transport.

In May Rescue Diva sponsored Dolly’s travel expenses to the Netherlands, where she is now being lovingly fostered by volunteer Gerarda Koolstra.

Dolly exploring the Netherlands on a walk with her foster mom Gerarda. {Photo: Gerarda Koolstra]

‘Likes to play and be petted’

“Dolly is a sweet dog,” Koolstra reports. “Everything is going well. She likes her new home here. And she likes to play and to be petted.”

Lucky Dolly, to be in the kind, capable hands of Koolstra and Stichting AAI. She was also very lucky to have two months in the pet hotel of dog expert Anna Petraki, who understood the difficulties of Dolly’s past, and spent extra time every day slowly helping her recover, as well as learn to walk calmly on leash.

Only about 18 months old, Dolly is still somewhat timid about unfamiliar situations, but growing more confident day by day. Affectionate with everyone she meets, she shows remarkable resilience and forgiveness of humanity for the wrongs she suffered.

Dolly also gets along well with other dogs and with cats.

Can you help find a home in the Netherlands for this courageous, open-hearted girl? Please share this article and spread the word!

To apply for adoption please contact Stichting AAI.

HELP US SAVE ANIMALS — just $2 ! Rescue Diva depends on sales of our romantic fiction to help create real-life happy endings like those of Claire, of Noble, Granger, and Raza, and of Rhea and her Earthquake Puppies.

Enjoy a fun read, spice up your life, and help replenish our rescue fund!  🙂

Try our fiction story “Unchain My Heart,” about a woman whose rescue of a chained dog leads opens up her own wounded heart to love again.

Rescue Diva proudly sponsors needy animals in the U.S. and around the world. For example:

~ We help Kefalonia Animal Trust (KATs) in Greece provide free spay/neuter for hundreds of animals per year, which is one of the best ways to prevent the abandonment and misery of puppies like Noah and Kyla.

~ We donate to Center for Animal Protection and Education (CAPE), Praying for Paws, Southern California Siamese Rescue, Aniplant (Cuba) and many other groups.

~ We do in-the-trenches rescues of angels like Robin, Chance, and Tiger, with help from San Diego Animal Support Foundation, and of Marisol and Lisa, with help from Last Chance at Life.

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Katerina Lorenzatos Makris is a career journalist, author, and editor. Her fiction includes 17 novels for Simon and Schuster, E.P. Dutton, Avon, and other major publishers (under the name Kathryn Makris), as well as a teleplay for CBS-TV, and a short story for The Bark magazine. She has written hundreds of articles for regional wire services and for outlets such as National Geographic Traveler, The San Francisco Chronicle, Travelers’ Tales, NBC’s Petside.com, Animal Issues Reporter.com, and Examiner.com (Animal Policy Examiner).

Together with coauthor Shelley Frost, Katerina wrote a step-by-step guide for hands-on, in-the-trenches dog rescue, Your Adopted Dog: Everything You Need to Know About Rescuing and Caring for a Best Friend in Need (The Lyons Press), coming soon in digital format!