Joanne Patenaude
You might ask yourself what Calgary (Alberta, Canada) and Aguidilla (Puerto Rico) could possibly have in common. The answer would be New Haven, Vermont, the Field Family and Rescue Saint Bernard’s Duchess and Beethoven.
Our story begins in November 2001 with 3-year old Duchess. Dutch came into Rescue when her rancher/owner decided she was no longer “convenient”. Jude Fine who does Senior Dog Rescue in Calgary, learned of Duchess’ plight and took her in. National Saint Bernard Rescue was contacted and assisted with Duchess’ boarding fees, but no one seemed able to move her.
After nearly two months in the kennel it was clear that Duchess needed a home. Our Canadian friend, Krys Prichard of Trinity of Hope Rescue (and an advocate for Canadian Saints in need) arranged a 3,000-mile flight to Ottawa, Canada.
After a short stay at Steve and Shari Murray’s southeastern Ontario kennel (we call it “Camp Saint Bernard”) Duch was ready to travel. She made her way to Connecticut thanks to the efforts of five volunteer drivers involved with the Canine Underground Railroad, and Duchess arrived in Tolland, CT on January 19, 2002.
Duch was a very sweet, high-spirited gal desperately in need of a permanent loving home. Among our Rescue adoption applicants was the Field Family –mom, two adult sons, a 7-year old Saint Bernard named Barnabas, Brice (a 5-year old Cocker Spaniel), horses, geese and a cat, all living on a lovely 150-acre farm in Vermont. After many conversations with the Fields and a veterinarian check, we approved their application and took Dutch for yet another ride to meet the Field family. All went extremely well and Duchess’ great adventure was finally at an end.
Fast forward< September 2002. We were contacted by Puerto Rico’s Dee Fluitt about an intact 4-year old Saint who had spent his life in a crate and was used mainly to breed. His original owner no longer wanted Beethoven and surrendered him to a kennel. Dee heard of his plight and quickly responded. A military family, Dee, her husband and children are currently stationed in Puerto Rico where she is active with a local rescue group. She knew Puerto Rico was not the place for a Saint and she asked for our help.
As virtually all of the East Coast Saint rescue groups were inundated with dogs, we decided to bring him to New England. Since 9/11/01, it has become more difficult to transport dogs by air, never mind a 140-pound Saint Bernard! However, the luck of the Saint continued through guardian angel Leigh Grady of Sterling Animal Shelter in Mass. Leigh is involved with Save-A-Sato, a group that brings Puerto Rican street dogs to the U.S. for adoption. She kindly offered to escort Bee to Boston on her next run and at no charge for his flight! On January 13, 2003, Bee was met by Judy Bredin-Graham and his new foster mom Diane Scuderi– after a 1,500-plus mile flight and from 85 degrees to 25 degrees.
In the meantime, we heard from Pam Field who sadly reported they had lost Barnabas. Pam and her family were feeling the huge void many of us have experienced at the loss of a beloved Saint. Hmm, we thought. What about Bee? Could he fit into the Field Family? Were they ready? Could Bee tolerate the transition from the warmth of Puerto Rico to the cold of Vermont? Would he like Duchess and Brice, the horses and the geese? We talked this over and decided to give it a try. We took Bee to Vermont for a meet-and-greet, and I am happy to report that all went very well.
Duchess and Bee are great buddies now, and have the honor of being the most traveled Saint Bernard’s New England Saint Rescue has re-homed.
We adopted Bailey from The Wisconsin Saint Bernard Rescue on December 19, 2003. We had lost our precious saint, Sampson to bone cancer just a month ago, and were just devastated by this loss. We had decided to wait until spring to adopt, but while browsing the web, we saw Bailey on petfinder.com and that was it. She stole our hearts. So the adoption process began. We were able to bring Bailey home a week before Christmas and she truly was our Christmas angel. A house that was so full of sadness once again had joy.
Bailey loves going for rides in our van, and loves to sit up front. There is just so much to see. She adores having her belly rubbed and has got us wrapped right around her big paws with that. Our couch and our beds are her favorite places to lay down.
Although we will always have a special place in our hearts for our beloved Sampson, we love Bailey just dearly.
Bailey, you really are such a sweetheart, and we love you.
Al and Dee Pobjoy
Poynette Wisconsin
