Milton was left behind when his “guardian” moved out of his life. I know the area he came from well. I know that there are caring people that provided food for him once they realized he was at risk, but except for sustaining him, there was no remedy for his homelessness. Frightened and hopeless, Milton had already been chased off several times by property owners who didn’t want him hanging around.

I took Milton to Dr. Abernathy for an exam, bath, shave, and assessment. He was scared and defensive at the clinic and had to be sedated for the exam and shave.

Once back at the Sanctuary, his mood greatly improved. It was as if seeing the other happy dogs made him feel a hope he’d not had in a while.

In no time at all Milton pranced, literally skipped, and definitely smiled. He wouldn’t allow us to touch him, but would climb up and sleep on my legs when he thought I’d slipped off into dreamland. This precious happy little fellow was blossoming.

Yesterday I noticed Milton’s right ear was troubling him. He was due for another shave, and he probably needed a dental exam. As any of these procedures would require sedation, it only made sense to sedate him to ease his concerns.

This morning I picked little Milton up from his overnight vet visit – I could hear his terrified cries from the kennel area. As I’m welcome in most areas of the clinic I went to aid the staff member handling him and to help ease his fear. Milton had chewed the leash bound to him in half and was just starting to realize he could flee – which he then did – becoming wedged behind some crates. I placed his crate near the ones he’d wedged himself behind and put my hand on his shoulders. He was terrified and uttered a weak growl. I gave him a minute and then gently eased him around and aimed him towards the open crate. He went in and quickly settled down.

Back at the Sanctuary, as Milton’s little feet touched the ground he began to skip. He went to check out his favorite hangouts and then joined the grazers. For the rest of the day Milton was my shadow.

Hard to believe he was referred to as vicious, even dangerous this morning. I spoke up like any good guardian would and said he was just misunderstood. I know the concerns for his behavior were real, but it was a stab to this loving guardian’s heart.

I know there’s a world of suffering out there, but here in this little haven of hope there is safety and security for animals who have suffered traumas, like Milton, that we can only try to understand.

This blog was contributed by Doll Stanely, Director for In Defense of Animals / Project Hope.

Linda and her dogs live in a house which is missing the entire north side, exposing every room in the house to the elements. The house is so dilapidated that Linda spends all her time on the porch wrapped in blankets to shield herself from the cold and rain. Considering the state of things, the dogs, all terriers and terrier mixes, were in relative good health.

With the direness of the situation Doll decided they had to begin moving the dogs. Since Project Hope was at capacity, the dogs would have to be boarded. Dr. Roberts and Doll loaded up 19 dogs on that initial trip. Doll made a second trip to Linda’s a few days later – this time removing 10 puppies and 7 adults. The Cleveland/Bolivar County Animal Shelter stepped up to take these dogs. They were already planning a transport and the rescue group they were working with offered to take this group of dogs.

On Thursday, February 4, Doll went back to remove the dogs that remained. The dogs previously removed had all been spayed/neutered and this group would be spayed/neutered the next morning by Mississippi Spay And Neuter (MS SPAN) using their “Big Fix” mobile clinic. MS SPAN is an organization that provides low-cost spay/neuter across the state.

This bring us up to today, where Chele and Doll are doing a transport to Every Creature Counts (ECC) in Denver. ECC has generously offered to take the remaining dogs from this case. Doll and Chele left Project Hope for Denver earlier today with a whooping 76 animals, including 68 dogs and 8 cats.