A dog that went missing five years ago has resurfaced at an Ohio animal Shelter. Owners and advocates for a dog named Sable are still trying to piece together how she went missing from a loving home and ended up in a shelter, suffering from severe abuse and over-breeding.
Sable’s journey began in 2011 when she was a puppy adopted by a woman named Shannon. However, one day something broke inside of the apartment and when the landlord saw Sable, a pit bull he advised Shannon she had to get rid of her dog. Shannon and her kids were heartbroken and worked very hard to find the perfect home for Sable; a home where Shannon could keep in contact with the owners and get updates on Sable.
In 2013, they found Randy Woodyard who fell in love with Sable. She also got along well with his other two dogs. Randy kept his word and sent pictures of Sable and allowed Shannon and her boys to visit her. Sable was very happy in her new home and had become a therapy dog for those who were afraid of pit bulls. Randy offered dog training classes at Douds Veterinarian Hospital in Oberlin, Ohio
Sadly, in 2014 Randy passed away. Shannon contacted Debbie Markowitz Johnson asking what would become of Sable. Debbie asked if Shannon could take Sable back, but she could not as her living situation had not changed and her landlord would not allow pit bulls.
Shannon was then told that Sable was going to a friend of Randy’s that also did dog training at Douds Veterinarian Hospital. Shannon asked to please leave her number to him so she could keep in contact. She also contacted the family through Facebook to make sure he received her number, but no one called her.
Shannon tried not to be concerned. She figured if Sable was going to a friend of Randy’s, a fellow dog trainer that she was in good hands. She also looked at the Douds Veterinary Hospital page hoping to see a photo of Sable, but nothing was ever posted.
Shannon then posted on the Douds page asking for someone to post a picture or an update on Sable as she and her boys missed the dog and wondered how she was doing. No one responded. No one even liked the post. Shannon started searching all rescue sites, especially pit bull rescues, lost and found sites trying to track Sable down. This was in 2015. It was as if Sable had vanished.
Then on September 20, 2019 Shannon saw a photo of a dog on the Lorain County Animal Shelter’s Facebook page. This dog looked exactly like Sable, black with white markings on all four paws and on her chest and a white tip on her tail. The shelter was in Elyria, Ohio and stated that this female pit bull had arrived at the shelter on September 5, 2019 and no one had claimed her.,
Shannon and her boys went to the Lorain County Shelter the next day. There she showed the staff photos of Sable and said they wanted to see the dog that was brought in resembling her. When Shannon approached the kennel, Sable gave a low growl. But when she sniffed Shannon’s hand, she showed recognition and threw herself against the bars of the kennel with joy. When the kennel volunteer opened the kennel, Sable jumped up onto Shannon and kissed her along with Shannon’s sons – Seth and Lukas.
When Shannon looked more closely at Sable, she could not believe the horrible shape she was in. The dog had a severe eye infection; so bad that there was a white glaze over her eyes and mucus coming out of them. She also had bad ear infections that smelled badly and had yellow crust from the top of her ears to the bottom. Fur was missing from her body, and she had large holes in both front legs.
Another shelter staff member stated Sable had been brought in with a rusty chain around her neck. Shannon was devastated. What could have happened to sweet Sable over all those years was a mystery.
Shannon once again contacted Debbie Markowitz Johnson to piece together what had happened to Sable once Randy passed away. They also reached out to Randy’s family to see if they had info on Sable, but no one seemed to know, and inquiries led to dead ends.
Shannon and her boys went to the kennel everyday to visit Sable and help with her recovery. Then on September 24, 2019 a post went up on the Lorain County site saying the shelter was full and they had to start euthanizing dogs. Sable was one of the dogs selected to be killed. Sable had the cards stacked against her. She was an adult, she was a bully mix, she had extreme medical needs, and she had growled because she was scared and untrusting.
Unfortunately, Shannon could not take Sable home because where she lived did not allow pits. Shannon’s focus went from finding Sable to saving Sable. With the help of the shelter volunteers they found Josie and Dreams Come True Rescue.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Sable was found after being gone for five years. Because Shannon never gave up her search for her dog, Sable is now safe in boarding at Double N Cane Corso Rescue and Sanctuary in North Carolina, far away from the ones who hurt and abused her for so many years.
Sable is decompressing from her past traumas, and her skin and ears are being treated with medication. The anxiety sores she chewed on her legs are being worked on to heal, but the first step is to heal her soul.
Someone has to know what happened to Sable after Randy Woodyard passed away. Too many of the puzzle pieces are missing. How did she end up in the hands of someone so abusive?
Dreams Come True needs your help to keep this miracle going. Please consider donating to Sable’s boarding, supplies, medication and transport to New Hampshire where she will get a new lease on life. Every dollar counts. This girl can’t be failed again.
Donations can be sent through Paypal to [email protected] or
[email protected] please note “for Sable.”
There is also a
Facebook fundraiser page https://www.facebook.com/donate/554737068624160/
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