Rescued 2008 (was Momma Mia)
7/09
We have no early pictures of Anya because all effort was spent in keeping her alive.
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ANYA'S STORY
Anya was a Leonberger. She was whelped in Hungary, grew up in an Amish puppy mill, and found herself on the auction block at age 5.5 years. She was beautiful, sweet and gentle. She enjoyed running free, learned to play with toys, and loved attention. She lived the happiest days of her life after being rescued. She was a very special Leo for LIN, and this is her story.
On August 25, 2008 I received a priority email from a woman named Jen who is with a rescue group in Indiana. She told me about an auction scheduled for August 30th where a female Leonberger and two eight week old Leo-mix puppies (Rufus II and Samson) were on the list of dogs to be sold. This auction was aimed at puppy millers as a way for them to move dogs around, it was not advertised to the general public, and it was a secret auction below the radar of the USDA . Jen asked if LIN wanted to go in and bid on the three dogs, and did we need any help since the time was so short. It didn't take long for the coordinators to decide that we had to go after the 5.5 year old female and the two Leo mix puppies, and allow Jen to act in LIN's behalf and bid on the dogs. It was a real scramble to work out the logistics on such short notice, and over a Labor Day weekend, but we organized a transport schedule and agreed on the maximum LIN would bid for each of the dogs.
Time passed so slowly on the 30th. I kept checking my watch, adjusting for the time difference, trying to be patient as I taught my agility classes. When my cell phone rang my students were as eager as I was to know what had happened at the auction. I knew the coordinators who weren't part of transport also wanted the news ASAP so I quickly sent an email telling everyone that Anya and the puppies were safe. I told them Jen said the female was beautiful, sweet and woefully skinny, but her temperament was wonderful. She was riding loose in the back of Jen's vehicle with no problems and they were headed back to Indiana. The dogs were officially out of the mill system, on their way to St Louis and the start of a new life.
