Pet Adoption Stories
That Doggie in the Window
Lorraine Cavener
It's more than just a tune from the fifties.
In January 2001, when newspaper photographer Bill Shaefer spotted a white dog with big ears peering anxiously out the window of a house in Pocatello, Idaho, he did what any enterprising photographer would do: he snapped her picture. The photo made the cover of the next day's edition of The Idaho State Journal, accompanied by a caption borrowed from the 1952 hit tune by Patti Page: "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?"
Although the question was rhetorical, a local resident knew the answer and contacted the newspaper. The Journal printed a short, follow-up story the next day. The dog - Angel - was free to a good home.* Her guardian, John Westphal, had recently died of lung cancer, the house was up for sale, and Angel needed a new family to love her.
In truth, Angel was alone in the empty house. A woman named Christina - a good friend of the deceased's family - dropped in regularly to feed and play with her, but Angel spent most of the day perched on the back of a sofa by the window, "waiting for her master, who is not coming home." The newspaper printed a telephone number that interested parties could call, and in the course of the next few days, more than 30 messages were left by people who were willing to adopt the mixed-breed dog. Working independently, Christina and Westphal's daughter, Jodi Keltner, listened to all the calls and wrote down their first choices. When they compared notes, the two women found they had both selected the same name.
Guardian Angel
Angel was only a puppy when she was presented to Westphal by his
daughter, who hoped the playful pup would be a good distraction
for her ailing father. "She was company for him, and she helped
me get through," says Keltner. But after her dad's death, the
house was put on the market, and because it needed a lot of work,
Keltner had to move out. With no place to live, Keltner moved to
Boise, five hours away, to be with her brother and his family.
Unfortunately, one-year-old Angel could not accompany her, and
was left in the Pocatello house until a new home could be
found.
Keltner made an appointment to drive back to Pocatello in order to interview Burton and Rosetta McCoy. From the moment she saw the McCoys interact with Angel, she knew she'd found the perfect home. After a lengthy conversation about Angel's care and promises that Keltner could visit any time, the McCoys left, and Keltner spent one final night with Angel. "It was a sad thing but a happy ending," she says.
Today Angel has a big backyard to play in and plenty of company all day long. The McCoys have two children, Ronnie and Ida Marie, who have Down's Syndrome. Angel is protective of Ida, but she chases Ronnie - and he chases her - around the yard. For 20 years the McCoys bred basenjis, a rare hound breed that originated in Africa. According to Burton McCoy, "they weren't as affectionate as this dog." His wife adds, "We weren't planning on getting another dog, but I'm so glad we did. She's just the sweetest little thing."
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*The ASPCA recommends against using "free to a good home"
in printed advertisements, because this phrase is
believed to attract individuals who may intend to resell
the animals for research and/or dog-fighting purposes.
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Lorraine Cavener is a freelance writer who writes for a newspaper and lives near Twin Falls, in southern Idaho.
© 2002
ASPCA Animal Watch - Fall 2002
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A Troubled Shelter Dog Finds a Home
