At Satchel’s, we are all ecstatic as Cowboy starts the next chapter of his life!
Cowboy’s, formerly Luigi, story is a sad story but also a happy one in that he had so many people looking out for him along the way. He had a Guardian Angel watching over him along his journey.
In late 2016, Luigi was attacked by a dog and received serious injuries. A Good Samaritan, Henry, in the neighborhood where Luigi was roaming and attacked couldn’t bear to see Luigi’s life end this way and became Luigi’s sponsor at a local vet clinic in Miami while he looked for a home for Luigi. (Guardian Angel #1 saved by a Good Samaritan.)
Fast forward to early 2020. A home hasn’t been found. Luigi is still being boarded at a medical clinic all paid for by Henry. Henry reaches out to Doug at Satchel’s. We don’t have room and since we try our best to rescue locally, Miami was a little out of our normal area. The pleas continue and Henry and Doug form quite a bond over Luigi. (Guardian Angel #2, Luigi now has both Henry and Doug looking out for him.)
In May, 2020, a spot, for what may end up to become a sanctuary dog, comes open and Henry finds transport for Luigi to head down to Sarasota and join the Satchel’s family. We already had a Luigi, so the name Cowboy was given to this guy who had spent the past 3 1/2 years in a kennel at a vet clinic. (Guardian Angel #3, he becomes a Satchel’s boy.)
Cowboy was not an easy boy, uncertain of people and his constant ear infections left him in pain and not wanting to be touched. Staff and a few volunteers worked with Cowboy getting the ear infections managed and slowly introducing him to new volunteers. Last June, when Kathy’s Woof Pack dog got adopted she started spending time with Cowboy and decided he would be her next Woof Pack member. (Guardian Angel #4, Kathy becomes his Woof Pack leader.)
Kathy slowly introduced him to car rides and off property adventures, then to home visits at her house, walking him in the neighborhood carefully meeting new people. When the Phillippi Farmhouse Market opened for the 2022-23 season in October, Cowboy was ready to strut his stuff. Attending several market events and meeting so many new people opened up Cowboy’s world and made for one happy boy. A few weeks ago, Kathy took him in as a foster knowing it wasn’t the ideal home for Cowboy as her dog wasn’t to happy about the situation, however she wanted to show him what life in a home was like.
Now comfortable in new surroundings and meeting new people, we were comfortable doing a meet and greet when a potential adopter showed interest in him. That happened last week and Ursula and Jim immediately knew Cowboy was meant to spend the rest of his life with them. (Guardian Angel #5.)
As I said, his story is not a totally sad one. This boy has survived, grown into an amazing senior boy and now has a forever home. After 6 1/2 years in a kennel, he is living free to roam the house with a family to call his own. Updates after his first week are great, they love Cowboy and couldn’t be happier with their decision to adopt this gentlemen.
Thank you to Jim and Ursula for adopting and congratulations to you all!
We never say never. There’s a home for every dog and cat out there. We just need to give these last chance animals the time they need to heal while we keep searching for their family to find them.
