January 30, 2009, Extending the olive branch, By Elizabeth Strom

We came to San Miguel de Allende for a vacation with our dear friends Gregory and Irene Diamant. Our daughter and I were looking forward to a visit to the SPA shelter to “help” Irene feed the dogs treats and play with the puppies.

We are serious dog lovers, but because we travel a lot for work, we decided years ago that we couldn’t possibly have a dog. The expense of putting a dog in a kennel was daunting, as was the guilt about putting a family pet in a cage for two weeks at a time. So we were always happy to be around dogs but had talked ourselves out of the idea of having one.

We visited the SPA our first morning in San Miguel and saw a little dog in the first cage. She was quiet, sweet, alert and our favorite breed (Jack Russell terrier). She seemed to have been conjured from my dog wish list: a female Jack Russell, 18 months old (no longer a puppy, not too old). We took her for a walk and she was gentle and well-behaved on the leash.

She confessed that she’d never gotten over the death of our previous dog four years earlier, and, like me, she’d fallen in love with this little SPA dog.

My husband remained resistant to the idea of getting a dog, but we were both profoundly distressed by how upset our daughter was. When he realized I couldn’t stop talking about how cute this dog was, he secretly made all the arrangements to adopt her. That night’s conversation was devoted to her name change, and our daughter decided to name her after her favorite food: Olive.

But we still had to get Olive home to San Diego. We couldn’t bring her with us, and we were due to leave for Poland shortly after our return. One would think these were all insurmountable problems, but the process could not have been easier for us. First, the SPA provided Olive’s medical records, and then Kelly Karger of Save A Mexican Mutt took over. Kelly not only arranged to drive Olive to Dallas, Texas, she also kept her until we were due back from Poland and then put Olive on a flight to San Diego. While we were gone, Kelly kept us updated about Olive’s progress (as I’d thought, she was completely housebroken and she was loving and socialized with animals and people, so much so that Kelly offered to keep Olive if we changed our minds, because she and her husband had fallen in love with Olive, too).

Olive’s arrival went off without a hitch. We picked her up at baggage claim and brought her home. We took Olive to our local vet for a welcome-home check-up and he confirmed that she’d received perfect medical care at the SPA and was completely up to date with her shots.

Our friends and family who visit all fall in love with Olive— boarding has never been a problem because they all want her. She’s received only kudos from her hosts (one family has a high-spirited dog who is calmer and better behaved when Olive is there).

Things have not been the same since Olive joined our family—they’ve been a million times better. One day, she cowered behind my husband when she saw a strange man walking down the street with a stick. My husband thinks she must have been beaten before she was found by the SPA. Can you imagine any sweet, gentle, 20-pound dog being beaten? We do everything we can to show Olive that no one will ever hurt her again, and she is so relaxed and happy now. And we are happier, too. The change in our daughter has been remarkable; it’s as if a cloud was lifted from her, and we’re profoundly grateful.

When I tell people the story of how Olive came to be ours, they ask, “Oh, you rescued her?”

I always tell them, “No. She rescued us.”

SAMM does rescue, rehab, foster care and transport of rescued Mexican street dogs to the US as well as locates adoptive homes locally. Through SAMM, nearly 150 dogs found their way to a new life in 2008. The SAMM website is www.saveamexicanmutt.org. You can view and subscribe to the Dog Blog at http://saveamexicanmutt.org/blog/ to keep up-to-date with our rescue efforts. If you find or adopt a dog and need help getting it back to the US, contact us at info@saveamexicanmutt.org. Save A Mexican Mutt (SAMM) is a 501(c)(3) US nonprofit organization.

Sociedad Protectora de Animales is a charitable organization devoted to the welfare, health and loving care of animals in San Miguel de Allende. It is the only animal shelter in this town. An on-premise clinic provides low-cost care for the local population of modest means. The SPA has functioned since the early eighties and proudly cooperates with all people and organizations dedicated to animal well-being in the area. Volunteers are welcome. Call 152-6124 weekdays, 11am–2pm, or check the website for more information at www.spasanmiguel.org.