‘International
Dog Of Mystery’
Lands in B.C.
For Rescue
By Lena
Sin, Vancouver
Province
VANCOUVER — With
the help of some
perfect
strangers both
here and abroad,
Callie the Costa
Rican dog has
taken an
unconventional
journey to find
a new life in
B.C.
After two plane
rides and a few
hours on the
road, the
lovable,
abandoned mutt
from the seaside
town of
Tamarindo, Costa
Rica, arrived in
Vancouver
Saturday night.
“It makes you
believe in human
kindness. For
every person out
there who abuses
animals, there
are many more
who love
animals,” Jenny
Wright says of
the strangers
who helped her
bring Callie
north.
Callie is a
lively and
obedient
two-year-old dog
with black spots
and white fur.
Wright believes
she’s a mixed
Dalmatian,
terrier and pit
bull cross.
The 58-year-old
Vancouver music
therapist, with
two rescue dogs
of her own back
home, found
Callie, a skinny
and lonely
figure on a
beach during her
vacation in
February. Wright
immediately took
to Callie,
despite her
husband’s
warning: “Don’t
come back with
another dog.”
Wright and a
friend decided
to care for
Callie while
finding her a
home.
Remarkably, on
two separate
occasions, the
women met two of
Callie’s former
owners — but
neither were
willing to take
her back.
Finally, with
their vacation
quickly
expiring, Wright
found the
Refugio de
Animales, a dog
shelter willing
to take Callie
for a small
monthly fee.
Staff assured
Wright that
Callie would
eventually find
a home. But in
Vancouver, she
continued to
worry.
“The way
people’s
circumstances
can change in
Costa Rica, when
they’re poor
again, they just
turf the dog,”
says Wright.
So she started a
“Bring Callie
Home” Facebook
page and put ads
on Craigslist
asking if anyone
could bring
Callie to
Vancouver.
Dana Ricci,
whose brother
lives in Costa
Rica and whose
daughter was
travelling to
the country, was
one of two
people who
answered the ad.
Saturday, her
daughter,
18-year-old
Emily Hagerty of
Coquitlam, B.C.,
made the journey
home with
Callie.
To get the dog
ready for the
trip, Leigh
Monahan,
vice-president
of the animal
shelter, whom
Wright has never
met, volunteered
to get all the
necessary
vaccinations,
health
certificates and
a transport
crate.
Monahan gave the
dog to Hagerty’s
uncle, who
handed him off
to Hagerty for
the voyage home.
“We’re calling
it the
international
dog of mystery
because all
these people who
have never met
before are
meeting in all
these random
places. Jenny
has never met
Leigh, and of
course Leigh has
never met (my
brother), and
I’ve never met
Jenny,” laughs
Ricci.
Meanwhile, yet
another
stranger,
25-year-old
Claire Flater,
has volunteered
to temporarily
foster the dog
and is expected
to pick up
Callie Sunday.
Though Callie is
now in
Vancouver, the
journey’s not
quite over yet.
Wright has no
room for another
dog and is still
looking for
someone to adopt
her.
Read more at:
http://www.theprovince.com/travel/International+mystery+lands+rescue/2976694/story.html
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