In early February, Dekalb County Animal Services put out an urgent call: A mama dog, heavily pregnant, had gone into labor at their facility and needed rescue placement immediately because no shelter is a healthy environment for new mamas or newborns babies.
Sunny, as mama is now known, came to Dekalb as part of a pack of stray dogs. All of the dogs found their owner or home but Sunny.
After seeing the post of Facebook asking for rescue help, the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia put out a call to its foster families and one stepped up to take in Sunny and her babies. Within 24 hours of the post, mama and her now eight offspring were transported to their new foster home.
Sarah, Sophie, Simon, Seth, Samuel, Stuart, Sawyer and Silas all and during the first week of April, all returned to HSNEGA to be adopted and, within 48 hours, all had found new homes.
But, as her babies were moving on, Sunny’s life was turned upside down. Sunny's foster mom noticed Sunny's neck was swollen and brought her to HSNEGA for a checkup. Her test results came back and showed Sunny has advanced lymphoma which is not treatable. Sunny's life span is anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
Sunny's foster mom has committed to keeping Sunny as a "hospice foster" and the Humane Society has started a special wish list for Sunny and people have been donating treats and blankets for her.
Meanwhile, a "Sunny's Big Day Out" celebration is scheduled Friday, April 19 to "show this girl her best life at the end of her life," according to a HSNEGA news release. Included will be "Puppacinos" at Starbucks, boat rides on Lake Lanier to a deserted island all her own to romp around, hamburgers for lunch, ice cream with her friends, maybe a visit to Home Depot - with Sunny the center of attention.
