Texas dog settles in a new home; 100 more dogs are expected to arrive Wednesday from the southern US.

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Lorraine Attwood says it was “love at first sight” when she met Maggie, a seven-year-old all-white mixed terrier puppy, who traded her US citizenship for a new life in Windsor.

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Maggie was one of 80 dogs that landed in Windsor in August, part of an El Paso Animal Services canine rescue mission in Texas, where shelters are crammed with abandoned pets.

“Please be sure to write in her story that we did not rescue her,” Attwood said. “She rescued us.

“I wanted a dog. He had an Australian Shepherd. He died last year, ”he said. “I had a stroke that year and she was with me the whole time and when she left I told her I needed another dog. I just need that emotional support. “

It has been a challenging summer for parts of the southern United States.

After just two weeks in her new home, Maggie has settled in comfortably, responds to orders, and goes directly to her cage each night when told it’s time for bed.

“She is playful, she is loving. It’s great, ”Attwood said. “Couldn’t ask for a better dog.”

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Windsor / Essex County Humane Society Executive Director Melanie Coulter said the majority of Texas dogs have been adopted.

“Basically all of the ones that were approved were adopted very quickly and there are only a few left who are ending up with some minor medical problems,” Coulter said.

Fifty of the 80 airborne dogs remained in Windsor, while about 30 were transferred to five other shelters across the province.

A second transport is expected to land in Windsor on Wednesday with about 100 dogs from various areas of the southern United States that were hit hard by this summer’s devastating storms.

The Bissell Pet Foundation is again facilitating relocation, Coulter said, working with shelters in a variety of locations that have been overwhelmed by summer outlets and abandoned animals during hurricanes.

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“It has been a challenging summer for parts of the southern United States,” he said.

A Facebook post Wednesday looking for foster volunteers, especially those willing to accept large dogs, prompted a huge response, and Coulter said the society now has enough applications.

Once the canines arrive, they will be isolated for two weeks to check for any behavioral or medical problems and spayed or neutered if necessary.

Coulter said American shelters are going to great lengths to make sure they send dogs that don’t have medical or behavioral problems.

“Our goal is to try to provide as much information as possible to our adopters and also to help the animal find a home that is suitable for them,” Coulter said.

“From the last group, we found that the dogs were for the most part, very friendly, very healthy, they would fit easily into most homes,” he said.

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“Once that two-week period has passed, we will begin to put them up for adoption. We hope, like the last group, once they are available for adoption, they will find homes quickly. “

Attwood, a lifelong pet lover who also shares a home with a cat, eight-year-old Willie, said she can’t understand how someone can abandon a pet.

“I don’t know why they left her like this,” Attwood said. “That is family. He would not leave her behind.

“I hope that somehow (she) can feel that she is loved, that she has a good home. I hope they have the feeling that we will take care of her. “

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