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I met Sophie on my very first trip to St. Martin. I had read a magazine article about the shelter (that is no longer) needing help and asking groomers to volunteer to groom dogs at the shelter. I decided that sounded like a great idea. It was the beginning of a long and amazing journey that will forever involve Island Dogs.
Sophie's mom Cher had been rescued from under a bunch of rubble after 3 hurricanes had hit the island a month prior to my visit. She was extremely feral and very human aggressive so it took some work to get her out of there.
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Within days, she gave birth to 8 puppies in the shelter (only two of which actually survived) one of which was Sophie. When I arrived, Sophie was 4 weeks old and the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. I would feed the puppies and Cher (barely escaping with my hand intact) every morning and Sophie was always the first puppy out to greet me, circling my feet etc...One day, she didn't come out. I searched everywhere in the pen and finally found her behind the dog house completely lethargic. After some crafty manipulating, I finally got past Cher and scooped Sophie's limp body out. She was burning up with fever (tick fever) and moaning loudly.
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I took her to the vet and had her looked at, got the medicine they prescribed and went home with Sophie (all 4 lbs of her) in my arms. I didn't sleep for days just watching her breathing and making sure she was still making noises. About 4 days later she finally came out of the fever and I knew that there was no way I was leaving this puppy behind. We barely got a health certificate the day before I flew home and off Sophie went with me to live in Seattle.
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Today Sophie is the smartest dog I have ever encountered. She was potty trained and had five voice commands down by 5 months old and never once made a mistake in the house. She and I have been doing agility together for the last two years and we are now truly a "team". She tests me every once in awhile just to see what she can get away with, but all in all, she is the greatest dog I have ever met. I can't imagine a better friend in the world. She loves to swim and RUN!!! She sleeps in her dog bed by the heater or on my feet at all times. She is a very serious little dog, but I see her sweet side all the time. She just turned 5 years old and I can't remember a life without her in it.
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Am I biased? Maybe, but I think these island dogs are BRILLIANT!!!
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