BOSTON TERRIER NETWORK: Every once in a while we are told on the news how a dog was saved by the owner, only to have the dog save the owner. We are amazed at the strange consequence this appears to be. This story is from someone who experienced this first hand.

 So begins my story of how I saved a little Boston Terrier only to have her save me the following year...
For several months, I had been having a re-occurring nightmare, and in this dream I could see this Boston Terrier cringing in fear as someone was striking it and hitting it in the face.

I've been told many times in my lifetime, that God brings certain people into your life for a purpose. I also know that in Hebrews 13:2 it says,"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware."   Well I guess angels can appear in all sorts of forms and ways, and my particular angel happened to have four legs and to be a Boston Terrier.

This dream was so real and vivid, I would wake up, go to our front room and not be able to go back to sleep. The dog in my dream had unusual markings and a half white face. Now my first Boston Terrier, Cooter, had a half white face and I thought that I was remembering her, as she had passed some 6 years earlier.

I would eventually go back to sleep but a few nights later, the dream would return. In my dream, the dog was terrified of whomever was beating it and I always felt helpless and unable to help this dog.

It was in late March 2013, I was sitting at home late one evening, watching television, as my husband Jim had already turned in for the evening. My cell phone rang and I recognized the number of a good friend, Lorelei, who is probably as crazy about Boston Terriers as I am.

Our conversation began with her telling me that she had been contacted earlier that day regarding a stray Boston Terrier that had been found East of our town and that she was now sitting there looking at the dog at her house. She told me right away that the dog was in pretty bad shape. She was malnourished, dirty, had hookworms, tapeworms, whip worms and Giardia. She had not been tested for heartworms yet, but possibly had that as well.

Our local vet had checked her out and he said that if left in her current environment she would not have lived another week. She was well on her way to crossing the Rainbow Bridge.

My friend wanted to know if I would help her with this dog and her vet bills, as it was probably going to get pretty expensive before she would be back to good health. I agreed to help and asked her to send me a photo of this dog.

A few minutes later, my cell phone buzzed, showing I had a message from this lady and when I opened the message, there was a photo of a starved Boston Terrier that you could count every rib. She looked like her head was too big for her little body. In her eyes you could see the fear and pain. This dog had given up and her spirit was broken. I immediately called my friend back and told her, "Yes, let's do whatever it takes to save this girl."

I didn't hear anything for a couple of days, and then one afternoon, my phone rang and it was Lorelei.

She started off the conversation telling me that the dog was doing better, but she had to watch her close, as she would eat and eat. Seems like you could not fill her up. She stated that this dog was sweet but had showed aggression towards Lorelie's own Boston Terrier, Max, and she could not let them play together because she was afraid she would hurt Max. Max tended to be a bit aggressive also, so she knew if given a chance, they would fight each other.

She went on to tell me that she needed a big favor, it seems before she rescued this dog, she had already made plans to go somewhere on spring break. She said the dog was slowly warming up to her, and she was afraid if the dog was taken to a kennel to be boarded, she would probably be stuck in a cage and have very little one-on-one attention. She asked, could I possibly keep her while she went on vacation. Without even hesitating, I said yes, that would not be a problem and she agreed to bring her over the next evening.

The next evening, I went to the front door and was met by Lorelie holding a small air kennel and inside was a scared, angry dog that snarled and showed her teeth. I really think she would have bitten me if she could. Life had beaten her so far down that she trusted no one and I felt that up until this point, this dog fought for every thing it had.

My dog Beans, ran up when she realized there was another dog in the house and if this dog could have gotten out of the air kennel, she would have hurt Beans. She growled, showed her teeth and lunged at the front of the carrier trying to get to Beans.

My husband, was leery of me keeping the dog and cautioned me to not let her out unless Beans was safely locked in our bedroom. He told me, that given a chance he thought the dog would hurt someone.

Now Beans has been with us since she was eight weeks old, and has never been mistreated a day of her life. She loves everyone she meets and is always friendly to other dogs, cats and even rabbits. I could see this was going to be a challenge, getting Beans and this new dog to accept each other.

After everyone went to bed, I slipped into the den and laid down on the floor next to her air kennel and started talking to her. At first she stayed at the rear of her kennel, growled and showed her teeth, but after about 30 minutes she calmed down and actually let me reach in and pet her.

She was trembling with fear and my heart just broke, I gently coaxed her out into the den and she came over and curled up beside me. I slept that night, on the floor of the den, with her curled up beside me. You could tell, she was not used to having anyone treat her kind.

The next morning I had Jim go to the storage unit we rent and get the large wire crate that we had used when Beans was a puppy. I lined it with old quilts and finally she had room to stretch out when she laid down.

That evening, when I came home from work, I slowly walked into the den and when she saw me, she did that cute little Boston butt wiggle and let me pet her. A bond was slowly forming between us.

I took her outside in our fenced yard and it as so weird, she would walk to the East side of the fence, sit down and whine, looking in the direction of where she had been found. Her teats were saggy and I could tell she had nursed puppies but she was no longer lactating. I wondered to myself, where her babies were and if they had survived. Deep down, it made me sick to think of what probably had happened to those babies.

--Part 1 of 2--