Karat was kept out in a field tied up to a doghouse. The family couldn't afford to keep her anymore, so they called asking if our association could help. They were told to take her to the vet to get her shots updated. They couldn't afford to do that, so they were told that we'd pay for it. A month passed, and they hadn't taken her in...finally, they called again; this time they took Karat to the vet where her eye was examined, had entropian surgery, got her shots, and was spayed. After two weeks at the vet, she was taken to a kennel where we had her boarded. Karat needed socialization, so we paid extra to the kennel for them to spend time working with her.

Karat had been at the kennel for two weeks before we brought her to her first adoption day. The following weekend was the Pet-A-Thon at PetsMart and a family that had seen her the prior weekend came back to see her again and have some of the other members of the family who had not been there the first time meet her. That day we took 4 applications on her and the following day 3 more families came by who wanted to adopt her as well. Later that week we took her to the home inspection and placed her with the initial family.

Karat's name originally had been Fluffy, but as the family's dogs had all been given names that began with a K, they changed her name. As Karat was thought of as being 24 karat gold, and she is a golden red, they decided that would be perfect for her. Their other Chow's name was Katrina. They also had a cat whose food Karat immediately decided tasted great. At first it looked like the match was going to work out. However, after a while Katrina decided that she didn't like having Karat invading her space, so they began having rather demonstrative arguments. Our trainer went over to the house to see if she could work out the problems they were experiencing, but to no avail. In the end it was decided that although the entire family was heartbroken over having to give Karat up, it was best for both of the Chows.

So, Karat came back to us in July. We no sooner got her back that a family came in to see her, fell in love, and expressed their desire to adopt her. We took Karat to her new home in early August. Her new family absolutely adores her and spoils her endlessly.

Page created by: Adopt-A-Chow Rescue
27 August 1999