by Angela Schmoll

Created on: January 22, 2009

Gypsy was well known at the interstate welcome center where she'd lived for nearly a year. Travelers on Interstate 77 heading south into North Carolina often glimpsed the small black and white dog, skirting the edges of the buildings and hoping for a handout, but no one could get close to her. Looking like a cross between a border collie and a whippet, she would quickly flee to the surrounding woods. They frequently called wanting someone to rescue her, but neither staff nor animal rescuers had any luck. Had it not been for a DOT supervisor ruling the dog had to be removed or shot, she might have lived there indefinitely. It was that edict and a little romance with another dog who arrived in the summer that led to a most unusual animal rescue.

During the late summer, Gypsy had pups under a tree close to water treatment plant. Center staff fed and watered her and worried that the axe would fall before she was caught. Plans were made for a group of volunteers to try to catch the dog in her den and then dig her and pups out. Unfortunately, the best laid plans.... A pair of overanxious volunteers went to check on the dog and wound up digging out her pups, leaving her with no babes to feed and the young with no one to care for them. Plans were rushed ahead and the next morning all the volunteers, including the two who had custody of the four young, were on hand. A four-panel lot with a gate was erected and the pups put inside. A rope tied to the gate was covered with leaves and laid across the ground where one volunteer had the duty of closing it. As the humans kept a loose circle, Gypsy fretted about the crying pups and her Romeo trailed her around the busy welcome center.

It was hours in the August heat before the little dog finally decided to get close to the fence she feared. The lure of her babies inside eventually became too much for her and she crept to the gate. One little fellow was just inside and rescuers feared she would grab the pup and run. Instead, once she sniffed him she simply had to see the rest and she was through the gate, which was quickly closed behind her. After a quick reunion, she was collared and brought out to be placed in a crate. The puppies joined her and they were routed to a vets for her rabies vaccine, then to a temporary foster home where they lived in a fenced yard far from the house until the puppies, who never embraced their mom's fear, were weaned and adopted.

Then the real task of rescuing Gypsy from a life of fear began. She was allowed to socialize with family dogs and soon began to approach the back door. The first touch was a frightening thing - caught on the deck she had no where to go - but she began to accept it. By the time she returned from being spayed, she was well on her way to being ready for a forever home. On the day she was adopted, her new owner traveled across two states to get her - she'd fallen in love with the dog she'd glimpsed while traveling. (Gypsy's Romeo also found a home, getting friendly with staff after his girlfriend was gone).

With the number of people involved and the coordination and time required to move the throw away dog from feral to friend, the rescue of Gypsy had to be one of the most unusual animal rescues ever.

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