‘Angel-like’ Dixie Lee helps small dog rescue
Madonna Martin found her Chihuahua mix dog named Angel, now a certified Human and Animal Bond In Tennessee dog, through Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee in January 2015. The pair took part in Third Annual Dixie Lee Wines & Liquors Pet Adoption and Wine Tasting Friday evening, July 20.
Abuse and a lack of proper vaccinations, with the tiny pup already having contracted parvo, were contributing factors to the trembling.
But hopes abounded for this puppy, his siblings and several other adoptable puppies and dogs on display Friday evening, July 20, in Dixie Lee Wines & Liquors’ wine-tasting room, 13044 Kingston Pike.
A few dozens dog lovers — including those with dogs now in loving homes once left for dead except for the efforts of Small Breed Rescue — enjoyed Third-Annual Dixie Lee Wines & Liquors Pet Adoption and Wine Tasting.
Angel, a Chihuahua mix, was one example of how loving care not only turned a sick, unwanted puppy into a loving pet — that love has been shared at veterans homes, senior assisted living centers and churches.
“She has given me so much love,” said Angel’s owner, Madonna Martin. “(Small Breed) was at a meet-and-greet at PETCO (in Farragut), just like one of these, in January 2015 when I adopted her. She was turned into a pound, I think in the Roane County Animal Shelter.”
“When I saw Angel I knew she was the one.”
On top of Angel being underweight with parasites, “I could tell later on, once I adopted her, that she had once been abused,” Martin said.
“But I worked with her, we went to training, and this last January I got her certified through the University of Tennessee vet school, as a HABIT dog: Human and Animal Bond In Tennessee,” she added. “So she’s a certified pet therapy dog.
“And I take her a couple of times a month to the Ben Atchley Veterans Home, and she has her own little dog buggy to ride in, which is really cute.
“The veterans really love that.”
They also are welcome visitors at Martin’s place of worship, Concord United Methodist Church, where “they have an adult daycare service for Alzheimer patients ... I take her there a couple of times a month for the seniors.”
Ellen Taylor Jones, co-owner of Dixie Lee Wines & Liquors, said about her “whole” family, “we are huge dog lovers. Our Liquors Wall here at the store features all of our customers’ dogs that they’ve brought into the business.”
“Anything we can do to help dogs find forever homes means a lot to us, so we enjoy working with these people,” she added.
