Angel de San Martin

We first met Angel when the San Martin shelter called about a 12 year-old German Shepherd that had not been reclaimed.  We found the perfect Thulani Program dog, a senior who had lots of good life left to enjoy, but one that would never be adopted from the shelter.  Nicole Breuner, a college senior from a family with a long history of helping rescue dogs, enthusiastically agreed to foster Angel for her remaining time.  Nicole had about 10 months left before she graduated and would be moving away, and we thought that would be plenty of time for Angel (little did we know about this spunky senior citizen).  So more than a year later (way to go Angel!!!), we found Angel a new forever home in central California, with a family full of dogs and people, including a 1 year old brother.  Angel’s story continues with Suzanne, Jim, and a whole batch of siblings, both two-legged and four-legged.

“The first word that comes to mind when I try to describe Angel is “spry.”  I don’t even know what it means, really, but it makes me think of my grandmother.   Actually I just looked it up and it means lively, which is true because Angel seems remarkably sprightly for her age. She doesn’t let her limitations get her down. And Angel reminds me of my grandma.   I can picture them both laughing and sharing a glass of scotch while playing cards for pennies (letting their grandkids win of course just because they love them.)

Angel has shown a true love for her family even though she has only known us a short time.   She loves to be relaxing on her bed watching us. And she doesn’t even mind sharing her bed in front of the tv with my one year old son, as long as he promises not to bother her. It’s an agreement that works for them both, with minimal moderation from me. In fact, from the beginning, Angel has slept at night on the dog bed by my son’s crib. Because it’s quiet? Or because she’s looking after him? Probably both.

So Angel is a respected grand-dame, a loving family member, and a guardian angel. I’m so glad she got the opportunity to live out that potential. She deserves it. And she lives each day like she knows and appreciates the gift of life that she’s been given. From the comfort of her dog bed of course!”