Dachshund Rescue of North America
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Alastor
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Story submitted 2006-11-03
About four months after we adopted Corona (see Happy Tail), my husband Peter and I unexpectedly lost our lab mix Thor. I got through my grief by looking daily at the available DRNA doxies. I knew that another dog would not replace Thor, but I knew his passing left a space in our home and in our hearts for another homeless dog. (Thor himself had been homeless at one time.)

I set out to find a male smooth black and tan. Pete and I have Nigel, a red smooth male from the Dallas/Fort Worth Dachshund Rescue; Corona, a chocolate and tan long-haired fuzz ball from DRNA; a yellow lab mix, Forrest; a chocolate lab, Mousse; a black lab, Trover; and four cats: Tubby, Zephyr, Linus and Keyhole. The only thing missing was a smooth black and tan male. Each time I found what I thought was the perfect dog, before I knew it, they were adopted. As happy as I was that these special dogs found homes, I wondered why I wasn�t meant to be their mom.

Then one day I found the answer. I saw the most adorable black and tan smooth male doxie I have ever seen . . . and he was perfect. He was also blind. I wrote to his foster mom and got the scoop on having a blind dog. Yolanda�s emails were encouraging. His blindness did not discourage me. It actually made me want him more. I showed the correspondence to Pete and he felt the same way. I was so elated to hear Pete say, Yes, that's the dog.

So, to my great relief, we were granted the ok to adopt him. Again many wonderful volunteers transported our new family member to us. I�ve been in touch with Jenn ever since she delivered Corona to us in December 2004. She was as thrilled as I was that she would be available to deliver our new baby to us, too! So on July 31, 2005 Justice Alastor Kaynor officially joined the pack. His name starts with Justice because justice is blind. (Alastor's daddy is an attorney. Can you guess who came up with that part of his name?) Alastor (which is what we call him, and he knows it well) is named for Alastor Mad-Eye Moody from the Harry Potter series. Both being fans of the books and movies, Pete and I knew Alastor Moody has a magical eye. We figured with our Alastor having no sight, but still being able to see love and happiness, his eyes must be magical, too!

Before Alastor arrived we knew we could offer a loving home to a blind dog. We thought, Well, he'll be a little extra work, but giving him a forever home will be worth it. To our surprise, Alastor is the easiest dog we have! He needs help on the stairs . . . and that's about it. He cuddles every night with his daddy and continues to melt our hearts. I sent out adoption notices (I have one hanging on my cubicle at work), and his photo was our 2005 Christmas card. For the Holidays I put together a photo album and sent it to Yolanda. She said she could tell how happy he is. Jenn and I continue to email photos of our four-legged kids back and forth. The other dogs and Alastor do so well together. Everyone who meets him just falls in love. We are so very lucky and happy.

Thank you,
Sandy & Peter Kaynor
Peru, Maine

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