Dog rescued in Sterling will have a new home
By Elizabeth Coe
Miss Mary, a dog deemed unfit for adoption by the Loudoun County Animal Shelter, will get a second chance now that a Northern Virginia rescue group has stepped in to help.
The 6-year-old golden Lab-shepherd mix ran wild in Sterling for three months last fall before she was trapped and transferred to the shelter in Waterford in late December.
Now, the Arlington-based branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken Miss Mary and will work to rehabilitate her and place her in a new home.
“I thought she was a stray. She just looked lost," said Kathy, the Sterling resident who spent months teaching Miss Mary to trust her and finally lured her into a trap. "I kept seeing her, and I couldn’t just leave an animal like that. I don’t know anybody who could walk past an animal like that and not help.”
Kathy did not want her last name used.
After seeing the dog several times in her neighborhood and running in the streets near the intersection of East Church Road and Sugarland Road in Sterling, Kathy called the SPCA. The organization did not have a dog trap large enough for Miss Mary, but the Loudoun County Animal Shelter did.
After weeks of eating food out of Kathy’s backyard, Miss Mary finally stepped all the way into the cage and was trapped, Kathy said. She was then transferred to the shelter in Waterford.
Although Miss Mary was microchipped and the original owner was located, that owner declined to pick up the dog, said Tom Koenig, director of the Loudoun County Department of Animal Care and Control. Therefore, it was up to the shelter to determine whether she could be adopted into a home.
Miss Mary’s shy behavior combined with a story of past aggression from the previous owner led the shelter to qualify her as unfit for adoption.
"Based on the information we got from that owner, the dog posed a safety risk," Koenig said. "If we've got someone who said the dog is aggressive toward kids, we can't adopt it out."
Upon hearing the news of Miss Mary, Kathy contacted Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), who was able to negotiate with shelter staff to ensure the SPCA could intervene.
"It is possible to rehabilitate any dog, it just takes a lot of patience, time and money," said Edith von Stuemer, a humane investigator with the SPCA who has been working on Miss Mary's case from the beginning. "It may take months, but that's our mission. We help dogs."
This is the first time the Northern Virginia SPCA has partnered with the Loudoun County Animal Shelter, but now the group may be able to help more Loudoun animals in the future, Koenig said.
Miss Mary will go through extensive rehabilitation and will work with well-known "miracle worker" Anthony Orange, the dog trainer for the SPCA whose talents have been featured on "Animal Planet."
"He knows what to do," von Stuemer said. "He works with kindness. We expect him to take Miss Mary home with him and train her. Then we can place the dog."
Kathy said she is glad she was able to help give Miss Mary a better future.
“At least she deserves a chance,” she said. “It worked out well, and that’s all that matters.”
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com