For the last four years, my family's shop, Wylie Wagg, has hosted dozens of adoption days for the Appalachian Great Pyrenees Rescue (AGPR). The Great Pyrenees breed is a big, beautiful dog with an equally beautiful personality. I'm proud to say the adoption events have helped at least 40 Great Pyrenees find loving homes. There is a good story behind almost every one of these adoptions, but one of the best involves Zoey, the first dog adopted through an AGPR event at Wylie Wagg.

Zoey was probably born sometime in 2003. Her first four years were really hard. She spent those years chained to a post in a barn stall. Even now, she has a scar on her nose from trying to hide her kibble from the donkey and horse that shared the same stall. An AGPR volunteer worked for nearly a year to get Zoey out of this bad situation. When she finally came into rescue, Zoey's coat was so matted that it had to be shaved off. But under the AGPR's care, Zoey began to come around. By the end of 2007, she was ready for her big debut at an adoption event. During this first AGPR adoption day, a couple from Maryland was just strolling around Middleburg and happened to come into Wylie Wagg. They saw Zoey and fell in love with her. They adopted her the next week. The next three years of Zoey's life were very different than the first four. She moved into a house in the Maryland suburbs, took long walks around her neighborhood, went to the beach each summer, and drove with her new family to Atlanta to visit grandchildren. Life was good.

But things fell apart for Zoey last year. Her mom developed severe allergies to pet hair and the family had to make the painful decision to give Zoey back to the AGPR. Because she was now an older dog, the AGPR was worried about how long it would take to find Zoey a new home. But Zoey caught a break.

Right about this time, Marika Clark O'Brien, who manages the Evelyn Alexander Home for Animals (EAHFA), a large horse rescue and sanctuary in Middleburg, had a problem. A fox was attacking the domestic cats and geese on the farm. She had seen flyers about the AGPR, so she called them up.

Zoey came over for an introduction and the rest, as they say, is history. She now has a new home where she lives the life she was bred for as a guardian dog. She watches over nearly 300 acres. After seeing how well Zoey took to her new job, the EAHFA adopted another Great Pyrenees, Bear, a few months ago. Marika recently wrote:

"I wish we could take six more! I just adore Bear, but Zoey is my girl. She's absolutely wonderful. She is the Queen Bee of the farm and she's always got my back. If I go to the barn for night check, she shows up out of nowhere, and if a contractor or a new person is meeting me on site, she's by my side; she's amazing."

Zoey's story has an unusually happy ending for an older dog. She was lucky. Older animals in rescue have an incredibly hard time finding homes. In the AGPR, older dogs usually stay a year or more before being adopted. In county shelters, many senior animals never leave because their time runs out.

For anyone able to adopt, please consider giving an older dog or cat a second chance. Every Zoey deserves a home … and every home would be lucky to have a Zoey!

A note from Albert: Many thanks to Howard Lewis, who works tirelessly on behalf of the AGPR. He suggested this article and, dare I admit it, wrote almost all of it! Thanks so much Howard!

Albert, a Jack Russell Terrier, is Chairman of the Board of Wylie Wagg, a shop for dogs, cats, and their people, in Middleburg, Fairfax, Falls Church and Arlington.