She may not be a retriever, but she is definitely retired. When we saw Button’s shelter picture online we just couldn’t look away. She is 13 or 14 (or a million) years old and has cataracts, dental disease, missing teeth, a hernia, and mammary tumors. She was also covered in ticks.

The shelter said that Button was picked up as a stray, but she couldn’t have gotten very far on her own. Based on the condition she was in, we have a feeling she may have been used by a backyard breeder to produce some very expensive Shih Tzu puppies and then dumped when she became too old to be valuable to them.

Fortunately for Button and for us, there are some really great people in the world. We reached out to our friend Wendy to ask for help and then everything started falling into place for Button’s rescue.

Button was at a shelter in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and we are in Savannah, Georgia, so we couldn’t just hop in the car and go get her. Wendy was out of town, but she asked her friends Ellis, David, and Eryn to coordinate getting Button out of the shelter and safely to Eryn’s house.

Eryn loved and cared for Button for a few days until we could move her to Savannah. She also coordinated Button’s spa day which we know had to make her feel better. The folks at Kritters with a K made Button look, feel and smell wonderful. In the meantime, Wendy coordinated an all-volunteer transport to help Button get to Savannah today.

She started her morning in Fort Lauderdale with Eryn and Wendy and then met up with Lori who drove her to Palm Beach Gardens. Ellen picked Button up in Palm Beach Gardens and drove her to meet Stefani in Vero Beach. Stefani drove her to Cocoa Beach, where she met up with Jessica and Jenn. They drove her to Daytona Beach, where she met up with Ron, who drove her to St. Augustine to meet up with Jim and Amanda. They drove her to Yulee where she met up with us and our friend Cheryl, and we brought her home to Savannah.

Every single one of us who met Button today and helped with her transport fell in love with this fragile old dog. We don’t know what her life was like before Wednesday of this week, but we know what her life will be like from here on out: for whatever time she has left, Button will know nothing but love and happiness. She will see our friends at Central Animal Hospital on Monday and we will make sure she gets all of the care she needs. If you would like to support Button’s recovery, please click here to make a tax-deductible donation.

Thank you to Just Jack’s Rescue for coordinating Button’s release from the shelter. Thank you to Eryn for welcoming Button into her heart and home this week. Thank you to all of Button’s transport drivers for spending part of their weekend helping an old dog. And thank you to Wendy for coordinating all of this and for always being there when we – and the animals – need her.

We look forward to posting more Button updates very soon.