THE GIFT OF SAINT PETER

The 26th of June was a quiet Sunday for a lot of people but it was a landmark day for Pete, a black female Labrador Retriever. She was named Pete after Saint Peter by one of the kind people who had been feeding her.

It seemed that Pete was always by a gate when he came to feed. Depending on who was telling the story Pete had been on Rowe Mesa for 1 to 2 months. At first there were 3 abandoned dogs. One dog died and the other one was caught, but developed distemper and had to be placed in foster care. Pete was on her own, unwilling to let anyone touch her, for about 2 months, before a very compassionate person named Shari Shantasi (an Animal Angel if ever there was one) was contacted, and made a commitment to befriend and gain Pete’s trust.

For 3 to 4 weeks Shari who lives about 35 miles away, went to visit Pete every other day taking delicious treats to her. She even tried a humane trap but Pete was too street smart to fall for it. Very gently, patiently and calmly Shari set about gaining Pete’s trust. 8 days before Pete finally came to Shari she went up every day with hamburger meat balls. Through the heat, hard on human and dog, Shari visited - she would refresh Pete’s water and food and then feed her the meatballs as Pete came closer and closer to her.

She started lying down in the shade of Shari’s car and finally on the 26th day of June she allowed Shari to pet her, slip a leash over her head and then let Shari lift her into the back of the car. Pete laid her head on Shari’s lap – her fear-filled days on the mesa behind her.

Jane Carson