[News] Mad About Madison: Families Compete for a Yorkie

[fasteddie]

This is a story of puppy love, by the numbers.

It starts with the number one — one little Yorkshire terrier, 8 months old, given over to the Humane Society of Collier County for adoption. From one, the story jumps to 150 — the number of names on a Humane Society wait list for small dogs.

Perhaps because of Naples' condo society and all the rules and regulations often associated with living in one, little dogs are the kind of pet most people want to adopt from the organization, says Michael Simonik, executive director of the Humane Society of Collier County.

He shares more numbers: "More than 50 percent of the people walking in the door say, 'What small dogs do you have,'" Simonik says.

As a result, all surrendered small dogs are immediately put on hold for wait-listed clients. The same was true for this little Yorkie, named Madison. But Simonik wanted to do something different to find her a home, something to draw awareness to the adoption process.

He looked over the small dog wait list and found 16 families that were specifically interested in Yorkies. Then, he selected three families that would have a chance to spend one day and night with the puppy, trying to develop a bond and videotaping their efforts. Simonik's inspiration was "Who Gets the Dog," a similarly styled show on television's Animal Planet channel.

Simonik selected three families, but disqualified one when he learned they had lied on their application: The family had concealed a previous surrender of a dog. Simonik revised the final three families to be Sunny and John DeMartino, Sheryl Spears and Jenny and Ismael Del Rios.

The three families went through the Humane Society's interview process, working with an adoption counselor and answering a 30-question application about their housing restrictions, work habits and how they planned to train, care for and raise a dog.

Finally, the family's videos were reviewed by a panel comprised of Simonik, Friends of Gummi president and founder Janice Rudolph and Collier County Animal League president Ronnye Randall. All three organizations are devoted to animal rescue and adoption.

The story that started with one would end with one, too: One happy family that gets to call Madison their own. But Simonik's hope is that all potential animal adopters will better understand the Humane Society's process.

"The deeper mission is to find a lifelong home for every pet that becomes homeless," Simonik says.

Those interested in giving a home to a larger, mixed breed dog need not worry about playing by the numbers, however: the Humane Society has plenty of dogs eligible for adoption.

A girlfriend for Reggie

Sunny DeMartino is looking for love.

Not for herself; she has been married to John DeMartino for 10 years. No, Sunny wants to find a special someone for the other man in her life, her Yorkie named Reggie. She rescued him from a shelter and he has become more like her child than her pet, she says. He's never out of her sight for more than a few hours, and even that is seldom, she adds.

Reggie, now 10, is getting older, and she knows what a little girlfriend would mean to him, she says — more companionship and excitement, for sure, and maybe a longer life.

But she won't take just any pup. First, she wants to adopt a dog from a shelter.

"Anybody can go out and buy an animal," she says. "But to take an animal that really needs a home, that's a noble thing to do. And there's a special bond."

And second, she wants another Yorkie.

She has to think about Reggie, after all. She has to think about his tiny size, and how a bigger dog might overwhelm him. She has to think about what is best for her best baby, and believes that might be Madison.

"They had their little interview (at the Humane Society) and they really loved each other," she says.

When Madison comes to the North Naples DeMartino house for her overnight, Madison and Reggie race around, scrapping over toys, chasing around furniture. They shuffle through the kitchen, where Sunny keeps Reggie's main food and water dishes. Actually, there are food and water dishes throughout the house, so Reggie never has to go far.

The dogs tear around the living room, where Sunny has a special purple cushion, complete with soft purple blanket, for Reggie — specifically, that's called his "tuffett" — and a special matching pink one for Madison for the night. The little dogs run into Sunny and John's offices: Sunny's is done in French country style, with a French country style doggie bed to match; John's is done in animal prints, with another matching doggie bed.

They visit the garage and Sunny's gold Mercedes sedan. Inside is a water glass for Reggie to drink from when he goes on trips with Sunny, and more animal print doggie beds.

The Yorkies run through the master bedroom, where Sunny had a special chaise made for Reggie to help him jump up on her high bed.

"My husband thought I was out of my mind," she remembers.

Sunny's not a stranger to being called a fanatic when it comes to Reggie. She doesn't think of herself that way, though. She's just building a relationship, she believes, and taking good care. That's what you have to do with all dogs, but especially with a Yorkie.

"Yorkies are not dogs," she says in her soft, even voice. "They are little people. They take over your heart, your soul and your mind completely."

A good time for a good dog

When she was a restaurant server, Sheryl Spears used to work nights, used to come home late. That was no time to get a dog, she knew.

Things have changed, though. Now, she works days and has more stability in her life. A little dog has started to make perfect sense, and she would especially like a Yorkie like Madison.

There are two Yorkies in her neighborhood. When she saw them, Spears immediately wanted one, too. But when she realized how much they cost from a breeder or a pet shop, she headed to the Humane Society to put herself on the waiting list.

Then came the chance to meet Madison, the silky little pup sitting next to her on her couch, heartily nibbling on a synthetic blue bone. Madison came to her East Naples townhouse on Saturday afternoon, and they spent their day and night together cuddling and relaxing, Spears says. Just getting to know each other.

"She's a honey," Spears says of the tiny dog.

Although Spears is ready for a pet, she also has to be particular. She loves cats, but her fiancé is allergic to them, which rules out many of the "good, fat lap cats" at the Humane Society. A little dog will be a nice, sweet alternative, though.

She enjoys Madison, she says, because she is so very curious. The little dog is into everything possible, running up and down the hallways, trekking lightly over laps, climbing on the back of Spears' couch to see herself in the giant mirror that hangs there.

"She's nosy," Spears says. "That's what I like. And she's prissy. She's very prissy."

She noticed how Madison didn't like to get her feet wet in the long grass in Spears' neighborhood, as if she disdained to get dirty. But she wasn't a cowardly little pooch either, Spears noticed: When little Madison saw big dogs coming their way, she stood up to them.

Not that Spears was going to allow that, she said.

"I pick her up because I'm afraid of those other dogs," she says.

[fasteddie]

That's the kind of treatment Madison will have to grow accustomed to, Spears says. She is going to get the best of everything for Madison, the best doggie bed, the best carrying bag.

"She'll be the queen of the house," Spears says.

And probably the princess of some other places, too: Spears oversees catering at WCI's Colony in Bonita Springs. Several of her co-workers are dog lovers, and Spears brought in a photo of Madison to show them. They were properly impressed, Spears recalls, and have all begun to root for her to become Madison's new mom.

Spears' parents, her neighbors, her son in Tampa, even someone she met who works at the Humane Society, Spears says — they're all keeping their fingers crossed.

"She's good," Spears says, petting the dozing Yorkie, savoring the quiet time together. "She's a good puppy."

Someone to love

Jenny Del Rio was ready for Madison.

She read a book about Yorkies. She ordered food and water dishes from a catalog. She also ordered a swinging pet hammock and a special brush for the little Yorkie's long, smooth fur, and bought a soft-sided carrying case, too.

"My plan is to take it with me everywhere," Del Rio says.

That's if she gets Madison, she says. She doesn't know yet, but she wants to be ready, just in case. She wants Madison to have everything she needs from the moment she comes home, if that happens. If.

And Del Rio is hopeful, so hopeful. Her two children are grown now. Her son lives in Naples, but he is married and has a career at a bank. He's busy. Her daughter is away at the University of Florida on a full scholarship. She doesn't have much time to get home to her family.

"They grew up, they flew away from me," she says. "Now I'm alone with my husband. We need company."

Del Rio would like something to take care of again. She has some chickens in the yard and a fish in a bowl that she keeps at her office and carries home with her when she goes on vacation because she worries about it being left alone, but Del Rio wants a little dog like Madison. She wants something soft to snuggle between her and husband, Ismael, on the couch at night while they watch television.

Madison is soft, she says, petting the little dog. "Like a little piece of cotton," she says.

"I love the ears," she says.

Madison would be good for her husband, too. He's on permanent disability and can't work. Most days, he will care for the chickens, watch a little television. Madison could keep him company while she's gone at work, Del Rio says.

And while she was away at work, she could take a picture of Madison with her, too. All the people at her office do that, she says. They put the photos up on a special board. She doesn't have anything on that board now, she says, but maybe she will be able to put something there soon. If she gets Madison. If.

She doesn't mind the process of having the little puppy come to stay with her family for a night. She believes it's a good idea for Madison's sake. There are plenty of people who treat dogs like dogs, she says, not like it's good company, not like it's something alive. This little dog needs to go to good people, she says.

"In the other way, it's a little sad for the family," she says.

Dogs, families and videotape

This is it.

The panel will sift through all the videotape, all the footage collected over several days and nights by several families, and make up their minds about Madison's new home. They're especially looking for a bond between Madison and someone.

"That's the hardest thing to look for," Randall says.

"Because it's an emotional thing," Rudolph continues.

But they'll look for it. They'll also be watching for the three things Simonik asked each family to try with Madison: Put her through her sit-stay-come commands, groom her and attempt to teach her a new trick.

The DeMartinos are first. They especially like that while Sunny DeMartino obviously has the financial means to buy a dog, she prefers to adopt a dog from a shelter.

"She's got the heart," Rudolph says.

Sunny DeMartino is clearly a pro with a Yorkie, and Madison sleeping on top of John's head as he naps on the family's couch on Saturday afternoon serves as proof to the panel of the sought-after bond. Sunny gets in the pool with Madison, hopefully to show her how to swim, should she ever fall in and need to save herself — but all the judges agree that it's unlikely Madison would ever be far from Sunny's saving hands.

But they also notice Madison seeming to bond with Sheryl Spears' fiancé, Ray Malone. This family seemed to follow his instructions best, Simonik says — the guidelines to train, groom and put Madison through her paces.

When they watch the Del Rio video, Randall announces she has no doubt that this family deserves a dog.

The family plays endlessly with Madison, taking her out in their vast Golden Gate Estates yard to run on her leash. Shortly before 7 p.m., a time when Simonik says Madison is usually wild with puppy energy, the little dog is dozing on the Del Rio couch.

The Del Rios bathe Madison and brush her and blow her dry, give her new toys, teach her to stand on her back legs to earn a treat, put her to sleep in their daughter's bed and keep checking in on her past midnight.

Only one family can get the dog, though, and the sentiment is turning toward Sunny.

Rudolph likes seeing little dogs in pairs, she says. Randall likes the courtyard that Sunny has attached to her home, an addition that means the dogs won't have to go out in the yard and face neighborhood nuisances, such as other animals. Simonik adds that Sunny's name was on the waiting list the longest.

It's done. Madison's new mommy is Sunny.

Too bad this can't be done for every dog or cat, Simonik says. Putting an animal in the right home the first time means it's less likely they'll eventually be returned, he explains. But in the hard and fast business of animal placement, practicality trumps something as fun and fanciful as this.

"If we did that for every animal, we could adopt out far fewer," Janice says.

Like in that famous book by Nabakov


Madison, Simonik and Rudolph go in one car. Randall goes in another.

They've laid a trap for Sunny, told her they have a few more questions to ask her about the possible adoption. And they'll need to ask her in person. At home. Sunny, reached on her mobile phone, is having lunch with a friend downtown. Reggie is with her. But of course, she'll go home immediately to meet them.

When the panelists ring the DeMartino doorbell, Reggie barks. Sunny opens the door and her eyes fill with tears. She reaches out for her new little dog.

"Oh, I knew you liked it here," she says to Madison.

Simonik, Janice and Randall congratulate her. Sunny holds Madison, who squirms to be reunited with Reggie on the ground, and thanks them and thanks them. She tells them they won't be sorry, and swears she didn't know it would be her. Everyone told her it would be her, she says — her husband, her friends — but she didn't know.

Lots and lots of people wanted this little dog, she told her husband. John responded by reminding her that she's a fanatic, she says.

And now here is Madison. Or, as Sunny has decided: Lola.

She has noticed that Madison is a little tart, she says, always flirting with Reggie. And the name of that most famous, most dangerous flirt, Lolita, might be too long of a name to give a dog, so she's shortening it to Lola.

Sunny bends down to scoop up Reggie, and holds both dogs in her arms. She quickly crunches a different sort of number in her mind: Doggie years and odds of the Reggie and Lola making a love connection.

"I don't know," Sunny says to Reggie. "You're a 70-year-old bachelor, and now you're going to be a married man."

http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapo...932453,00.html

[Ilovebaby]

Wow that is so awesome...Madison was so lucky to have 3 loving homes wanting to adopt her. I wish all abandoned animals were so lucky. Great story.

[MaxiMillion]

that was a very cute story madison is very lucky girl. i would like to eventually get a pal/sister for my little maxi!

[sillyjacki]

That is so sweet. Truly a good way to find the right home.

[DiOrGiRLy]

Great story with a happy ending

[lilbumbleybees]

too bad all adoption stories don~t end up that well.

[centralnewyorki]

What a great story!

[Stitches29]

Great story with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing.