Dog rescuer Audray Luck was cooking dinner when she got the call. A dog had been abandoned when some tenants moved out of their house two weeks ago. They'd simply packed up and left. Could she help?
Ms. Luck stopped what she was doing and drove to the address 10 minutes away in Dade County, North Georgia. She said that one of her friends there rents out properties, and this house was one of his rentals.
“He didn’t know what to do with the dog, and he sent my partner and me a picture,” she told The Epoch Times.
The animal looked like some sort of Australian shepherd, and she had stayed waiting patiently outside the house for her owners to return for a fortnight. When Ms. Luck arrived on the scene last December and saw the dog for real, greeting her kindly, her heart hurt for the dog.
“You could see the sadness in her eyes,” the 31-year-old animal lover said. “She was incredibly sweet, and her eyes just looked into your soul. You could see the longing in them, and she couldn’t understand what was happening. She’s so loyal, she stayed there—waiting for her owners to come back for two weeks.”
The first thing Ms. Luck did was knock on the door of a neighbor’s house, to see what she could find out. She learned that the dog’s name was Lucy and the heartbreaking story behind her abandonment. The previous tenants were a couple, and they had three dogs. When they broke up, each took one dog—leaving Lucy behind. The kind neighbors had been giving her food and water and checking in on her.
“The neighbors couldn’t take her into their house for whatever reason, but they did what they could. The problem is that we don’t have animal control or an animal shelter. There’s no one for them to call,” Ms. Luck said.
Returning to Lucy, she noticed the scared, timid dog had been neglected for some time. In order to get close, Ms. Luck had to first win her trust.
“She was standoffish, which is completely normal because I’m a stranger coming onto her property. She was neglected, possibly abused; feeling me out as much as I’m feeling her out,” she said.
Lucy retreated back onto the porch where she had been living, and Ms. Luck slowly followed, giving her treats. Within minutes, the dog was on her back getting belly scratches.
There was a lot of work to do. Lucy’s coat was heavily matted, and she was infested with fleas. Her collar was so tight around her neck that Ms. Luck couldn’t even get a finger in between her skin and the collar.
Straightaway, the dog was treated with flea and tick medication, and the very next day, she was at the groomer’s having all the painful mats removed from her fur.
The day after that, Ms. Luck, who doesn’t have a shelter but works with foster carers, took Lucy to the vet’s office. There, it was discovered she’d already been spayed but needed up-to-date shots and a microchip. A tooth examination revealed that Lucy was around 3 or 4 years old.
Ms. Luck is equipped with a list of “good, solid” fosters she refers to as “mystical, magical creatures because they’re so hard to find.” The goal is to hold the rescued animals tight and cuddle them, care for them, and make sure they have a clean bill of health before starting the adoption process.
After taking Lucy to the vet, Ms. Luck dropped her off with a foster and didn’t see the dog for a couple of days. When she went back, Lucy was like a different dog. When Ms. Luck opened the door, Lucy recognized her immediately.
“She ran right up to me, jumped up, and gave me a big hug. Her eyes were glowing. Her tail was wagging, and she had this big smile on her face,” she said.
“I got maybe 30 applicants from the Netherlands, from Germany, from all over the United States, New Mexico, Colorado, New York,” said Ms. Luck, who then had the task of going through and properly screening potential new homes. After long and serious consideration, she was able to find Lucy her forever home.
Tina Coffey, a close friend of Ms. Luck, lives in Chattanooga, just 15 minutes away from Dade County. Ms. Luck gets to visit whenever she likes, and she knows that Lucy will have the best home forever.
The dog rescuer, who is originally from Minnesota, moved to North Georgia four or five years ago after living in various locations in the United States and abroad.
“When I moved, and we got our property here, I was shocked at what I saw with animal neglect and animal abuse,” she said. “They are chained up 24/7, living outside 24/7 in harsh conditions; some of these animals don’t even have shelter or adequate food. All these animals just needed help, and no one was helping them. Many just get dumped.”
Three years ago, Ms. Luck, following her heart and feeling obligated to do something, slowly began rescuing dogs. By this point, she estimates she has helped get hundreds into safe homes.
“Working with rescues was difficult because the rescues are just so full of animals, they can’t take on more. So, I had to do the work myself, get them vetted, and find them good homes,” she said.
When a dog shows obvious signs of neglect, it makes Ms. Luck sad for them but also gives her fuel.
“Knowing that this beautiful, precious dog that just wants love and is so loyal never got the attention or the love that she deserved, just drives my mission even more to make sure that these animals find the best homes,” Ms. Luck said.
