Woman reunited with dog after stay in women's shelter — and donors helped make it happen
Strangers who saw the story online sent donations to pay the boarding bill for Cuddles
It was an emotional reunion at a St. Catharines, Ont., animal shelter this week between Nicole and her dog Cuddles, whom she hadn't seen since she fled to a women's shelter a month ago.
We didn't want anything for Christmas as long as we got Cuddles back.- Nicole, dog owner
And donors — strangers — from across the continent helped make it happen.
Nicole, 34, whose last name CBC News is withholding at her request, visited the Lincoln County Humane Society (LCHS) Wednesday to see Cuddles for the first time since Nov. 21. That's when Nicole, accompanied by her teenage daughter, left her home and relationship with nothing more than a garbage bag full of clothes and a pocket full of dry dog food.
When the pair were reunited Wednesday, the little dog whimpered and leaped into her arms to lick her face, and Nicole broke down in tears.
"We didn't want anything for Christmas as long as we got Cuddles back," she said. "We can push through anything else."
It was Cuddles, the six-year-old Pekingese-Chihuahua cross — "a Pekachu," she says — that helped her come to the important decision to leave after her former partner threw the dog against the wall during an argument. The incident, Nicole said, made her worry that Cuddles "would be the first thing he'd reach for."
After going from town to town looking for a shelter with an available bed, she ended up in St. Catharines. She couldn't take Cuddles into the shelter, though, so she boarded the dog at the LCHS.
Her bill after a month totalled about $1,000. The LCHS cut it in half and made arrangements for her to pay in instalments. But in the end, that wasn't necessary.
Nicole's Facebook post about her ordeal went viral after it was shared on TheDodo.com, and donations started pouring in to the LCHS to pay off her bill.
I was standing outside and I was already crying.- Nicole, before the reunion
And they've kept coming. Someone has offered to donate furniture for Nicole's new place, which she will move into on Jan. 1. Until then, a local media personality — Kristy Knight from 91.7 Giant FM — will board Cuddles, and Nicole can visit her regularly.
Nicole was nervous about reuniting with Cuddles on Wednesday, she said.
"We made a joke: What happens if she runs the other way?" Nicole said. Beforehand, "I was standing outside and I was already crying."
Kevin Strooband, LCHS executive director, wasn't worried at all.
"When you're in the business like I am, you know that's not going to be a concern," he said. "And it wasn't."