January 14, 2008

Dear Wayne,

We would like to thank you on behalf of AireCanada Rescue for your compassion for, and assistance with, Spenser. From the minute you stepped up and offered to help, you did nothing but good things for this poor little fellow.

In rescue, we have learned we cannot do everything by ourselves – we absolutely must rely on the generosity of people like you to help save Airedales who find themselves in predicaments. I simply do not have the words to say how much we appreciate the sort of help you supplied to Spenser . . . .

Geri tells me that you are offering to waive any fees you may have earned for helping Spenser. We are very prepared to pay you for your services to this poor dog but also appreciate the offer of waiving fees and the spirit in which it was made. We will leave it entirely to you to submit a bill to us or not. Our address is at the bottom of this note. In either eventuality, we appreciate your care of, and for, Spenser enormously. Spenser did not have a very good life, by all accounts, but he was extremely lucky in the friends he made just prior to his death.

Spenser was doomed from the moment that the first owner chose to ignore the growth on the dog's back. Melanomas are not to be treated lightly. Once they have metastasized, there truly is no cure. As you likely are aware, Airedales are very stoic and rarely admit to pain until they are in agony. Everything we could determine about Spenser's behavior through the Thoms and through your consultation with them seemed to indicate that the poor dog was in serious pain. Spenser's fate made Jim and I both very, very sad. We do not rescue dogs in order to euthanize them. However, knowing at least that the dog is now free of pain, something that would likely not have happened in a timely fashion had the dog stayed where he was, is somewhat comforting. We treat the rescues that come through our hands, even if our hands never actually touch the dogs as in this case, as we would treat our own. We will not permit a dog of our own to live in pain.

We're sending you a token of our thanks for your help with Spenser. We think Spenser would have liked you to have this as well. Somewhere, we're sure that Spenser is looking down and whispering, “There is that nice man that treated me so well. He deserves a small remembrance of the good he did for me . . . .”

Very sincerely,

Maureen Scott
AireCanada Airedale Rescue Network
Coquitlam, BC