Chinese Shar-Pei Wins ‘Doing More for Pets’ Contest

Heartwarming stories about 10 rescued animals were featured in this year’s “Doing More for Pets” Rescue Stories Contest. Thousands of people visited www.rallytorescue.org and voted for their favorite story. When voting ended at midnight on October 31, the winner was a Chinese Shar-Pei whom North American Shar-Pei Rescue called “Sunshine” and her owners knew as “Cypress.” Here is her story.

Like many other frantic calls that Debby Smith, vice president of North American Shar-Pei Rescue, receives from pet owners who have lost their dogs, the one from Adrienne Patton in April 2006 was filled with despair and disbelief.

“She just kept saying, ‘I can’t believe she’s gone. I know she’s out there somewhere,’” recalls Smith. “Adrienne did all the right things to find her dog. She posted fliers with the dog’s picture and contacted rescue groups and shelters. She called veterinary clinics within a 50-mile radius. She kept looking and looking.”

Days become months, and months became a year, and then two years. In her heart Patton did not forget “Cypress,” her dear Chinese Shar-Pei whose sweet, loving personality brightened even a bad day. The petite female dog had been a gift from her father. Adrienne and Cypress had been inseparable since the dog was an 8-week-old puppy.

When Smith learned last April that a severely injured Shar-Pei had been found on a rural Texas highway, she didn’t readily associate Patton’s Cypress with the found dog. Though she wanted to help the dog, she also knew that 10 dogs could be saved for what it would cost to repair the badly broken Shar-Pei.

Destiny guided Smith through old e-mails about lost dogs, leading her across one from Patton. When Smith realized the injured dog was found near Bowie, Texas, where Cypress had disappeared, she thought there could be a remote possibility this was Patton’s dog. “We’ve reunited lost dogs and their owners a couple of times, but none after this long,” Smith says. “Everyone kept saying this was the sweetest dog and offered to help. I put out a plea for help in raising money for surgery for the dog we called ‘Sunshine’ because of her sunny disposition. The plea was sent to our volunteers, adoptive families, Shar-Pei breeders and exhib­itors, and fellow rescuers. Within hours we had raised the money.”

Meanwhile, Smith called Patton to break the news about the found dog.

“Debby told me she didn’t want to give me false hope, but a dog had been found that could be Cypress,” Patton says. “She said it could be a long shot, but she had e-mailed pictures of the dog to me.”

When Smith’s call came, Patton was volunteering at a charity fundraiser. She called her mother, Jean Patton, and brother, Jarrett Patton, and asked them to check her e-mail and look at the photos.

“It was so awful to see the pictures,” says Jean Patton. “The dog was the same color as Cypress, but the wrinkles had gone away. They told us she had so many injuries they were not sure they could help her.”

That afternoon Adrienne and her mother drove to the veterinary clinic near Dallas where the dog was receiving care. “This dog meant everything to me,” Adrienne says. “I had to know for sure.”

When they arrived at the veterinary clinic, Adrienne’s heart was beating fast. As the dog came into the room, she wasn’t sure it was her Cypress. This dog had no Shar-Pei wrinkles and bones poked out from her skinny frame. Half-inch gashes were all over her body. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her head was covered with “road rash.” The dog could walk although surely it was painful; her pelvis was broken in four places.

Adrienne softly said, “Cypress.”

The dog responded by wagging her tail.

“Cypress,” Adrienne said again and again.

The dog came over to Adrienne and curled up in her lap.

Adrienne cried and cried, releasing pent feelings that had never went away. Days and days of worry began to melt despite Cypress’ pitiful condition.

“It was very upsetting and happy at the same time,” Adrienne recalls.

“Even the veterinarian and his staff could not believe Cypress’ reaction when she saw the family,” Smith says. “It left them with little doubt that our Sunshine was their Cypress.”

Two days later, Cypress had surgery to repair the broken pelvis. A veterinarian who works closely with North American Shar-Pei Rescue (NASPR) agreed to do the surgery at a significantly reduced rate. During the procedure, the veterinarian called Smith.

“He told me that he was shocked to find when he manipulated Cypress’ pelvis and pushed on one side, the other lifted up,” Smith says. “As he continued to go deeper he found her pelvis had been broken previously and left untreated, causing her pelvic bones to heal improperly. This was probably not the first time Cypress had been hit by a car.”

A couple of days after the surgery Adrienne and her mother took Cypress home. “She was up walking in record time,” says Jean Patton. “She acted like nothing had happened. After we got her home though we realized she was running into things and her eyes were clouded over.”

A veterinary ophthalmologist examined Cypress and found she had trauma-induced glaucoma. She would need eye surgery to alleviate the painful pressure in her eyes. One eye had no vision and would have to be removed.

Once again Smith appealed to NASPR volunteers, adopters, fellow rescuers, and Shar-Pei breeders and exhibitors to help raise money for Cypress. “One of our adopters contacted me and offered to not only pay for Cypress’ eye surgery but also to cover the cost of a prosthetic eye so the dog would look more normal for the family,” says Smith.

“The eye surgery was more difficult than the first surgery,” Jean Patton says. “We were up with her all night. It took her several weeks to heal, but she was a little trooper and very loving throughout the ordeal. Eventually she will need the other eye removed as well, but for now we are managing it with medication.”

Cypress turned 7 years old in September and has resumed a comfortable life as the Pattons’ beloved “little princess.” Some of her Shar-Pei wrinkles have even come back.

Smith, whose North American Shar-Pei Rescue played an important role in helping rescue Cypress and reunite her with her family, says, “This was one of those rare opportunities to bring a family back together. Cypress was loved and lost, and now she’s home. It doesn’t get much better than that.”