This is the story of the role of the part my mother played in a dog rescue story pertaining to a cute little pomeranian named Skippy.

My mother is an animal lover from waaaaaaaay back! When she was a little child, she had burials for little critters like squirrels and birds that had met their demise. Her parents supported this effort and you might surmise from this, that they also loved animals.

She and my Dad actually adopted a dog before they got married! This was in the day and age when people married first, and then lived together. They did not take possession of Happy until they married, but had chosen her out of a litter of pups that their friends had.

So they had an instant family of three when the nuptials were consummated. Two two legged family members and one four legged one.

This was the beginning of a series of animals that graced their homes throughout the years.

My parents generally had two dogs at a time and several cats. These animal companions came in all shapes and sizes and colors. Suffice it to say, they were each loved and welcomed additions to their homes and added what all animals do by way of love, laughter, fun and fur as well as a feeling of extra protection (especially in the cases of their German Shephards).

Fast forward......

My mother became widowed at age 55. She still had her furry friends to warm her bed and keep her company.

One year both of her dogs died within a short period of time. Heartbreaking! All animal lovers who have been there can understand the pain of losing not just one beloved dog, but both within a few months of one another.

Elliott was a little mixed breed, part Lhasa Apso and part Poodle, was the guess on the part of the animal shelter folks where she had gotten him. He was older and getting a little confused. Yes, we were to find out, dogs can also develop dementia much like humans.

None-the-less, it was a shock when he died suddenly from having a stroke. That was the veterinarians diagnosis.

My mother called her groomer to cancel Elliott's upcoming date and here is where the story evolves...

Her groomer is known far and wide for being a great animal lover. She has offered shelter to many a waif and continually finds good homes for them. She just cannot turn a blind eye to any animal that is hurt or needs food or shelter.

So, when she was presented with a pup that had been abused, she took it in as a matter of course.

This little pup was actually dog napped by the mother or mother-in-law of a husband and wife. The wife wanted the dog and the husband did not. The story told by the rescuer of the little dog was this: the man actually kept kicking the little pup so hard that sometimes it was vaulted across an entire room! She just couldn't stand it, and one day told them that somehow the dog had gotten out and it just could not be found.

The groomer had the dog named Skippy for several months trying to find just the right home for him. Naturally, Skippy was afraid of men!

When my mother talked to the groomer regarding canceling her appointment, the groomer (who will remain unnamed due to her complicity in this crime) asked my mother if she would be willing to take a look at this little abused pup who desperately needed a good home.

My mother's heart was open and she agreed to take him for a weekend trial. You can guess the rest! Little Skippy has become an important part of her life and now ours as well since my husband and I along with my mother now share a home together with her dog and our two cats.

It took a while for Skippy to get used to my husband who is also a great animal lover. Understandable since his first experiences as a little pup was to be used as a football by another man!

He is still shy around other people. We have tried taking him to dog parks to become better socialized with other dogs as well as people. We occasionally take him to Pets-Mart that allows dogs as well as people to shop there. Not much has helped get him past the experience of being abused and his trust of people remains low.

If it were up to Skippy, we would never invite other two legged people into our home. Of course we do. Instead of forcing the issue, we just let him stay in a part of the house away from others where he is more comfortable.

What brought this entire hub to my mind was a piece on the Today Show this morning that was talking about the need for shelters to take in pets as well as people.

Many women and children that need to leave abusive situations do not do so because a beloved pet will be left behind and suffer the consequences. According to what I learned this morning, of all the shelters in existence, only about 8 allow animals to be a part of the family unit.

This needs attention and change. Often brutality starts with abusing animals prior to it escalating to people. This is a red light warning! I wonder if the woman whose husband abused little Skippy remained in that marriage? We will never know.

Let's hope and work towards more people shelters being opened to animals. The result will be more lives protected.

A law was passed down in our part of the country that takes this into consideration for future disasters like hurricanes. Animals will now be welcomed into shelters like the Astrodome and other areas that house great numbers of people during emergencies.

All the animal lovers out there............let's contact our people in Congress and have them consider opening people shelters during emergencies to the animals that bring such joy into people's lives.  And if you are financially supporting a shelter, talk to them about opening it to animals for temporary housing during periods of crisis where the animals can be re-claimed after the emergency.

What do you say?

This particular story of a dog rescue and the role of my mother has a happy ending for the pomeranian Skippy. Abused animals can and should be reported to animal welfare agencies. Let's all do our part to keep our eyes and ears open and do what we can to protect our furry fellow creatures.