The Southside SPCA, dedicated to saving animals since 1975, is beginning the Field of Dreams Dog of the Month program in February. Named after their Field of Dreams kennel which houses senior dogs, the goal of this program is to find home for senior pets.

Southside SPCA serves a large geographic area that is mostly rural. They also rescue numerous abused and abandoned animals. Like many shelters, Southside SPCA has animals that never seem to get adopted. These animals stay at the shelter year after year, some live out their lives there. These animals may have special needs or may be older than is desirable. Or they may simply be hounds. Most of these dogs are housed at the old shelter facility now known as the Field of Dreams.

While the Field of Dreams is a great place for these animals to live, what they really need is a real home. To get their stories out, the SPCA will highlight one special dog every month. Southside SPCA believes that every dog has a home waiting for it – they just need to find that home.

The Field of Dreams Dog of the Month for February is Cookie.

Cookie was put over the fence at the old shelter with three pups on February 19, 2007. She was estimated to be two years old. Her pups went to the Sterling Animal Shelter on March 5, 2007.

“The pups were sweet,” stated Sandy Wyatt, Shelter director. “I picked them up right away and put them in a crate. Cookie was very leery of me. She would not let me catch her. I finally sat in the open side door of an old car with food and she started coming up and kind of nipping at me, not knowing what to do.”

“We kept her in the office in the lobby for a couple of years and she became the queen of the lobby,” Wyatt continued. “She did not want anyone to come near 'her' office. She became really attached to me and the other workers in a hurry. I was there early every morning and fed her. She became a sweet, loving dog.”

“Cookie's story is typical of so many of our Field of Dreams dogs,” Wyatt noted. “She is a nice medium size, full of pep and would be the most loving companion you could wish for. She is now about seven years old, and would need time and patience to adapt to life outside the shelter. However, she has aggression issues, especially with female dogs, that have made her difficult to adopt. As the years have passed her aggression has become more marked as she became the 'leader of the pack' at the old shelter. Her aggression towards our older female dogs became so difficult to control that she has had to be isolated.”

“This is not the life we want for this awesome dog,” Wyatt concluded. “In spite of her aggression issues with other female dogs, she is the sweetest and most loving animal towards all people. But because of her issues she needs a home where she can reign supreme – and alone. Please help make Cookie's dream of a real home a reality.”

If interested in adopting Cookie or any other seniors, please fill out an application at www.southsidespca.org. An on site visit prior to adoption is required.