Warming Hearts – A Tribute to Ellie

She came into my life in the summer of 1994, a little pup of five months who had been beaten so badly on the streets of Brooklyn that her hip was shattered. It was suspected that some lunatic had wanted to make a fighting dog of her, but she would not have it. After a reconstructive surgery and a lengthy stay at a mid-town vet hospital, she showed up at the ASPCA to be placed in our foster care program which I was running at the time. They say there is a phenomenon known as love at first sight. For Ellie and me, it unquestionably was. I looked into her beautiful, soulful brown eyes and I knew at that moment that she was mine. There was one problem, though – we were homeless! In between living situations, Ellie and I bunked with my dear friend, Chris, in her tiny Manhattan studio. As Chris always says, “we slept snout to snout.” In the same week that I met Ellie, I met my now husband, Matt. From that moment, the three of us were virtually inseparable. Weekends were dedicated to three or four hour walks in Central Park and regular dog park visits. When we went out for a beer after, we always chose a place with outside seating so Ellie could join us.

I enrolled Ellie in the ASPCA’s obedience classes where she quickly became the star pupil. She earned her Canine Good Citizen certificate and was certified to do therapy work. Her favorite visits were to the teenage kids in the inner city that had never seen anything other than fighting Pit Bulls. She instantly won everyone over, and I truly believe changed many minds about what a dog can and should be. She is also the reason that I am dog trainer today.

She participated in a canine fashion show fund raiser for which famed designer Betsey Johnson made her a special outfit because she fell in love with Ellie. The show aired on CNN with Ellie all over the highlight reel. She rubbed elbows with Mary Tyler Moore, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker and many other ASPCA supporters. Ellie got invited to everything – sadly, I did not! I brought her to work with me every single day where she had a regular stream of visitors and fans. People would beg me to take her for her mid day walk. She was amazing, and everyone who met her could sense this.

Ellie endured numerous foster dogs coming in and out of our home, and though she was not always happy about it, she was a gracious hostess. She moved many times with us, survived the birth of both of our boys, and saw many other dogs come in and out of our lives. Through it all she was a true champ. Her “mother hen” qualities always kept everyone in line, though she never did or said more than she needed to in order to get her point across.

There are no words to express the love I felt for this creature. Love just does not begin to touch it. As I said good bye to her, I said that it was true honor to have known her and be part of her life. I also said that if I live to be 100 years old, I will never know another dog as special as Ellie. She was a one in a million – a true once in a lifetime dog.