Sebastian's Story

In July of 1997 two RCMP Officers on highway patrol were going through the Pine Pass (for those not familar with the area it is a terrible, curvey, desolate stretch of highway between Chetwynd & Prince George BC) when they spotted a small, fluffy dog wandering the road. They stopped and tried for two hours to catch him, finally succeeding when one of the officers took off his jacket and threw it over the dog. From there they took him to the dog pound in Chetwynd where I was called as I am chihuahua rescue for the area and it was deicided he was a long coated chihuahua. When my mother and I went to the pound the next day we found a very frightened but very cute papillon. I took him home and my Mom went to her house and went onto the various dog e-mail lists she was a part of and enquired as to if any one knew of a lost pap in the Northern BC area. We also called all the visitor information, SPCA's, and Dog pounds from Fort Nelson to Prince George to see if any one had reported a balck and white papillon with half a black mask on his face missing. No one it seemed was looking for our lost little guy. We even got my sister to fax the Visitor Information stops from Prince George to Vancouver with no luck.

By then Jo Raymer from Alberta Recsue had called saying they would take him and find a foster home for him but  was too late. The little lost dog had wound his way around my heart (and my chihuahuas) and I could not let him go. We named him Sebastian and the rest is history. Sebastian was a very frightened, confused boy when he arrived. We have no idea what happened to him, he was extremely hand shy, very nervous of sudden movements and his sides were very sore but the first time I got up to cook dinner he certainly knew what that was all about. The kitchen is still his favorite place to be (other than a sun beam or my husbnd's pillow) and he lays by the hour at my feet while I work on my courses. It was a full year before he would jump up into my lap but once he got the idea that it was okay I could never sit without him bouncing up and he has recently started jumping up on everybody's lap - whether they want him or not. He has a grand command of english and has taught us beautifully to recognize his reactions to the phrases he knows, such as: "I think I'll go to bed", "I think I'll go visit....", "Are you hungry?", "Do you need outside" and of course any sentance containing the words "car" and "ride". Sebastain's favorite game is played only with my husband - it is a kind of Hide and Seek meets Cujo where my husband hides his face and Sebastain jumps on his chest barking and growling. It is really a family game as now the chihuahuas start to howl when they play.

I really do not know how we enjoyed life as much before Sebastain came into our lives. He is the ultimate clown, a wonderful companion and a great comfort and not a day goes by where I do not thank the god that watches over dogs for sending him my way.

Angela Smith