Holly the Christmas Dog Turns Retired Teacher's Holiday Upside Down

No one knew her real name so they called her Holly, and with just a handful of days to go till Christmas it seemed appropriate. Holly had been found wandering the streets and with no one to claim her she went to the only place that would let her in – the Humane Society in Macon.

At any time of the year, Humane Societies across the country are bursting at the seams with animals that need homes. Everyone is busy at Christmas; the last thing on most people’s list is a stray dog, especially a dog like Holly. A full grown Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Holly belonged to a breed that is unfairly maligned and can be very hard to adopt out.

The Humane Society in Macon is overwhelmed with dogs, cats, puppies and kittens. Any stray that enters their doors has limited time – seven days to find a home. Most kill shelters don’t have the luxury of waiting seven days and euthanize within 24 to 36 hours. Holly was getting close to those seven days. Due to be euthanized the day after Christmas, Holly’s chances were not looking good. And that is when the stars or the fates or whatever you want to call them intervened and an improbable sets of events was put into motion.

Carol Kosko Wicks is a retired school teacher from Alpharetta. When she fired up her computer that Wednesday morning and checked her Facebook page she had no idea how her plans for Christmas were going to be completely turned upside down by a stray dog miles away in Macon. The first thing she saw on her page was a picture of Holly. Holly had some allies and they weren’t going to give up on her without a fight. “On Borrowed Time” is a rescue group that actively seeks out and tries to rescue those animals on “death row”. They had heard about Holly and put the word out. These days there is no faster way to do that than through the power of social media.

She could not get this dog out of her mind and when she saw that Holly’s days were numbered, she knew that she had to do something about it. A flurry of telephone calls between the rescue organization ensued and before she knew what was happening, Kosko found herself heading on a road trip, a dog crate in the back of her car. This was not going to be the Christmas she had planned!

On the way back home Holly slept soundly in the back of the car, exhausted she couldn’t possibly know how this stranger had saved her life. Kosko had to carry Holly and put her on her new bed, it seemed that she had probably never had a bed of her own before and was more than a little afraid. Kosko sat next to Holly and stroked her head; Holly let out a big sigh and went to sleep.

Although it has only been a few days, Holly has settled into her new home well. This sweet natured and mellow dog received the best gift of all this year – her very own Christmas miracle.

For information on adopting any of the animals currently on death row or to make a donation contact OnBorrowedTime@aol.com. "On Borrowed Time" can also be found on Facebook.

In Alpharetta, the has animals up for adoption.