The story of Molly the Ruby Cavalier
Upon our divorce in 2001, my ex-husband took both our dogs with him to Oregon, where he bought a nice ranch with a lot of land, and where the dogs would have a much better life than I could have provided them at the time. We had considered the possibility of splitting them up (I’d keep one and he’d keep the other), but they had bonded and I didn’t have the heart to separate the two companions.
After having been divorced and on my own for about 6 years, I finally decided it was time for me to share my household again. I had been dating and had a couple of committed relationships in those 6 years, but I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time I felt ready to take that step. As I wasn’t attracted to the idea of having a roommate, I decided to adopt a dog.
As a matter of principle, I wasn’t about to cater to puppy mills, so I started visiting a couple of local shelters; but seeing all those poor animals in cages was a heart-wrenching and difficult experience. I decided to search online for a dog instead, and quickly found out that you have to be cautious about dog-for-adoption ads, as a lot of scammers prey upon people wanting to adopt. I also tried looking through online listings by the local shelters and animal organizations, only to find out that the process was frustratingly slow; listings were often outdated; and certain dog profiles were used to attract adopters, but when you applied the dogs weren’t available. In spite of all that, I did find some good candidates, but none of them felt right. Whenever I was considering taking the next step and filling out the application, something held me back. I felt that maybe I wasn’t quite as ready for the responsibility of a dog owner as I thought…
I went through this process on and off for a while, taking breaks when I’d get too frustrated about it. Although I had some requirements (small and preferably hypoallergenic), I was mostly open-minded about the kind of dog I’d be willing to adopt; I basically wanted for it to “feel right.” So one day, I decided to ask my spiritual guides and angels to place the right dog on my path. And that’s almost literally what happened.
One early evening, I was fast-walking around my neighborhood. I had finished my usual number of laps and was about to get back in my house, when I got the feeling that I should do one more lap around the neighborhood. So I did, and as I was finishing the extra lap, this cute little reddish-hair dog ran towards me. She was a skinny little thing, a bit dirty and super friendly, and I instantly fell in love with her. A teenage boy was following her. He asked me if I knew who her owner was. He had found her roaming around his house, but she had no collar and he didn’t know where she lived. He meant to keep her at home until he could find her owner, but his parents didn’t allow him to, and told him to just follow her around and see if she’d find her way home.
At that point, I had this strong feeling that this dog had been put on my path because she was the one meant to become my animal companion. So I offered to take her in, to the kid’s joy and relief. We exchanged contact information and planned to touch base the following day to put out some “Dog Found” fliers. If we couldn’t find her owner, I was going to adopt her.
I called a friend who lived nearby and asked if I could leave the dog with her and her kids while I went to the store to buy some dog food and other supplies. She and her kids delightedly agreed. I put the dog in my car, and as I was driving out of the neighborhood, I noticed a man walking around with a flash light, searching around for something. I stopped my car and asked if he had lost a dog. He confirmed and proceeded to describe the very dog I had just found. Her name was Molly. I opened my car door, she jumped out and he picked her up, glad to have found her. Although I was happy that Molly had found her home, I was also a bit disappointed by the fact that, in spite of my instant connection with her, it didn’t seem that she was going to be the dog for me, after all.
However, as I was driving back home (and had just disappointed my friend and her kids, too, by calling and giving them the news that I wasn’t bringing the dog by, after all), I had this feeling that I should go back and ask that man about Molly’s circumstances. So I turned around, caught him before he got into his house, and started talking to him about her. He explained that he and his wife were temporarily taking care of Molly for his mother-in-law. The lady was a doctor who had health and financial issues; she had a lot to deal with and couldn’t take proper care of her dog at that time. But the problem was that he and his wife had their own hands full with two toddlers and a large dog to take care of, and were also dealing with financial issues; poor Molly added more stress to the household. Since everyone was too busy and distracted to take her outside as often as her small bladder required, she would have accidents inside the house. That caused them to decide to leave her in their backyard for hours on end to avoid the accidents, but then she would get bored, dig her way out and go walk around the neighborhood. That was far from the first time she had run away, and luckily she’d been found every time.
I felt sorry for Molly’s family and their challenging circumstances; but I also felt very bad about that little dog who wasn’t receiving proper care. At that moment, I realized that maybe Molly was meant to become my companion, after all. I offered to adopt her in case his mother-in-law decided to let her go, and I gave him my contact info. He seemed very happy about that possibility.
I received a call from his wife a few days later. She told me that they liked the idea and had talked to her mother, who wasn’t ready to let go of Molly just yet. But they thought that might happen in the near future and promised to keep in touch. Periodically I’d check in with them, at no avail. A couple of times I noticed “Lost Dog” fliers with Molly’s little face around the neighborhood, and I worried about her, wondering if she would be returned to her temporary home safely. Once I was also told by the couple that Molly had been temporarily left with some friends of the mother’s for a while, because they (the couple) didn’t want to deal with her running away all the time. But the mother’s friends didn’t care well for her; they didn’t take her out at all and she had to do her business inside their house. So the mother had asked them to take Molly again. My heart sank.
At a certain point, Molly’s owner agreed to come and meet me. We had a nice talk and I offered to take care of Molly temporarily, letting her know that I’d gladly give her back if her circumstances changed. At least Molly would be safe and well-cared for. However, the lady insisted that she was considering letting me adopt Molly permanently. I was very hopeful, but a lot of time went by after our meeting and nothing happened.
After many months of being in limbo, I finally decided to let go of the idea that Molly would ever come to live with me, and I started my search for a dog to adopt again. And yet again, whenever I’d see a likely candidate, something would hold me back from completing the application. Then, the day after a friend dragged me to a shelter in the hopes to help me make a decision, I received the call: Molly’s owner was finally ready to let me adopt her.
It took 9 months from the time I met Molly to the time that she finally came to live with me; but I had felt she was the one from the beginning. When her owner came over to drop her off, I was told that Molly was a Ruby King Charles Cavalier, a rare and expensive dog breed (and definitely not hypoallergenic; a heavy shedder, at that); puppies of that breed are sold for $1,200. Molly supposedly had papers proving that she was pure-bred (which I never bothered to pick up from her previous vet). She hadn’t been spayed yet, and I had the feeling that she had been put to work as a breeder for the first few years of her life. I had also been told by the owner that she was only 2 years old, but when I took her to my vet at that time, he said that it looked like she was at least four. She was also very underweight, and I had heard from her groomer that they thought she was very neglected. I was advised by my vet to have her spayed, which I did. And that was the end of her puppy breeding years and the beginning of our long-lasting friendship.
It took me a while to adjust to the new life of having a dog companion, as it completely changed my schedules, priorities, and even my sense of freedom. But it was without a doubt one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I also have no doubt that if I hadn’t taken the step to adopt Molly and started getting used to thinking of someone else other than myself again, I wouldn’t have been as ready and open to meet, just 6 months later, the man who would become my husband. Molly helped me open my heart again.
Molly was only the beginning, of course. My husband brought with him Minnie the chiweenie dog and Hershey the brown/silver tabby cat, who used to be his daughters’ companions (Hershey became my first cat love; please see “The Story of How I Became a Cat Person: Hershey” on this page). Then we took in a Calico cat named Thai that one of his daughters couldn’t keep anymore. And eventually we got involved in the story of a pregnant cat and her companion, and that led us to create the 9 Lives Rescue Fund - Orlando, FL (please see “The Story of Our Cat Colony” on this page).
We currently take care of 13 animals (our two cats and two dogs, one with special needs; three rescue cats who live in our screened-in porch and share the household with our other pets on a rotation basis; four rescue cats who live in shelters we built around our home; and two cats who regularly come and go just to eat, including the original colony mommy). And it all started with a skinny little Ruby Cavalier named Molly who crossed my path one fine evening.
Gisele Marasca-Vargas; 11/13/2017
Update: Molly passed away on February 26, 2022, being loved and well-cared-for all the way to the end. As of 05/02/2022, we still care for 10 cats.
Upon our divorce in 2001, my ex-husband took both our dogs with him to Oregon, where he bought a nice ranch with a lot of land, and where the dogs would have a much better life than I could have provided them at the time. We had considered the possibility of splitting them up (I’d keep one and he’d keep the other), but they had bonded and I didn’t have the heart to separate the two companions.
After having been divorced and on my own for about 6 years, I finally decided it was time for me to share my household again. I had been dating and had a couple of committed relationships in those 6 years, but I wasn’t seeing anyone at the time I felt ready to take that step. As I wasn’t attracted to the idea of having a roommate, I decided to adopt a dog.
As a matter of principle, I wasn’t about to cater to puppy mills, so I started visiting a couple of local shelters; but seeing all those poor animals in cages was a heart-wrenching and difficult experience. I decided to search online for a dog instead, and quickly found out that you have to be cautious about dog-for-adoption ads, as a lot of scammers prey upon people wanting to adopt. I also tried looking through online listings by the local shelters and animal organizations, only to find out that the process was frustratingly slow; listings were often outdated; and certain dog profiles were used to attract adopters, but when you applied the dogs weren’t available. In spite of all that, I did find some good candidates, but none of them felt right. Whenever I was considering taking the next step and filling out the application, something held me back. I felt that maybe I wasn’t quite as ready for the responsibility of a dog owner as I thought…
I went through this process on and off for a while, taking breaks when I’d get too frustrated about it. Although I had some requirements (small and preferably hypoallergenic), I was mostly open-minded about the kind of dog I’d be willing to adopt; I basically wanted for it to “feel right.” So one day, I decided to ask my spiritual guides and angels to place the right dog on my path. And that’s almost literally what happened.
One early evening, I was fast-walking around my neighborhood. I had finished my usual number of laps and was about to get back in my house, when I got the feeling that I should do one more lap around the neighborhood. So I did, and as I was finishing the extra lap, this cute little reddish-hair dog ran towards me. She was a skinny little thing, a bit dirty and super friendly, and I instantly fell in love with her. A teenage boy was following her. He asked me if I knew who her owner was. He had found her roaming around his house, but she had no collar and he didn’t know where she lived. He meant to keep her at home until he could find her owner, but his parents didn’t allow him to, and told him to just follow her around and see if she’d find her way home.
At that point, I had this strong feeling that this dog had been put on my path because she was the one meant to become my animal companion. So I offered to take her in, to the kid’s joy and relief. We exchanged contact information and planned to touch base the following day to put out some “Dog Found” fliers. If we couldn’t find her owner, I was going to adopt her.
I called a friend who lived nearby and asked if I could leave the dog with her and her kids while I went to the store to buy some dog food and other supplies. She and her kids delightedly agreed. I put the dog in my car, and as I was driving out of the neighborhood, I noticed a man walking around with a flash light, searching around for something. I stopped my car and asked if he had lost a dog. He confirmed and proceeded to describe the very dog I had just found. Her name was Molly. I opened my car door, she jumped out and he picked her up, glad to have found her. Although I was happy that Molly had found her home, I was also a bit disappointed by the fact that, in spite of my instant connection with her, it didn’t seem that she was going to be the dog for me, after all.
However, as I was driving back home (and had just disappointed my friend and her kids, too, by calling and giving them the news that I wasn’t bringing the dog by, after all), I had this feeling that I should go back and ask that man about Molly’s circumstances. So I turned around, caught him before he got into his house, and started talking to him about her. He explained that he and his wife were temporarily taking care of Molly for his mother-in-law. The lady was a doctor who had health and financial issues; she had a lot to deal with and couldn’t take proper care of her dog at that time. But the problem was that he and his wife had their own hands full with two toddlers and a large dog to take care of, and were also dealing with financial issues; poor Molly added more stress to the household. Since everyone was too busy and distracted to take her outside as often as her small bladder required, she would have accidents inside the house. That caused them to decide to leave her in their backyard for hours on end to avoid the accidents, but then she would get bored, dig her way out and go walk around the neighborhood. That was far from the first time she had run away, and luckily she’d been found every time.
I felt sorry for Molly’s family and their challenging circumstances; but I also felt very bad about that little dog who wasn’t receiving proper care. At that moment, I realized that maybe Molly was meant to become my companion, after all. I offered to adopt her in case his mother-in-law decided to let her go, and I gave him my contact info. He seemed very happy about that possibility.
I received a call from his wife a few days later. She told me that they liked the idea and had talked to her mother, who wasn’t ready to let go of Molly just yet. But they thought that might happen in the near future and promised to keep in touch. Periodically I’d check in with them, at no avail. A couple of times I noticed “Lost Dog” fliers with Molly’s little face around the neighborhood, and I worried about her, wondering if she would be returned to her temporary home safely. Once I was also told by the couple that Molly had been temporarily left with some friends of the mother’s for a while, because they (the couple) didn’t want to deal with her running away all the time. But the mother’s friends didn’t care well for her; they didn’t take her out at all and she had to do her business inside their house. So the mother had asked them to take Molly again. My heart sank.
At a certain point, Molly’s owner agreed to come and meet me. We had a nice talk and I offered to take care of Molly temporarily, letting her know that I’d gladly give her back if her circumstances changed. At least Molly would be safe and well-cared for. However, the lady insisted that she was considering letting me adopt Molly permanently. I was very hopeful, but a lot of time went by after our meeting and nothing happened.
After many months of being in limbo, I finally decided to let go of the idea that Molly would ever come to live with me, and I started my search for a dog to adopt again. And yet again, whenever I’d see a likely candidate, something would hold me back from completing the application. Then, the day after a friend dragged me to a shelter in the hopes to help me make a decision, I received the call: Molly’s owner was finally ready to let me adopt her.
It took 9 months from the time I met Molly to the time that she finally came to live with me; but I had felt she was the one from the beginning. When her owner came over to drop her off, I was told that Molly was a Ruby King Charles Cavalier, a rare and expensive dog breed (and definitely not hypoallergenic; a heavy shedder, at that); puppies of that breed are sold for $1,200. Molly supposedly had papers proving that she was pure-bred (which I never bothered to pick up from her previous vet). She hadn’t been spayed yet, and I had the feeling that she had been put to work as a breeder for the first few years of her life. I had also been told by the owner that she was only 2 years old, but when I took her to my vet at that time, he said that it looked like she was at least four. She was also very underweight, and I had heard from her groomer that they thought she was very neglected. I was advised by my vet to have her spayed, which I did. And that was the end of her puppy breeding years and the beginning of our long-lasting friendship.
It took me a while to adjust to the new life of having a dog companion, as it completely changed my schedules, priorities, and even my sense of freedom. But it was without a doubt one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I also have no doubt that if I hadn’t taken the step to adopt Molly and started getting used to thinking of someone else other than myself again, I wouldn’t have been as ready and open to meet, just 6 months later, the man who would become my husband. Molly helped me open my heart again.
Molly was only the beginning, of course. My husband brought with him Minnie the chiweenie dog and Hershey the brown/silver tabby cat, who used to be his daughters’ companions (Hershey became my first cat love; please see “The Story of How I Became a Cat Person: Hershey” on this page). Then we took in a Calico cat named Thai that one of his daughters couldn’t keep anymore. And eventually we got involved in the story of a pregnant cat and her companion, and that led us to create the 9 Lives Rescue Fund - Orlando, FL (please see “The Story of Our Cat Colony” on this page).
We currently take care of 13 animals (our two cats and two dogs, one with special needs; three rescue cats who live in our screened-in porch and share the household with our other pets on a rotation basis; four rescue cats who live in shelters we built around our home; and two cats who regularly come and go just to eat, including the original colony mommy). And it all started with a skinny little Ruby Cavalier named Molly who crossed my path one fine evening.
Gisele Marasca-Vargas; 11/13/2017
Update: Molly passed away on February 26, 2022, being loved and well-cared-for all the way to the end. As of 05/02/2022, we still care for 10 cats.
If you would like to contribute to our 9 Lives Rescue Fund: