BHRR’s Salma – April 2004 – August 8th, 2015
HQD(Her Queenship Divine)

As many know, BHRR is a rehabilitation and haven program. We work to make each dog the best that they can be and, we always take in the next dog in need of us. 

We adopt out those that we can and our focus is on making each dog the best dog they can be and adoptions are wonderful yet, if a dog is deemed not adoptable for medical and/or behavioural reasons, they remain in our Haven Program for life. We focus on the special needs and assist all those that we can, giving them quality of life from the moment they arrive…….. 

We have our ever popular and long-standing Visitation and Play Date program that enables each dog to experience the world in so many different fabu and beautiful ways, up and beyond what we do daily at BHRR. 

The hard part of rescue and in reality in general, is when a dog needs to be humanely crossed over…….the devastation, the overwhelming depth of pain over the hearbreaking loss of any dog or horse in our programs, is the part of the world that I would rather wished we did not have to experience or go through….for the animal and for the humans that love them…..

We live in a place that we can humanely cross over those we love, cradled warmly with so much adoration in our arms, blessing them in the fall of the teardrops filled with so much heartfelt emotion…..

BHRR’s Salma, HQD was one of the last dogs still fighting the good battle over contaminated donated by another group back in January. 

A Dogo and dog LIKE none other, boy, did she keep me rocking on my toes! 

She showed Cancer who was boss, and a dog that was expected to die shortly after her arrival into Rescue(February 2013) after being diagnosed with a MCT and having an emergency surgery, she took the medical world by storm…..

She took no prisoners this one…..she ruled the world and each day, took me on a journey of lessons that I will never forget, hands being thrown up in helpless laughter over and over due to her antics and the constant ‘selective hearing!.’

She was the best doctor/nurse any dog or person could have, she demonstrated to me many a time how to ‘properly’ tuck in a dog with one of her special blankets, how a dog bowl could never have even a drop of dog drool on it, how if a nano second went by and the dog bowls were not filled up, one would be dropped  at my feet as a ‘gentle’ reminder! 

The way that she would just sit there and look at me with that facial expression that screamed ‘ok, human, I know you have some potential and are NOT that stupid…..you will ‘get this’ make me feel more grounded than anything else I have ever experienced. I could always just picture her as if she had her arms crossed, eyes rolling and the one foot tapping as my brain frantically worked through all the options as to what HQD was trying to tell me.

No amount of formal education of degrees or work experience will ever have taught me more than this amazing Dogo did during her time with us…..

A Mama to the end………she taught these dogs in our programs more about trust, learning to live, being a dog, that it was ok to not be perfect, that mistakes are going to happen and you will not be beaten, screamed at or hurt…….than I could ever have done…..

Having lost our Dollface and main leader female dog, BHRR’s Dana is December of 2012, HQD coming in February of 2013 was what my home and programs needed…..she was the bomb……I knew as I was driving home and someone had called me on my drive home the day she arrived and was asking me about her and how I felt she woudl fit in and I said BHRR’s Salma is what was so dearly needed in my home….she would right order, help the confused, the worried, the stressed and the hurting……….she would be the perfect fit for what had been missing since BHRR’s Dana’s own tragic loss and bring her own flair, style and touch.

AND boy, did she ever!!! 

HQD, my heart shattered into a million pieces when it was your time to cross-over yet, I know you will always be there on my shoulder, that voice in my head and your legacy in memories, lessons and so much more shall live on forever….

You touched a world……..you came from the darkest of pasts and yet, your shining beautiful light was never squashed by any of that……

I miss you so much……..as I find myself sadly saying too much in 2015, I will see you in my dreams…….

RIP the one and ONLY HQD