Little two year-old Cia was near starved to death when she was rescued from an owner that couldn’t afford to feed her properly.  A Good Samaritan purchased Cia from the owner and turned her over to the AireCanada Airedale Rescue Network.

When Cia arrived at AireCanada, she was seriously malnourished, had eye infections, ear infections, a bladder infection and skin lesions.  Yet while suffering all of that, she still showed great spirit.  Over the course of the next few weeks, she was treated for her various ailments and given nutritious meals.  Cia was on the road to recovery.

Meanwhile, my wife and I had been looking to fill an emptiness  left in our lives by the loss of our beloved Airedale Indy earlier in the year.  We wanted another Airedale…. in a real bad way!  Due to circumstances, we couldn’t bring a new puppy into our home and lives, so we decided to try to find an adolescent or adult.  We sent email to a number of Airedale breeders asking that if they became aware of such an Airedale, to please keep us in mind.  One of those breeders suggested we contact AireCanada Airedale Rescue Network.  We did just that.

We submitted an on-line application found on AireCanada’s web site and subsequently had a home visit from Maureen and Jim Scott of AireCanada.  It was not more than a few days thereafter that we got the call from Maureen.  She told us that she had a new rescue that just may be suitable for our circumstances.  Her name was Cia.

It was the day before we were to meet Cia that my wife lost her brother, Terry, in a tragic accident in Terrace, BC.  We left immediately for Terrace and would be gone for couple of weeks.  Upon our return, we adopted Cia.  We took her home and in honour of Terry we renamed Cia to Skeena for the beautiful river on which Terry loved to fish.

We’ve had Skeena for a month now.  Her health problems are almost all cured and she is looking and feeling great!  We are so happy to have her in our home!  We can’t thank enough all of the people that took part in Skeena’s rescue and for helping get her into our lives.   Moreover, we thank everyone who contributes to AireCanada Airedale Rescue, whether by volunteering their time or in good ol’ cash, for the sake of these wonderful animals!

Richard, Tammy and Skeena Blackwell

November 2009