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One lucky dog: Couple's Dominican honeymoon results in rescued pet

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Author: Kendra Meinert
Title: One lucky dog: Couple's Dominican honeymoon results in rescued pet
Source: The Green Bay Press Gazette

May 8, 2010

When newlyweds Erin Elliott and Aaron Kazik honeymooned in the Dominican Republic in February, they didn't expect to bring a dog home three months later.

Then again, the Ashwaubenon couple didn't expect to spend their first two days in Newark, N.J., either, after snow played havoc with their fights. Or that once they finally did make it to Puerto Plata it would start to rain and never stop.

But sometimes it's the rocky starts that lead to the happy endings. The obstacles cleared in between, each a reminder of what a lucky dog Amiga is.

Elliott first laid eyes on her the day they arrived at the resort. She just assumed the family from Switzerland staying in a nearby unit had brought their pet along on vacation, but she would learn the dog was a stray, one of several "resort dogs'' that depended on the kindness of guests to survive.

It wasn't long before Elliott was smuggling cocktail wieners and luncheon meat out to her in a Styrofoam cup.

"I have this giant purse and I'm carrying meat and water and these bowls I had taken out of our condo,'' Elliott said. "I walked right over to her and she rolled on her back. She couldn't have been sweeter.''

With the weather outside soggy, Elliott went to a nearby hut that rented computers so she could look online for a nonprofit animal welfare group to help the dog. There she struck up a conversation with a resident and fellow animal lover named Monique, who told her of word that new owners of the resort planned to "round up'' the strays on the property.

That's when Elliott, who is actively involved with Marion-based Happily Ever Animal Sanctuary, went into full rescue mode.

"When I got the news abut her being rounded up, I couldn't stand it,'' she said. "She didn't deserve that, but who else was going to do it? She needs a family. That was the overwhelming thought in my head. This dog needs a family.''

After striking out with an animal organization that said Amiga was outside of its territory, Elliott went to her husband and told him she wanted to rescue the dog herself. He knew his new bride well enough to know she was serious.

"I knew as much as she's been involved with animal causes over the years, when we talked about this that my efforts were better spent in other areas figuring out how we were going to do this instead of trying to talk her out of it,'' Kazik said.

They left the resort at the end of the week without Amiga but with something that would prove invaluable to her rescue: Monique's e-mail address. The two women would work tirelessly together over the following months to plow through the red tape involved with getting Amiga to the United States. There was paperwork, vaccinations and rigid airline requirements on the kennel size. The airline also had specific restrictions on allowing an animal to fly if outside temperature got too hot or too cold, so arrangements for Monique to fly to Miami with Amiga had to be carefully orchestrated with the weather forecasts.

Last weekend, the final phase of Operation: Rescue Amiga went into effect. Elliott flew to Miami and waited anxiously for Monique and Amiga to make it through customs. It took them nearly two hours, but there they were.

"Amiga was panting like crazy in her kennel, but it was her,'' said Elliott, who had a dream that Monique accidentally rescued the wrong dog. "It was just great to see her sweet little face. She was just the same sweet dog.''

It wasn't until Amiga was on American soil that Elliott sent out the happy news to friends and family. She had kept her mission mostly a secret for fear it might not work out.

"And I didn't want to hear 'Erin you're crazy,' because I already know I'm crazy,'' she said.

Elliott spent the past week at her parents' house so the dog — a 3-year-old foxhound with a little shepherd is the vet's best guess —can adjust before being introduced to the couple's other dog, Callie, who she describes as "small with the personality the size of Mount Rushmore.'' Amiga has already proven a good sport about walking on a leash and learning things foreign to her, like climbing steps and jumping up on the couch.

"In her little mind, I can't even fathom what's going through it. I'm sure she's exhausted,'' Elliott said. "But she really loves to be hugged and cuddled. … I definitely got a special dog.''

As for all the hoops she went through to get her, Elliott doesn't see the heroics in it. It was just doing "as much as humanly possible, and it was enough,'' she said. She knows she couldn't have done it without a dedicated friend in the Dominican Republic — or such a supportive husband.

"You think most people would've realized that on their wedding day,'' she said. "I realized it on my honeymoon.''