Shortly before we left Churchton for “winter quarters” in Florida, we received notice that a young Schip, rescued by Jan McAfee in central Georgia, was being adopted by our dear friend Fran Lindstrom in Sarasota.  We quickly agreed to alter our course to a route further inland to provide transportation for the little guy.  And what a reward it provided.

Don and his Godson

Midnight had just sacrificed an un-savable leg at Jan’s clinic, but he acted as though he had always been a tripod.  He and Schip-Dude immediately hit it off; they played and played until both were exhausted.  Midnight was also had a charming licking/kissing repertoire that immediately endeared him to us.  In fact, we wished we could keep him.  Except for a little carsickness on the first day, he was a wonderful traveling companion. Soon after our arrival at Sandy Oaks, we met Fran in Homosassa Springs at the home of another abundant rescuer, Karen Myles. Midnight was suddenly confronted by an additional 7 friendly faces.  Fran trains all of her rescue Schips as therapy dogs and also specializes in agility and obedience. Midnight is no exception; we get frequent progress reports.  Because obedience is controlled by hand signals, Fran is especially welcome in deaf groups, where the children delight in their ability to participate.

We let him go only on the promise that I was officially his godfather.  And so it is.  We’ve seen Midnight once since, at a SchipNic in Valdosta Georgia, and he remembered us with his typical enthusiasm.