Will I be able to say "good bye"?

Just before Thanksgiving, a call came in from our local animal shelter asking if we could take a blind husky. They thought the blindness might be due to a head trauma because of a small scar above her missing eye. From my research, this would have been the better cause. The other cause to be concerned about was glaucoma...which can be painful and expensive to treat.  

We went to meet this sweet dog and fell in love. She was so scared - walked with her tail between her legs and laid down on the floor rubbing her one eye that was left.  We agreed to take her into rescue.  Almost immediately, she perked up.  The shelter environment was so stressful for her.  We took her to a specialist and discovered Abby had been a former patient!  At last we had her medical history!  The bad news was that Abby was blind due to glaucoma.  Tests were done and confirmed that Abby had no vision in her remaining eye.   The doctor confirmed that she was in constant pain and discomfort, sort of like you and me having a migraine.  We had no other choice than to have that eye removed also. With less than $100 in the rescue account, we began a fund raising effort.  We posted the need for Abby's surgery, we started looking in to our personal accounts and calculating our pay days, and we elected to do a raffle on some donated jewelry - just in time for Christmas... and we hoped for the best.

I couldn't believe the generosity - people, friends and strangers, from all over the country opened their hearts and wallets to help. We raised $800 in just a matter of a week or 2! We applied for 2 grants to cover the balance and both came through. Abby had her eye removed the week before Christmas.

We thought we had found a home for her, who would have thought a blind dog could find and catch a cat? The family, after just 24 hours with her, and a traumatized cat was in tears when they told me they couldn't keep her.  That was mid December.  We have received no other inquiries since then.
We talk everyday that if only someone would give her a chance or at least want to meet her, they'd see that she's a regular dog who can run and play and climb stairs and get around wonderfully.  She wants to be thought of as a dog.  Not a dog with a handicap.  Nonetheless, she isn't for everyone and the days turned in to weeks.

Abby has been living us for about a month now. My house is probably too small for my pack plus the 2 fosters, but I have grown content with the thought that maybe Abby was with us permanently. Maybe no one would want to adopt a blind dog.

Abby is my first smile every morning. Her whole face lights up when you call her name, her entire body wags and wiggles when she comes to you. Everyone who meets Abby, falls in love.

We have found that doing eBay auctions is a nice cash stream for the rescue. We had some antique skeleton keys we put up about a week ago. A man in Kansas bought them. He was curious about the organization that he had just supported and found Abby. It just so happened, he used to have a blind Siberian. He currently has one of the Beruit dogs rescued by Best Friends in Utah. And he wants to meet Abby.

I always hoped Abby would, if she were adopted at all, be a local adoption. If all works out, Abby would be living in Kansas. I would have to say good bye. I will, of course, Abby needs a forever home, she deserves it. It would mean another dog could be saved. It's the right thing to do. I know all this. This is why I started TBSHR. But I think my heart may break just a bit.  I love you little Abigale.