Ginger’s ‘dad’ went to jail - now she's on Death Row

Ginger, doing the time for someone else's crime.
(Photo: Henry County Animal Control Shelter)

Every time our father went to prison—four different stints over a couple of decades, or maybe more; I lost count—my siblings and I were lucky to have a loving mother and grandparents to care for us.

Ginger is not so lucky. When her owner got evicted from his home and then arrested, the easy-going Labrador retriever mix ended up at the local animal shelter.

Or, as it says on her Henry County Animal Control Shelter profile, “Her owner was evicted and then jailed, so Ginger is also a victim of his situation. They were put out and he was taken to jail, so she came to us, jailed as well.”

On Death Row

Ever since I saw her photo on Facebook earlier this week, I haven’t stopped thinking about Ginger. Maybe it’s because my own father was in prison for so much of my youth, and I remember too well the hardships it created. Or maybe it’s because of the look of bewilderment and sorrow on her face, expressing the same pain carried by many children whose parents are or have been incarcerated. We number more than 10 million in the U.S. alone, by many estimates.

Another reason I keep thinking about Ginger is that she reminds me a bit of Derby, an angelic brown beauty my husband and I adopted from a Chesapeake Bay retriever rescue group in Napa Valley years ago, after her former owner had gone to jail too.

“We held her as a special circumstance,” Ginger’s profile reads, “but a family member has let us know her owner is not getting out. So here she sits, possibly facing the end of her life [in a kill shelter], alone and confused.”

'Amazing' girl

“LOVE this girl,” her profile continues. “She is so amazing. Must come meet her! You will not leave without her!”

Via email I asked Becky at the Henry County shelter in McDonough, Georgia what makes Ginger so amazing.

“She is a VERY sweet girl,” Becky replied. “A big couch potato—a fat, spayed, middle-aged house dog. Needs someone to love her for the rest of her life.  It is very heartbreaking to watch her languish here. We’ve held Ginger for a few weeks hoping a family member would come but none have. So I listed her on the net for adoption.”

Ginger sounds like the kind of mellow, pleasant companion who could fit into just about any home with a minimum of fuss. It’s hard to go wrong adopting a middle-aged dog. They’re a ton less work than puppies or teenage pooches, who can easily drive you up the wall. Yet you still have a lot of great years ahead to enjoy with a middle-ager.

Regardless of what Ginger’s ‘dad’ might have done to end up in the slammer, sweet Ginger certainly doesn’t deserve to be imprisoned too.

Can you help spring this innocent jailbird?

Please consider adopting Ginger, and/or spread the link to this article.

To help sponsor Ginger with a donation, visit her ChipInpage.

For more info about her contact:

Henry County Animal ControlShelter

Tel. 770-288-PETS (7387)

Please use Ginger’s ID number when inquiring about her: ID# 1/9-4704

UPDATE:  GINGER WAS ADOPTED!  Read more.

ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT BY KATERINA LORENZATOS MAKRIS (unless otherwise noted) 
COPYRIGHT 2012 -  Please feel free to spread the links to these articles, but reprint or re-post of anything more than a paragraph or two of text is allowable only by explicit permission from the author, who may be contacted at youradopteddog@yahoo.com. Thank you!