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The Story of Olive and Oliver

(Crystal A. Proxmire)

Angie Potter’s been spreading her dogs all over town.  She’s the hard-working lady behind Waggs and Wishes Animal Rescue.  Since taking over the City of Ferndale’s animal shelter earlier this spring she’s successfully placed many dogs and cats with loving, permanent homes.  Many of the animals go to families right here in Ferndale.

The employees at Candle Wick Shop (195 W. 9 Mile) have taken in their fair share.  If you go in when Gator (Wally Szymborski) is working, you’re libel to meet his new puppy Oliver – not to be confused with Olive, the pooch recently adopted by fellow Candle Wick clerk Laura Herzog.

The similar names are just a coincidence, but what isn’t a coincidence is the fact that neither of these adoptions would have happened were it not for Potter and the team of volunteers at Waggs and Wishes.  Not only do they work hard to clean the cages, exercise, feed, bathe and care for the animals – they also work hard to get the word out about animals that need placement.

“Angie came in one day to buy a gift basket, and was telling me about this puppy she had to find a home for,” Gator said.  “She showed me a picture on her cell phone, and I just had to see for myself.

‘She brought Oliver in and I took three days to really think it over.  It’s a big commitment getting a puppy so you have to be sure.  It was the right decision for sure.”

Oliver is what Potter calls a “100% American Mutt,” in this case a frisky little puppy with tan-colored spots on mainly black fur with fuzzy little ears and a long nose.

On days that Oliver isn’t relaxing in the pen behind the counter, sometimes Olive is.

Olive is a Pitt-Dane mix who was rescued by Potter from a home in Southwest Detroit, where she’d been tied to the back bumper of a car and left to starve.  “I saw Olive at Fido Does Ferndale,” Herzog said.  “I was working but I kept taking breaks to go outside to see her.  My husband wasn’t home, so I couldn’t just bring a new dog home without checking first, even though we’d already talked about getting one.  So we talked more about it that night, and when I woke up the next day I gave Angie a call.”

Olive now gets to work with Herzog at Candle Wick, and also enjoys time at home – romping about with two teenage boys and Herzog’s husband David, or cuddling on the couch with the older family pet, an American bulldog named Dooley.

For more information on Waggs and Wishes, check out their website – http://www.waggsandwishes.org.

Beginning November 1, 2010 The Ferndale 115 News will be featuring animals available for adoption.  If you would be interested in sponsoring our Pets and Animal Section, please contact editor@ferndale115.com.