MEL TOADVINE She’s up for adoption after being found and nursed back to good health. If interested in adopting, call Jackie Palmer of A+ Pet Grooming at 239-222-4650.

If you’re looking for a friendly and loving dog, look no further. Jackie Palmer, the owner of A + Pet Grooming at 904 Lee Blvd., Suite 105, has one for you.

“I want to find someone who loves pets and can give this dog a loving home. I have three other dogs at home and we want to give this lovely dog to someone special who will love it,” Palmer said.

How she came to have the dog is interesting. Palmer said Darlene Nichols, who lives in Lehigh during Season and who once lived at Mirror Lakes for 13 years, called her and said she and a friend, Elizabeth Stern, a full-time resident of Lehigh, had seen the pooch along the woods and they were feeding it.

In Lee County, the law stipulates that a dog owners must at all times have their dogs under leash and on their property. Dogs are not allowed to roam also without tags and identification.

“They said the dog looked sick and she and her friend had been feeding it for at least three weeks and that was back in March,” Palmer said.

Jackie Palmer

Darlene Nichols said it broke her heart to see the dog because it was so friendly and loving when they took it food.

“I called the grooming parlor and told them about it,” Nichols said on her way back to Michigan.

“Actually Darlene came into our pet grooming business and told us about the dog and how she and her friend were feeding it and noted that someone needs to pick it up and take care of it because it seemed like a loving dog,” Palmer said.

She said she and a friend, Harley Holloway, jumped in a jeep and went to the location the area of Bell and Sunrise where the dog was hanging out, and approached it.

“The dog just scooted one way and then the other way and then she just sat down on her knees and looked at us so lovingly. She knew we were not there to hurt her,” she said. “Then she climbed up on her paws and put a leash around her and picked her up and she didn’t resist at all.”

MEL TOADVINE Jackie Palmer is shown with a dog she has cared for since found by two women in Lehigh a few weeks ago. The dog is friendly and loving and is up for adoption.

Whether the dog had been abandoned or had come there from some other area or was dropped off, we have no idea, Palmer said.

“We took the dog to My Pets Vet near the new Winn-Dixie, which had been Sweetbay, to have her checked out. We discovered there was no chip under the dog’s skin to identify her or her owners and there was no dog collar to give us any information as to where she came from,” Palmer said.

“The vet said she was heartworm negative but had a small yeast infection which is healing very well. She doesn’t have teeth in front, but she has enough to eat and we are feeding her moistened dog food and she loves it,” Palmer said.

“I’ve had her home with me now for a little over a month and she’s ready for adoption to someone who will love her because this dog has plenty of love to give back,” she said. “We call her ‘Nahoney,'” she said as she hugged the dog.

The dog is not aggressive in anyway with other dogs.

“But I’m not sure how she would react to cats,” she said.

“She just wants to be loved, it’s so plain to see.”

“We’ve watched her being so gentle with a granddaughter who is five months old.

The dog weighs 38 pounds, and appears to be a mix between a Catahoula and a shepherd. Her color is brown-speckled and some black.

“She will make someone a wonderful pet,” Palmer said.

If you’re interested in becoming the new owner of this dog, you should contact Palmer at her business, A + Pet Grooming at 904 Lee Blvd. or can also call her 239-222-4650.

While driving back to Michigan, Darlene Nichols, the woman who called the pet grooming business, said she was very happy to hear the dog was in good shape and that it was being offered for adoption.

“She was such a sweet dog. I know she will make someone a nice pet,” she said.

A + Pet Grooming is moving next month to 1000 Lee Blvd., Unit 209, just a block or so away from where it is presently located.