Bambi becomes a dear
Bambi and Barbara Richey were scared of each other.
Richey grew up on a farm and yet was never allowed to have a dog. So she was afraid of them.
Bambi, a walker hound of uncertain age, was afraid of people.
And then the two met.
In an effort to overcome her fear of dogs, Richey had volunteered at the Pender County Humane Society. And then, one day at the shelter, she walked into a room where Bambi was.
“She was shaking,” Richey recalled. “She was visibly afraid.”
It took a number of meetings, Richey said, but finally Bambi approached her.
“It was a little, gentle touch from her and I wasn’t afraid anymore,”
Richey said.
Richey had the unexpected chance to meet Bambi’s adoptive parents, Dave and Valerie Gadomski, at the recent barbecue fundraiser held by the Society at the Hampstead Community Center.
Hundreds attended, sitting down to a barbecue pork and chicken dinner. But its was the Gadomskis who had Richey beaming.
“We’re Bambi’s parents,” Valerie announced as they lined up to pay for their meal.
And then it was all about Bambi, who now goes by Willow. She’s been with the Hampstead family for only a couple of months, Valerie said, but she’s already becoming more outgoing and friendly.
“She was petrified of people when we me her and we knew she needed a special home,” Valerie said. “We were just the family for her. She gets along great with her new friend, Dukiss, a one-year-old boxer.”
According to Valerie, Willow/Bambi was found wandering the streets of Wilmington. She was emaciated and full of bug bites and it took a full day to catch her to bring her to the Humane Society and her new family.
“What a happy ending,” Richey said.
