September 2008   Quantum
Quantum is a beautiful 8-year-old Chow who has weathered a lot of change. In her first year of life, she was found hairless and in a cage beside a road in rural Florida. A devoted dog-lover named Gail rescued Quantum and nursed her back to health by treating her sarcoptic mange. As Quantum’s thick black hair returned, she became an integral member of Gail’s pack of dogs on her 20-acre horse farm.

When Gail died suddenly 5 years later, sale of the farm was left to her sister Lee who lived in Chevy Chase, Maryland. During this process, Lee bonded with Quantum: “Her big brown eyes saw right through me and her fluffy wagging tail brightened many a day.” Lee refused to feed the pack until all were assembled. Because she was so smart, Quantum was always called upon to find the missing dog: “Quantum, go find Chien!”

Lee was able to find good homes for all of Gail’s dogs except Quantum. Despite their strong attachment, Lee didn’t think Quantum would be happy residing at her home. Reluctantly, Lee put her up for adoption via a local Chow rescue group. When a New York affiliate found a prospective owner in Ithaca, Lee drove Quantum north. It took Lee less than 60 seconds to determine that this was NOT the home for Quantum. As they rode back to Maryland together, Lee realized that Quantum was already home.

We photographed Quantum at The Posh Pooch in July. A month later, Lee was out of town when Quantum escaped from her dog sitter and could not be found. Later that day, good Samaritans Molly and Ryan spotted a big fluffy black dog running loose in traffic. After an extremely persistent pursuit, they captured her, and then drove her to the address on her dog tag. To display their gratitude, Lee and Quantum presented Molly and Ryan with a gift certificate to have their dog Charlie photographed, and to have a print made of their favorite image. Isn’t that a nice end to this story?!?

Our favorite image of Quantum is featured here in Gallery 4.

Click here to read about a previous Dog of the Month winner.