Remember the rules of animal rescue...always!

Good Morning!  Good News!  The puppy (Iowa) we rescued from the cornfields in Iowa is all better!  You can no longer see her spine (that really bothered the whole family!), and she is back to being a naughty, pain in the butt, puppy.  I really couldn't be any happier about this, because this dog was on the verge of death.  But, the reason for this post is to remind you all of some rules that I somehow forgot with this adorable very needy puppy.
You know, I have been rescuing animals my entire adult life, so to have made the mistakes I made with her really irritated me!  Every rancher knows that when you bring new livestock in, you put them under quarantine for a time.  Not only does this give the animals all time to get to know each other by sight and scent, but it gives you time to make sure they are not bringing anything contagious on to your farm.  I have always followed this rule to a T with my llamas, especially with many of them coming from weird situations.
But, the tiny innocent puppy made me forget all about the rules!  The first day I took her to the vet, she was really sick.  He got this serious look on his face and said he had to run a couple tests.  Stupid me, asked what tests, and he replied that he was concerned that she had Parvo.  If you don't know what that is, it is a very dangerous disease that is highly contagious to other dogs.  Iowa had already spent time with all of my other dogs, and they could have been exposed without me even thinking about it.  Most dogs die of Parvo, but even if they do survive it is thousands of dollars worth of hospital bills for them.  Many vets don't even like to deal with it as they have to be so careful with contamination and their other patients.  Thankfully the test was negative, expensive, but negative.
So, you think I learned my lesson?  Noooo, I bring her home, with tons of medicine, and let my dog Gigi eat after her.  Well, it was an accident.  Iowa was so sick I was having a hard time getting her to eat or take the medicine she needed.  As I was trying various things, Gigi snuck one of the bowls that we had left down.  Within 48 hours Gigi was almost as sick as Iowa.
I know I've said it many times, but Gigi is a very special part of my life.  We had given her to my Grandma, I had done all of her training at Grandma's house too.  I still have a message from her that says I am the "world's greatest dog trainer"; I laugh/cry every time I hear it.  So, when Gigi came to live with us when Grandma got sick, we already had a strong bond, but I think she is part of my Grandma it is even more so.  Gigi is at my side all the time, always right at my heel.  She is especially protective on my bad brain days (my epilepsy side effects).  As you can imagine, I freaked out when she got sick!
My point is, when I take in a stray, I need to remember my own rules; no matter how cute the rescue!  I am so thankful that the dogs are fine now.  Now if I could just get her to quit chewing on everything;  she even tries to chew on us!