"I kept thinking, what about the dogs you agreed to take care of?" she said. "Are they sitting at home in crates for 15 hours? I just wonder about Paddy and Rusty, and it's a jillion miles away, and I feel helpless.... I would never send another dog to California, never, never, never again."
On a hot August afternoon, Meddick slammed the door on visitors who came to see Paddy.
A moment later she let him out, and came out herself. He looked the same: shy, hiding behind bushes, but wagging his tail even as he barked furiously.
A deeply religious woman, Meddick said she spends nearly all her free time on animal rescues, which she considers a ministry. She believes Paddy is "absolutely" better off with her than he was in Tennessee.
"She had to get rid of the dog. Some of the dogs they had trouble adopting out, particularly if they were very shy or a senior. And Paddy is both."
She said she knows that some judge her harshly for having so many animals -- but she's licensed by Orange County to have 10 dogs and 15 cats, and said her home has passed a county inspection.
Asked why she had adopted a dog from Tennessee rather than her local shelter, she said, "because it was a gas shelter he was in. Do you know what \o7gas\f7 is?"
When reminded that he actually had been in a backyard after being in a no-kill shelter, she said she adopted Paddy "because I wanted to. Does it matter why?"
She said she hadn't responded to Browder's request for updates and photos because her camera was broken. And besides, she added, "It's none of her business. Even if she doesn't like it, she can lump it. Paddy's fine."
