Sorry folks, this is yet another dog story. But at least it's not on the front page.

And it's the perfect antidote to all the bad news about the worldwide economic crisis and local political corruption. Because if this one doesn't bring tears of joy, you may have lost your capacity to process good news.

It's the story of a Catahoula Leopard mix named Shelby who was turned in to the Humane Society of Central Arizona (formerly Payson Humane Society) last month when her Rim Country owner could no longer afford to care for her.

After languishing unadopted for a month, a certain death sentence in many shelters, the team at HSCAZ contacted a group it had worked with before, Catahoula Rescue, to send Shelby on a cross country journey to a new land, a new home, and even a new name.

This is the story of that miraculous journey, and of the international team that made it happen - a team of people who have never met, but who share in common a love and passion for each and every animal that crosses their paths.

Chandra Cushman, animal intake coordinator for HSCAZ, made the initial contact with Janeen Jackson of Catahoula Rescue, a freelance writer who lives on a 200-acre ranch in Montana. Jackson recently lost her husband and now dedicates her life to rescuing dogs like Shelby.

 She put the plan in place and coordinated Shelby's journey from Payson to Houston to Vancouver to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, where, as you can see, Shelby (renamed Jolie) is resting quite comfortably.

It began Saturday morning with a van ride from the Payson shelter Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix. Patti Keyworth (aka The Consort), shelter volunteer coordinator, enlisted the services of yours truly for this first leg.

I have to tell you, Shelby instantly won us over with her affection and trust and wide-eyed innocence. We let her wander the spacious van, but she mostly hung on the two of us while she watched her adventure unfold out the window.

Once at Sky Harbor, she devoured a bottle of water, ran around the parking lot a few times, and got in her kennel for the flight to Houston. There she changed planes and flew to Vancouver, arriving around midnight - 11 long hours after leaving Sky Harbor. She was met in Vancouver by another Catahoula Rescue volunteer, Jen Cross.

 "She will be picking up Jolie, overnighting her and getting her on an early morning plane," Jackson explained in an e-mail to The Consort.

Phone calls and e-mails like this were exchanged throughout the weekend by those involved. Here's an excerpt from another of Jackson's messages:

"The rewards are like this morning when Patti called to say she is doing well, she is about to board, and please let us know when she arrives. That is my reward and no $$ amount or time is lost when you weigh it against the lives we have saved."

Remarkably, when Cross picked up Jolie in Vancouver, her kennel was still dry. And she quickly fell in love with her as well. But only for a few hours and it was back on another plane for the last leg - a flight to Prince Rupert and her new home.

Her new family consists of Lynn Cociani, an artist married to Keith. They have two young daughters and a variety of animals, and they agreed to foster Jolie until a permanent home can be found.

To raise money, Cociani cranked out beautiful pencil sketches of Catahoulas while her husband watched the brood.

"To fly a dog there takes around $700 just for the flight alone, not counting the crate and health certificate," Jackson explained.

Here's part of what Cociani e-mailed to the rest of the team after picking up Jolie Sunday afternoon:

"Well what can I say about this sweet girl? She is a total love, and really REALLY friendly. She was exceptionally gentle with my kids, and happy to see them. She's attached herself to my side right now and won't let me out of her sight.

"She had not messed in her crate at all, and when I got her outside at the airport she did her business immediately and with great urgency, so she was really holding it in there. Clean girl!

"I love her already. She's so sweet and so pretty. Her eyes are just lovely and her face is so delicate and feminine. Thanks to everyone for your part in sending this sweet, wonderful dog to me! Somebody's going to be pretty lucky to have her. If I don't fail Foster 101 that is. Don't tell Keith I said that."

So that's the story of Jolie's weekend adventure, and the beginning of her new life. Would it have been a whole lot easier to simply let Shelby work her way through the system at HSCAZ?

Sure. But that's not what your local shelter is all about. Nor is it what the ladies of Catahoula Rescue are all about.

And what a wondrous experience we all had being part of Shelby/Jolie's great adventure.

(For more information on Catahoula Rescue, go to www.catahoularescue.com.)