'Match made in heaven': Terminally ill Sask. woman finds family to take in 3 senior dogs once she passes

Susan Dickens feels at peace now that she knows her three dogs, Cisco, Booda and Olive, will remain together in a loving home after she is no longer here to take care of them.

Dickens has late-stage cervical cancer. After her diagnosis, the Regina woman's biggest fear was that the dogs would be split up or sent to a shelter after she died.

It's not easy to find people willing to take in three senior dogs. Dickens wasn't having much luck with the search, so she began to share her story in the media. After months of looking — she found the perfect fit.

"I just know in my heart I picked the right place."

Her dogs are 16, 15 and 13. Olive is an Australian Shepherd, Booda is a corgi mix and Cisco is a border collie lab mix. Dickens said Cisco became especially attached to her after her husband passed.

When she went public with her wish to keep the dogs together, an overwhelming number of people reached out to her, offering words of encouragement or their homes.

"I'm eternally grateful for all the animal lovers out there. It was incredible," she said.

"So many people reached out. It was so hard to even get back to everybody, and I felt bad for that because people are genuinely kind."

The people who will take in Dickens's dogs told her they don't want to participate in a news story, but she described them as loving people who are down to earth and care deeply for their own animals.

She first began chatting with the family, who live a few hours from the city, on the phone. Then they drove to the city to pick up Dickens and her dogs so they could see the place first hand.

She knew it was a good fit as soon as they pulled up and several animals ran up to greet them. Dickens and her dogs spent two days out on their property.

"I got to know them a little bit more than just a quick visit. I got to see the layout of the land and I just know my dogs are going to be perfect. They have a couple of old dogs," she said.

"It's wonderful. So much space to run around, more than my own home. More freedoms. Lots of other animals to interact with and they got along quite well with their animals. It was really a match made in heaven."

Dickens said her dogs were even cordial with the cats (aside from a few barks) — a big surprise to her.

Sheyenne Runns, who said Dickens is like a mother to her, accompanied Dickens on the trip. She said the family members are animal lovers with dogs and cats, but also donkeys, goats, chickens and pigs. Runns said she is grateful they are opening their hearts and home to Dickens's dogs.

"Sue loves her dogs to death. They're her world and her everything, and knowing that we found a good place for them makes us feel happy and generally thankful that these people reached out and wanted to take in them," Runns said.

"She loves her dogs. She treats them like her babies."

Dickens said she wants to keep her dogs forever, but she knows that might not be possible given her diagnosis. The pups will stay with her as long as they can.

Once Dickens passes, the family she has chosen will come and pick up the three dogs.

"I'm doing really well, so I don't know when that'll be, but they're quite OK to wait, and when the time comes, they're going to come get them, so it's perfect," she said.

"I'm so happy and I have peace of mind now."