An Unexpected Meeting

A few days after Fifi passed away I sent a text to my dear friends at Fresno Humane Animal Services and Animal Compassion Team. I had been pulling dogs from them for some time and I knew if I was going to find a second dog they could recommend a good one. I got a text a couple of days later about a shy long haired chihuahua named Chloe. They had been working with her for some time and they thought she would be a good fit for me. I decided to pull some dogs from their shelter so I could bring her to Santa Barbara. If it didn’t work out with me than I knew I could find her a good home with someone else.

A few days later I found myself driving north to bring Chloe and a few other dogs back to our shelter. The minute I saw her she came to the front of her crate to greet me. She was definitely hesitant but seemed to trust me right away. After loading the dogs into my car we began our two hour drive back to the Humane Society. I stopped at In-N-Out Burger to grab some lunch and as soon as she smelled fries we became friends. I spent most of the drive glancing over at her. Often I found she was staring right back at me. And that is when I knew that I had fallen in love with this little dog.

I took her home on a trial basis to see if she would be a good fit for me. She got along well with Toby and quickly won over everyone she met. That night she snuggled up next to me and fell asleep. My heart instantly felt full. Needless to say the next day I signed the appropriate paperwork and made the adoption official. Chloe became Piper and also became a part of my family. I know Fifi would want me to make room in my heart for another dog that needs me. My grief will never fully go away and I will never find another dog like her but Piper brought such joy to my life in such a short amount of time. And so another adventure begins…

Getting comfy…

Fifi

A lot of times when people come in to look at our adoption dogs it is because they are looking to replace one they have lost. I have heard tons of stories about dogs that are no longer with us. I always sympathized with people…listening intently and comforting them when needed. Soon I began to wonder how I would handle such a horrible situation but the truth is nothing prepared me for losing my own dog.

If you go a few posts back I told the story of how I adopted Fifi. She stole my heart almost instantly and I knew she was meant to be in my life. Just after midnight on June 22 she took her last breath and the grief that followed was nothing I could have ever expected. The day following her death I couldn’t leave the couch. I didn’t eat. I just cried and cried. It didn’t take long before I got an outpouring of support from friends and family. It meant so much to me that so many people knew how much I loved her and how special she was. The almost 5 years that I had we were practically inseparable and I felt a huge void when she was gone. I wanted nothing more than to hold her again, pet her and smell the fur on the top of her head.

Grief is a strange thing and some days are better than others. There are times when the loss of my sweet baby girl weighs so heavily on me I feel like I can’t breath. But I wouldn’t trade our time together for anything in the world. And I can’t thank Fifi enough for choosing me to be her mom.

 

Heart & Soul

Soulmates come in many forms. In romance. In friendship. And yes, even in our pets. Those of us in animal welfare often find those and bring them home. But at some point our homes are full and that means that we meet these amazing animals and have to be okay with the fact that they cannot be yours.

Fran was just that for me. She was a spunky little thing that bonded with me instantly and I felt an insane connection with her that I had only felt with my own two dogs. I would come into work on weekends just to take her hiking or on walks or just to spend time with her. It didn’t take long before I started thinking about adopting her. I knew having three dogs would be hard but I would figure it out. I simply couldn’t imagine her going home with anyone but me. And that is when her future owner came in. He was looking for a companion because he was retiring and he said that Fran was exactly what he was looking for. He visited her for a month before taking her home. I’ll never forget watching her walk out the door. Tears welled up in my eyes and I was shocked how heartbroken I felt. Selfishly I wished that it would have been me taking her home but I knew that she would be extremely loved and spoiled with her new family. So I knew I had to let her go.

I have seen her a couple of times since then. She is happy and totally bonded with her owner. There have been other dogs that I have been close to but none compare to Fran. I’ll always think of her fondly and she’ll have a little piece of my heart.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker…

I have talked to probably hundreds of people over the past few years about what they are looking for when adding a dog to their family. And I always put it the same way. It is like picking a person to date…you have to have a connection and you have to think they’re cute. The reaction is pretty much always the same, they start laughing. But I’m serious. It is a huge commitment to adopt an animal and even though it might be a good fit on paper, it has to be a good fit in person as well.

Capone and his new dad are all smiles.

It is a big responsibility to help someone find their new best friend. Sometimes I hit the nail on the head. Sometimes I’m way off. But when a great match happens there is no greater feeling. Our adoption dogs often become like my own pet. I love them and care for them and that can be a hard thing to pass off to someone else. But nothing fills my heart more than when someone adopts a dog and they follow up with me saying how happy they are. It is amazing to see everything come full circle. From meeting a dog for the first time and gaining their trust, to building a relationship and then sending them off to start a new chapter of their life with their forever family. I have had adopters send me photos of previous adoption dogs living their new, happy lives and quite a few times I have had people stay in touch with me over long periods of time. I don’t think anything brings a bigger smile to my face than seeing a dog living how they are supposed to…with love and adoration and a big cushy dog bed.

Ruth and Rufus with their new mom.

Canine State of Mind

At times I forget how we must look to our pets. Do they think we are insane people who are constantly watching them go to the bathroom? All joking aside I feel like when animals come into a shelter setting we forget how scary it can be. New place. New smells. New people. And tons of other animals. It must be incredibly unnerving.

Recently we got in a dog. Well, a puppy to be exact. She was only 6 months old and because she was so young we assumed she would be a happy, bouncing pup.  We were wrong. A coworker of mine informed me that when she tried to enter her kennel, Lily charged her and tried to bite her shoe. It didn’t take long for most people to become weary of her. I couldn’t understand how everyone could be so put off by this dog so I decided I would look for myself. As I approached her kennel Lily started growling and showing me every sign she didn’t want me there. It soon progressed to barking and lunging. That’s when I realized she was shaking, almost uncontrollably. She was terrified. And I was this looming person she didn’t know standing in front of her kennel. To add to it on the inside of her kennel she faced an enormous barking dog. So what did I do? I got down on the floor. I made myself small and vulnerable and let her sniff me. It took about two minutes before I turned around and saw her tail wagging. I decided to cover the inside of her kennel as well so she didn’t have to be face to face with an unknown dog. Before I knew it we were friends.

A situation like that put it all in perspective for me. We have to think like a dog. We have to put ourselves in their shoes and truly try to understand how overwhelming entering a shelter can be. I think that is the least we can do for these animals that end up homeless through no fault of their own.