Bear

Almost every week I receive an email filled with little faces about to be killed in the shelter in GA that I got One-Eyed Jack, Finn and Daisy from. I'll admit I don't know much about the actual shelter, but the contact I have down there has picked out nothing but wonderful, desperate dogs for me. Anyway, I try desperately not to look at these emails, but, masochist me, I did a few weeks ago. Amongst all the faces, there was one dog with sad eyes:

I couldn't save him - I couldn't save any of them myself. I still had Daisy and though she had someone interested in her, she was still with me. Not to mention, Jack and Finn were supposed to be coming to visit. My mom would shoot me if I asked to add another dog into the formula on top of theirs, my foster and adopted out dogs coming to visit!!! lol

The Friday after that email, my Cheyenne passed away and the following weekend, my Daisy was going home. Talk about feeling lonely! Just because my parents have two other dogs, Kyleigh and Sadie, doesn't mean I wasn't feeling the emptiness. It was awful.

In flipping through my email a few days after Cheyenne's passing, there was an email from GA. Because of Thanksgiving that week, the animals at the shelter would be put to sleep earlier in the week and could anyone help with such short notice?? I opened the email, sad that these dogs would have such a short time for the email to make its away around to maybe save some of them. The first photoed dog? That sad eyed boy! What are the chances that the big dog with the sad eyes would be one of the lucky ones spared the week before?! It was crazy! But there he was!

I emailed my contact in GA, Lisa. I still had Daisy, but my contact in GA said transport wasn't even available until after Daisy would actually be in her new home ... and of the handful of dogs I asked about (because you can never set your heart on one in case they were already saved), the big guy was the most desperate. A "shelter favorite" she said. If I paid for him then to get his medical check, he'd be saved and on his way to me after Daisy was adopted. I did it! And though he was a dirty, smelly, un-neutered mess when he first arrived (big shout out to my parents for being awesome and cleaning him up since he came early while I was working), he's a great boy!

He might be a bit funny looking, but he's adorable once you get to know him. He is housebroken, very playful, "sits" when asked, leans against you for love and hasn't tried to eat any of the cats (or people!) yet ... and with the size of his jaws & skull, I'm thinking he could physically make a meal out of just about anything. :o)

In hindsight, this all makes my heart hurt a bit ... and yet I try to feel a bit better thinking that Cheyenne let me save him. We've named him "Bear" and my mom is pretty insistent that she wants him to stay forever, but I don't know about that just yet.