A couple weeks ago when I woke up to greet my favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving, I flipped on the TV in our bedroom. I was hoping to steal a few moments of actually being able to hear the news ... before the radar that is amazingly instilled in my children alerted them that I was now awake. I caught a quick blip about a special "Thanksgiving Weekend Pet Adoption" in our area.
And I thought NOTHING of it.
Many of you know and remember that it was very difficult on our family when we had to put our sweet Jessie down. Having to go through that again, kept us from having any desire what-so-ever to include another doggie into our already too big family.
Later that afternoon, as the aroma of Turkey filled the house, I was curled up on the sofa with my laptop. Something came over me and I typed the address to the local humane society into the browser. Not even knowing my own intentions, I scrolled through the pages and pages of dogs that were listed as currently being at the shelter. Big Daddy joined me on the couch and blurted out nasty words every time I stopped to get more detail on the little, adorable, SMALL pups. A lap dog he flat out refused to look at. REFUSED! The big meanie.
And then a German Shepard named Charlie popped up and caught his eye. He fell in love with this gorgeous dog, simply by looking at his picture. Being the insane people we are, the following day we all jumped in the car to go meet "Charlie" and to potentially start the process of bringing him home.
I know you all are wondering how this was happening. Wondering what in the world we were thinking?
WE WEREN'T! OBVIOUSLY!
All six of us anxiously entered the stinky and extremely loud area of barking dogs and frantically looked for Charlie. Only he was not there. Our hearts dropped. We were too late. He now belonged to another family.
Before we even realized that Charlie was no longer there ... Jake was drawn to and had stopped at one of the kennels. A sweet mutt was wagging his tail and licking the hand that Jake was pressing up against the wire cage. He was the only dog not barking obnoxiously at us. Looking at the tag that was hanging above to identify him, we learned several things ...
- His name was Ashton.
- He was a stray found along the highway.
- He was thought to be a Labrador/Retriever mix.
- Approximately 2 to 3 years old.
- Good with other dogs, cats, and kids.
- Was brought to the kennel back on August 2nd.
Everything looked great - except for that last part. AUGUST 2nd? Every other dog in the place had a November intake date. Why has "Ashton" been there since August? What was it about him that made it so no one had adopted him? There had to be something ... so sorry, Jake, it's a no go! Not happening. Sorry kiddo.
We all left the area and Jake refused to follow. He stayed stationed next to him petting him the best he could through the cage that separated them.
FINE! We'll ask to take him out into the yard and get to know him. Geez. The things we do for our kids, right?
One of the volunteers at the shelter gathered "Ashton" up and out into the yard we went. It was there that we completely understood ... the dog went WACKO. Totally nuts. Jumping up. Running about. Getting all tangled in the leash. Totally BONKERS! And that is to put it mildly.
Now we knew why he was still there. It all became crystal clear.
We brought him back inside and Jake said his goodbyes. Big Daddy and I knew this dog would NOT be coming home with us. However, Jake whispered to that silly dog 'not to worry, that we'd come back to get him'.
And the next day?
We did.
I know ... we're such suckers. But, the poor thing was never going to get out of that place ... and we couldn't just LEAVE HIM THERE. So, we adopted him, changed his name to Lucky ... and welcomed him into our crazy family.
And it should come as no surprise that he fits in perfectly. He is just as nuts as the rest of us.
In all seriousness ... he is actually the best dog ever (except Jessie, of course). Doesn't chew on anything. Plays great with the kids. A lot calmer than the day we met him. I already can't imagine him not being with us. However, I could do without is barking when he goes out to potty ... but we'll get that taken care of. :)
Oh yeah ...
And remember Big Daddy said he refused to have a lap dog.
