So I wouldn't go so far as to say I am full blown cat lady status, but you could certainly label me as obsessed with my dogs. Blame it on my inherent motherly desire to take care of something and my current lack of children. Today I wanted to ONE. Show off how cute my little fur babies are TWO. Tell you their rescue stories and THREE. Tell you why you should get one :)
So we got this sweet little boy, who we named Finn (like Huckleberry Finn), back in October. He is full of energy and so excited to say hello to everyone. Being loved on is his favorite, being the little attention seeker he is.
I mean seriously, how is your heart not melting?
So we were able to rescue Finn from The Humane Society. He and four of his siblings had been picked up only the day before from a shelter that couldn't house any more animals and was going to have to put some of their dogs down due to limited space. What is really crazy about Finn's story is we almost didn't get him. My family pet of almost 14 years was a brown labrador retriever that had recently passed away. My parents weren't ready to get another pet, so Aaron and I decided us getting a dog was a good transition. I really wanted a yellow lab though, because I thought having a brown lab that soon would be too hard, with Mocha just dying.
Anyway, long story short, this awesome eight year old boy had gotten to the Humane Society about 20 minutes before us and was adopting Finn. When he found out we were there to adopt him as well, unprompted by us and his parents he turns to his mom and said, "Well mom can we adopt the little brown puppy over there so two pets can get a home today?"
Shut the front door.
Eight years old and all he wanted was to make sure as many dogs that could get a home did. At eight, I don't think I had even begun to register that other people had needs aside from my own. So parents of the year go to this kid's family. His dad was there in his military clothes, and I could not thank them enough or stop telling them what a wonderful child they had raised. What's really awesome as well, was by the end of the day all five brothers and sisters had been adopted.
So after a few months we decided that Finn needed a friend to play with. We wanted someone close to the same age so they could grow up together and teach each other stuff. (We also didn't want to deal with potty training twice lol) So then we found Wyatt.
Sweet, sweet Wyatt. He is the most calm, relaxed, loves to lay on the couch with you, puppy I have ever met.
Wyatt is from Derby City Rescue. They have an awesome organization where they actually have foster parents that take in each of their animals and work with them until they are ready to be adopted. Wyatt's story is kind of a crazy one as well. He and his siblings all developed Parvo and their owner couldn't afford to take care of them. One of his brothers actually passed away from it, so we were very lucky Wyatt is a fighter. The owner dropped them off at a shelter and that's where Derby City stepped in. He lived with an awesome family who worked with him and loved on him until we found him!
We have had both of them for a little over a month, and over all it is going extremely well. Finn has taught Wyatt to ring the jingle bell we have on the backdoor when he needs to go outside and they love playing with each other. They are still trying to figure out who is boss, hopefully soon they will realize that it's me and Aaron! ;)
I am such a supporter of having pets, and especially love that we were able to rescue our two sweet puppies.
There are so many reasons having a dog is good for you. Here's my top ten to name a few:
1. They love you unconditionally
2. They are always happy to see you
3. They keep you active and encourage a healthy fitness routine
4. They're an instant icebreaker and help you to be more social
5. They actually help to ward off allergies, and skin conditions like eczema, if children are around them from an early age (think more dirt, more exposure)
6. They help to lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Go figure
7. They help with overall stress levels
8. They help battle depression in their owners by providing companionship, giving a sense of purpose, and battling loneliness
9. They can provide people with aid that have certain handicaps or ailments, like vision, seizures, autism, PTSD, or allergies
10. They can act as protectors and watchdogs for your family and can teach responsibility
I 100% support having a pet for your family. We are so glad of our decision to rescue these two cuties and more than consider them a part of our family! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding adopting or even just questions about transitioning to having a pet in your home, because I would love to help!