May 25th 2009 2:32 pm
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I want to thank each and every participant in the Adopt '09 contest. Each and ever entry touched our hearts. Being a recipient of one of the awards last year, and having the honor of being a judge for this year's contest, we will never understand how my story was chosen out of so many wonderful ones.
I must admit, I enlisted the help of mommy to help me read all the amazing entries this year. Each and every one of them was wonderful. The stories of despair, hope, love, abandonment, joy and forever homes made us cry more than we ever thought possible. Both with tears of joy and sorrow.
There were over 170 entries this year and we wish that every single one of them would have won ~ but ya' know what? I think each and every one of us DID win! However bleak our lives began, we were all adopted into wonderful, loving homes. In the end, no matter how long we were with our adoptive pawrents, 1 week or 15 years, I KNOW that our wonderful peeps did everything in their power to show us what it really is to be a beloved part of the family ~ safe, happy, well fed and loved ........
I hope that this contest, and all the amazing stories, have helped to open just one set of eyes to the joys of adoption and all the love that goes along with it!
Thank you everyone for sharing your stories and thank you for letting me be a part of such an amazing contest ....... you're all winners!
XOXOXOX,
Dickens
May 4th 2009 9:13 pm
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Hello, my name is Dickens. We're not sure how old I am, but I do know that I adopted my mommy almost 9 years ago (hee hee). (now it's been almost 10!)
Mommy has always adopted rescue pups. She knows with so very many wonderful dogs in the world in need of loving homes that it wasn’t even a choice for her. Mom had just lost, very unexpectedly, and waaaaay too soon after her adoption, a very sweet girl named Trixie. Mommy was heartbroken and swore she was never gonna go through the heartache of having to say goodbye to a beloved again. Well, after about 3 weeks of coming home to an empty house, mom missed having a doggie around. She still was adamant about never adopting again, but wracked her brain on how to be able to have doggies around and not get too attached. Voila! Be a foster mom! Perfect! This way she could help wonderful animals in need, keep them until they found terrific new homes and not get attached – BOL! Sounds easy, right? (Mom’s not too quick sometimes so she really thought she wouldn’t get attached.)
Well, I was mom’s 2nd foster doggie and this is my story. I am a euthenasia list rescue from the Maricopa County pound. I was about 3 years old at the time and dumped there by my horrible previous owners knowing full well that I was to be put down that very day due to too many doggies at the pound already. They said ‘fine’ and walked away. I almost wasn’t rescued that day, but the organization that mom volunteered for just happened to be there. I was so terrified and unresponsive, that the founder of the rescue suggested that they ‘forget about me’ and move on. Were it not for the patience of Lisa, a wonderful volunteer that sat on the floor of my kennel with me for almost 3 hours, I absolutely wouldn’t be here today.
Mom was fostering ‘special needs’ doggies at the time because she had the time to work with them, and Lisa called her from the car on the way from the pound to tell her that she had a very special boy that needed her help.
When I first came to her house, I was so afraid of everything! Sadly mommy thinks I was tied in the back yard for most of my previous life, not socialized at all and shown absolutely no affection. Toys, people, furniture, the television, they all terrified me! I spent the first 2 days at the house squished into the far corner of the backyard because I was so afraid of everything (even mom!). One of my biggest fears was that collars & leashes terrified me! When mom would try to take me for a walk I would just 'pancake' to the floor and not move. The proudest day of mom’s life was when we finally made it over to our neighbor's house one day on a walk (he lived about 20 feet from our driveway and it took us 45 minutes to get there because I kept stopping and flattening down to the sidewalk). Mom worked hard to show me that people can be good and there is nothing to be frightened of - I will always have enough food to eat, toys to play with, furniture to lay around on and love to enjoy!!!
After just 5 days at mom’s house, she got the call that a very nice family was interested in adopting me. Mom thought, ‘heck no, this one is all mine!’ and her ideas of never adopting another dog again flew out the window!
All was going well with my progress, but then about two weeks after mommy 'made it official' I got very very sick. Mommy was terrified that she would lose me and even though 3 different vets said it was distemper and she should put me down, mommy wouldn't give up on me. She gave me fluids through a turkey baster and after trying to tempt me with every single food in the universe, ended up having to force feed me so that I would have the nourishment to get better. Boy was that ever a long and scary battle ..... all I did was lay on my doggie bed next to her bed ~ wouldn't move, lift my head, wag my tail or anything....... :-(
It took a while, but I slowly got better and am now one of the most affectionate, playful, goofy and fun-loving dogs mom says she’s ever had. Mom says that I have brought such joy and happiness to her life and she hopes that she has been able to do the same for me.
So, the whole point of this..........What does adoption mean to me?!?!? Love, happiness, security and never again having to be scared each and every day of what will come next ‘cause I know it’s gonna be all good! My yucky past is lifetimes ago and I am lucky enough to have a mommy that loves me dearly and makes sure to let me know each and every day!
Mom wishes humans had the resilience and ability to love unconditionally, forgive all that has happened and live life to the fullest like we pups do! :-) Please adopt a rescue or shelter dog in need. You will be rewarded a million times over!
(sad side note: in Maricopa County alone, over 100 wonderful doggies & kitties are put to sleep every single day of the year due to overpopulation and irresponsible owners :-( )
xoxoxoxo,
Dickens
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
This Is One of Mommy's Favorite Stories:
A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight.
When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got
closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.
When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence.
As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog. When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was
standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."
December 27th 2008 6:49 pm
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Wow, has this ever been an exciting few weeks full of fun surprises! Today mommy brought home a box addressed to me and guess what was inside? The most wonderfully soft and amazing blankie! Not just any blankie, mind you, but a Flecken Blankie! It's the cutest material and has fringes along the edges! I just love it! It was uber cold here today (well, okay, Arizona cold..... 48), so the timing was just pawfect!
The note inside side it was a present from an anonymous pup! Holy Cow! Why would some swell doggie spend their hard earned bones on me for no reason? I wish I knew who it was from so I could thank them properly, but hopefully they will read my diary and see how happy their sweet gift has made me!
Mommy says she's gonna snuggle up with me under our new blankie tonight and watch a movie! Wheee! Thank you, wonderful blankie sender ..... absolutely unecessary, but amazingly sweet and touching!
XOXOXO,
Dickens
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