To understand me, you've first got to understand that I LOVE my dogs. My husband and I don't have children and our fur-babies have truly filled that role in our lives. They are our constant companions, loyal and loving. They put their full trust in us, and always believe that we will take care of them. No matter what. And we will. What happened this summer more than proved that.
Before we get into all that, let me tell you about my girls. I met my husband in college and we started dating in 2003. Our relationship progressed fast and in a few months we were living together. After almost a year, and one cat later (Tyson), we decided we were ready to take the next step...a puppy. Prior to this one of our favorite activities was to visit the local humane society shelter and pet the dogs and cats. It was alot of fun, but every time we left, I begged him for a puppy. A few weeks before my 23rd birthday, he finally gave in. We went to the humane shelter as usual and there was an adorable litter of hound mix puppies. I had my sights set on a black and tan puppy, but he saw a small, quiet, white puppy with brown spots, with the most adorable long spotted ears. He quickly convinced me that she was the puppy for us. That was one of the few things in our relationship that he was most certainly right about...;)
The humane society had named her Aspen, but somehow that didn't fit. We spent a couple of hours tossing around names and finally decided on Abby when she forteously glanced up when we said it. And of course the calm and quiet facade quickly wore off. She was as wild and rowdy as any puppy. Perhaps even more so. We went through the initial puppy parent phase as any new fur parent does. Little sleep, lots of cleaning up accidents and destroyed shoes, toys, and even a computer cord. However, she was the best decision we ever made, and I still say to this day the BEST birthday present I ever got.
After a few months we realized that living in a tiny apartment on the second floor wasn't cutting it for our rambunctious young pup and after graduating from college we moved several hours away close to my family. We rented my grandparents house and Abby relished in the two acre yard. It seemed life was complete. It least for the moment.
However, about 8 months later, we realized that we couldn't keep up with Abby's constant need to play. We'd gone through probably a hundred toys and were constantly interrupted to play tug-a-war or horse around. While we loved that, we obviously had things to do. It then occurred to us that maybe, Abby needed a friend. Dogs are after all pack animals.
I knew we had to get another rescue so I started scouring Petfinder.com looking for our perfect new addition. I knew I'd know when I saw her and I did. Our local rescue (Animal Rescue of Stokes County) had a beautiful female, the same age as Abby. She was white with sparse black spots including one white spotted ear and a black ear. After looking at her pictures and reading her bio, I knew without a doubt she was what we were looking for. So I contacted our local rescue. They got back in touch we me and told me just the week before, she had been adopted. I was crushed. I was so sure she had been our dog. I kept looking, half-heartedly, but none of the other dogs stood out.
Then....we got a call. It turns out the couple that had recently adopted her had returned her. Apparently she was a digger and the other couple couldn't handle that. We however, had no problem, having a big, unlandscaped yard, perfect for a girl who liked to get her paws dirty. We decided to go visit her at her foster parents and it was love at first site. A few days later we introduced her to Abby, and it was as if they were soul sisters who were meant to be together. We signed the adoption papers and she was ours. The rescue had named her Lucky, and we thought about changing her name, but after hearing her story, we decided it was a perfect fit. It turns out that when the people that originally rescued her went to the pound that she literally wrapped herself around their legs appearing to be begging to be saved. Shortly after she came down with parvo and was very, very sick. She went on to live at a foster home (with a fabulous foster Mom) and then went through an adoption that thankfully didn't worked out. She was it seemed, meant to be with us.
From the day they met, our girls have been inseparable. They snuggle and cuddle, and play, though Abby is clearly the boss. In their six years together, they have never once gotten in an actual fight. There have been a few angry growls and sniveling fits, minor squabbles that sisters have, but never once have they attacked one another as most dogs do when they fight. After Lucky our fur family was truly complete and it seemed as though God himself had helped us hand pick the perfect girls for us.
Abby & Lucky on Lucky's 1st day with us
Best friends forever!
Brother Tyson
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