Rescued

When my wife (Lindsy) and I first started dating she said, “You know the crazy cat lady? Well one day I’m going to be the crazy dog lady.”  Although I laughed, I knew she was only partially joking.  The only thing up for debate was when; five years from now, 20 or maybe even 40?  I’ve always had an affinity for animals, but Lindsy revived my affection for dogs.   It’s a good thing, because her three year old Chihuahua (Riley) decided to test my patience.  It took six months to convince little Riley I wasn’t going to harm them and I was worthy of consideration for a long term role.

During the course of our relationship Lindsy and I talked about owning other dogs but the timing wasn’t right.  We love Riley to death and she is wonderful but her disdain for other animals would make it difficult to add another pup.  Additionally, our living quarters at the time wouldn’t allow another animal. Finally, we weren’t willing to commit the time and money needed.

Years later and after moving to Washington, we eventually reopened the discussion.  We were living in a place with no animal restrictions, we decided Riley could use a forever companion (even though she would hate it at first) and we were finally willing to commit the necessary resources. Great!  Now what were we going to get?  Lindsy was leaning toward a small-to-medium size dog like a Corgi or Australian Shepherd but I wanted a German Shepherd.  I was drawn to the beauty, intelligence, loyalty and quirkiness of the breed.  Aided by adorable GSD puppy pictures online I was able to convince Lindsy to see things my way.  We both knew we wanted it to be a rescue and preferably a puppy.  We figured it would have a better chance of accepting Riley as the pack leader (alpha) if it learned its place early.  After months of searching, responding to ads and applying for nearly every rescue in the state of Washington I found a match! I was approved for a puppy that had been found with her litter-mates abandoned in an orchard and nursed back to health by staff at a local prison.  Although I couldn’t formally adopt her for another 4-6 weeks, so I continued to monitor the rescue website.  They posted a beautiful German Shepherd puppy (approximately 8-10 weeks), Calypso, who had been abandoned on the side of the road with her brother and sister who was available immediately.  She was the one!  I called the agency and snatched her up the day she was posted.  A couple days later (the soonest they would allow us to come get her) we drove to Othello, WA and picked up our sweet Abby girl.  It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and we are so happy Abigail (Abby)  is now such an integral part of our forever family.