Our New Addition

So, here's how the story goes... My brother-in-law had just gotten off of work one night, went out to his truck to head for home, and found this puppy in the bed of his truck:
The poor thing was covered in ticks. So, he brought the puppy home, and he and my sister-in-law removed all the ticks, cleaned her up, and took her to the vet the next day. And even though they found out that the puppy was healthy, they already have 3 animals in their home, so keeping the puppy was pretty much out of the question. When I saw the picture of the puppy, my heart went out to her because, well, I am an animal lover. And the thought of her going to a shelter was heartbreaking for me. So, I immediately started making plans to welcome this puppy into our family. The thing was though, that even though my heart was telling me that I really wanted the puppy, the more I began to think about it, the more I began to realize that this puppy probably was not the right dog for me and my family. And so, I very reluctantly said that I could not welcome the puppy into my family.

But here's the happy ending to this story. The puppy is going to a great home, my in-law's home. And I know that she will be cared for and loved immensely.

Still, all of this puppy talk got me thinking that maybe I was finally ready to welcome another dog into our family. So, Hector and I talked about it, and we made the decision to start looking for the right dog, the perfect dog, for our family. I spent the better part of 2 days looking online at the websites of local shelters. I had a general idea of the age, breed and size of dog that I wanted. And as I kept scrolling through page upon page of dogs in shelters waiting to be adopted, none of them were really speaking to me, saying, "I am your dog." So, I expanded my search options on the websites. Instead of listing specific breeds of dogs that I was looking for, I just said that I wanted to see all female dogs available for adoption. And so I pulled up all female dogs within a 100 mile radius, waiting to be adopted. Over 1300 dogs, all waiting in local shelters or rescue centers, all waiting to be adopted.... And out of all those dogs, I found her...

Needless to say, my jaw dropped to the floor. Because you see, the picture above is of a dog that was waiting to be adopted in a local shelter. And the picture below is of my beloved Maisy, at around the same age:

Now folks, I do not believe in reincarnation. But I did for a split second wonder if Maisy had somehow been reincarnated, because the resemblance was quite amazing. And because I do not believe in reincarnation, I will tell you what I do believe. I believe that every now and then, life seems to hold up a big, bright red arrow, as if to guide us in the right direction and point out certain things to us. When I saw that dog's picture, I saw that big, bright red arrow pointing to her, telling me, "This is the dog you are meant to have. Go get her now!" And well, that's exactly what I did.

I met the dog at the shelter and I took her into the yard to get to know her better. I tugged on her ears, I pulled her tail, and I even flipped her over on her back and rubbed her belly. She never once snapped at me or the kids, or yelped or tried to get away. She did it all with a calm, warm demeanor. She is an extremely sweet, obedient dog. All of the kids petted her and loved on her (ALL the kids!). Samuel did not want a small dog that would bark loud in a high-pitched tone and scare him, or jump up on him. He really liked this dog because she didn't do any of those things. And all Avery really wanted was a pretty dog that she could brush and pet. Needless to say, they all bonded with her immediately, and I just knew...

This dog was with her previous owners from the time she was 8 weeks old. They took her to the vet regularly, and when she was brought to the shelter, they gave the shelter staff all of her vet records. She's already spayed and micro-chipped. And she seems to be in perfect health. Her previous owners are sadly going through a divorce, and they are both moving into apartments. Neither one of them feels capable of caring for her at this point. And so, they surrendered her over to the shelter. The shelter staff told me that her "father" wept as he said goodbye to her, and begged the shelter staff to find her a good home. It might be just my opinion, but I truly believe that anyone who says, "It's just an animal, not a child." has obviously never been a real parent to a furry child. Some people simply own animals, and when they do, they miss the point and they miss out on being that pet's parent. That family gave up their furry child that day when they surrendered her to the shelter. And now we are lovingly taking her into our home, our hearts, and our family, as our furry child. And now, I will get off my soap-box and introduce you to the newest addition to our family.

Introducing Maggie Mae Acevedo

DOB: August 14, 2008

Current Weight: 39 lbs.

Current Height: Unknown

Welcomed into our family on July 9, 2010, exactly 4 months to the day that we said goodbye to our sweet Maisy. We are so hopeful that we will have many wonderful years with Maggie.