Maddie - December 2012: Some things are just meant to be, I believe. Through some odd (lucky?) circumstances, I have a new member of the family. On Christmas Eve, I saw a Facebook post from the Idaho Humane Society. Every year, they have the "12 Strays of Christmas" - where they feature 12 separate animals - one each day before Christmas. These are animals up for adoption. I've been thinking of getting another dog for some time, and over the past few months, have been scouring the Idaho Humane Society and other local shelter web sites, looking for just the right one. I wanted an older dog - one who is house trained, and is out of the wild puppy stage so as not to traumatize my Pug, Phoebe (who, quite frankly, loves being an only child). I promised myself to not be impulsive and take my time (that has never worked in the past). On the 12th day, I found what I was looking for.
She seemed perfect! I thought about her over Christmas, and decided on the morning of December 26th, to go out to IHS and get her. I arrived, and was told she had been adopted about 30 minutes before I got there. Booooooo ... I left IHS feeling a little down but happy that she was going home with someone. I checked the IHS Facebook page a couple of times when I got home to see who adopted her - they typically take photos of the newly adopted animals with their new families. I didn't see one for her, but I did see a post from a nephew of mine's wife, talking about her sister's new family dog, with a couple of photos.
Hmmmm, that dog looks very familiar! So, I messaged her and asked if that was the dog from IHS "12 Strays of Christmas". It was! Small world, and all that, I told her I was happy she found a home, and that I had gone out to IHS to get her, too. End of story ... or so I thought.
Later that night, I got a message from her stating that the dog was not getting along with her sister's cats at all, and was I still interested in her??? Some conversations exchanged the next day, and the dog ended up at my house, where she has now found her forever home.
Meet newly-named Maddie - the most calm, lovable, sweetheart ever. She is 6 years old, part German Shepherd, part something else (unknown), House trained, not a barker, figured out the dog door in no time, knows some general commands, i.e., sit, stay, down, and is 56 lbs. of pure love and joy. Phoebe doesn't even seem to mind - too much ;)
