The Sweetest Thing

When you adopt a dog from a shelter, you just never know what you'll get. When we adopted Gigi in June, HSNT told us that her owners were not able to take her to their new home. After spending some time with her, we think she might have lived with an older person, because she is calm and patient and loves to sit near or on us.

With each passing week, we learn a little more about her. Certain words or phrases elicit reactions from her that make us think it's a carryover from her last family. For example, one Sunday morning I walked into the kitchen and said I was going to make pancakes. Gigi ran into the kitchen as fast as she could and sat in front of the stove with her tail wagging. She knew all about the pancakes.

Last night, my husband shared another trait with me. Most afternoons, he listens to music on his computer. About a month ago, he noticed that she reacted to certain instrumental music. She sits on his lap and turns her head to the music and wags her tail. We think that her last family must have shared their love of music with her. Her reaction was so sweet - it truly brought tears to my eyes.

I wonder if she knows how much happiness she brought to our family.

The Unwanted

In the last 5 months, we have adopted two dogs from the Humane Society of North Texas. We first adopted Rose in February; she was only 6 weeks old. She didn't know hardship or that she wasn't wanted. All that she knew was that she was tired and cold and tiny. We brought her home and she has flourished. But each day, I wonder if her mom, two sisters, and her brother found good homes. I know they were all adopted - I just hope they're loved.

About a month ago, we (okay - I) decided that Rose needed a friend so we adopted Gigi. She's approximately three years old. We don't know why she ended up at the shelter. We were told her people couldn't take her wherever they were going. She's a good dog - very sweet and loving and playful. She's finally learning to trust us and that we won't be taking her back to the shelter.

I know that people fall on hard times and they can barely feed their families, much less their pets. But so many others just get tired of their pets and "put them out" wherever it is convenient. Or they take them to a shelter. Or they just move on and don't give these pets a second thought. I've often wondered how these people would react if someone did that to them - just got bored and dropped them off. Pets are not accessories, nor are they things that can be discarded. Pets are part of the family, until death do you part.