A little thing about me, I have ALWAYS been an animal lover! I’ve fostered and adopted countless numbers of little pet companions. In fact my first furry kid was literally a from the street rescue. But, after 15 wonderful years, he passed. We never thought about having a dog again….let alone less then a year later.
I forgot it’s not just about our lives and needs; ADOPTION IS SO MUCH MORE! It takes one less life of the kill list. Or at the most optimistic point of view, one less in the shelter and into a warm loving home.
This story is lucky to have a happy ending like many of the San Diego little fuzzies thanks to the “Getting to Zero Policy.”
Also, a HUGE thanks to our countless Adoption Agencies and our local Animal Control that partner up each day to save these lives. Truly, not only do San Diego humans have it the best, but so do our companions!
With that, allow me to share the story, tale,…”tail” of our Chewbacca.
My husband had been working at this particular veterinarian hospital for years. They’ve helped with rescue groups here and there, then one day they began a fantastic partnership. The hospital became buddies with a dog adoption group called “The Rescued Dog.”
Left and right co-workers were falling for these little furry faces! It was a beautiful thing to see, but with our recent heartbreak, we weren’t ready for a new pup.
As luck would have it, one day The Rescued Dog got an urgent Facebook call to action. A high kill shelter, outside our non-kill San Diego County Animal Control locations, had this little ball of over grown fur. His life clock was ticking and he had mere hours left, so a wonderful volunteer snatched him up just in time.
*Photo Courtesy of San Bernardino Shelter
His shelter shot was exactly one of those heart breaking Sarah McLachlan commercials! The image of a cute, but dirty dog, in clearly a over crowded kennel. If that didn’t say adoption I don’t know what does!
He was an utter mess, think of Star Wars Chewbacca knotted, matted and shrunk to a miniature size. He was nothing but hair with a set of teeth! This ball of fur was lucky to get handed off to one of the founding members and she got to work with the biggest shave job ahead of her….later to find, twigs, fleas, ticks, and a tiny case of kennel cough. Poor thing, poor rescuers, and bless their souls!
*Photos From The Rescued Dog & Myself
Chewy was a lucky one, he got out of his death sentence. His ball was rolling and little did he or we know our paths were going to cross very soon.
After an official clean up, this boy begins to be photographed and emailed by the adoption group to their partner hospital. A running joke of, “Hey, here’s your next dog!” “I have a picture of your dog…!” begins.
My husband is jokingly and lovingly being harassed by the whole hospital staff to join the rescued dog “Alumni” club. Funny thing is that first emailed picture is also on my Instagram feed! To top it off they had deemed him “Chewbacca!”
*Courtesy of The Rescued Dog
Apparently our hearts were beginning to soften or we were having one of those Grinch heart growing moments, because less then a week later, we had a plan for a trial “Foster Period.” (Which I HIGHLY recommend! You can’t picture how a pet will really fit into your family until you meet. We have fostered plenty that were fun, but we were happy to see move on to their perfect family. Heck, foster just to give these guys a temporary place, I know you will be thanked in wags & licks!)
The day came that we headed to the hubby’s work to pick up Chewbacca in a kennel with a label already deeming him as my husband’s dog. No matter how much we tried to say that it was just a trial, we fell for him! Hook, line, and sinker. How does one just say no to his little smiling face?!
*Courtesy of The Rescued Dog
Every so often I stare at his little fuzzy face and THANK the stars for all the people who had saved his life!! He wasn’t to become just a statistic but apart of something bigger. He, as well as us, got the happily ever after!
We couldn’t imagine our home without him, even at his most annoying of days! As much as we thought we weren’t ready, we saw our daughter learn responsibility like never before. She was happy to have a buddy and a “real dog” to play with! We forgot that she never had anything but a elderly older brother. He was everything we didn’t know we needed in more! It was just a family match made in Heaven!
October is National Adopt a Dog month! Do you have a furry friend that you adopted? Share them with us over on Instagram. Tag @sandiegomomsblog to be featured!
Does he have an underbite? Is that why he “smiles” like that? So cute. One of our dogs has an underbite, but it just looks like upside-down dracula teeth!
Yes! ? It’s the cutest little under bite ever, hehe. Sometimes you just see his little teeth not really a full smile, but when he’s excited or happy his big pointy teeth are more noticeable and more of that smile.
I’m sure your fuzzy kiddo’s is just as cute! ♡ Post a picture to our Facebook or Instagram! We’d love to see it!
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