Shelter Buddies: Doggy is My Daughter's Guardian Angel!

It was a sad day 5 weeks ago when my first German Shepherd was stolen. Every morning my 2 year old daughter would wake me up by bringing Gary's picture while asking for him. I had already cried at work a few times while explaining to my co-workers that someone wanted a dog bad enough to steal mine. 5 weeks of grief was too much.

Every week we trekked out to the pound to check for Gary, and we have yet to find him. Yet each time we looked, several cages held various German Shepherd dogs waiting for a second lease on life. I began to do some research and discovered that several interest groups dedicated to the breed have adopted these dogs and have been charging between 200 and 1,000 dollars for each dog. The pound has these same dogs for $30.

Last week, I suddenly felt the intuitive urge to go to the pound just before closing and spotted a beautiful puppy sitting in one of the cages. I knew he was a match. So the hubby & I discussed him and I rushed to get him out into the bonding room with the kids. I felt that we had no time to spare because German Shepherd dogs are extremely popular dogs and they can be impossible to find as puppies. We sat in the bonding room holding Doggy as he licked us gently and politely sniffed at the kids. I looked up and saw a cop staring sadly at us. I found out later that we had beat the cop, literally by seconds, in adopting Doggy - he had almost became a drug dog. I feel that Doggy is a gift from God.

The grief is gone. Our little ones now wake up eager to pet soft fur and lay around with their new shelter buddy. They are less stressed out when I have to leave to go to work, as Doggy is there to distract them with a game of tug-o-war. We now walk around the neighborhood as a family daily and enjoy the fall weather as Doggy helps himself to the grass & bushes. Our conniving daughter has figured out that, in return for snacks, she can howl during time-out and Doggy will come to her aid by pushing in the bedroom door. Our son sometimes fusses and Doggy will be running right over to lick the tears away. He loves to run his fingers through Doggy's thick, furry tail. Whoever had him first had fed him very well. Doggy has thick, healthy fur that is shiny. He is the most alert dog we have had.

So now we sit with Doggy and realize that, from both sides of the cage door, all of our lives have been made less stressful. One less dog lives in danger of dying at the hands of strangers and one more family has smiles of joy.