We get a house. Then, we get a dog. Then, we have a baby. That was the plan, according to us.
House – check
Dog- check
Baby- nope.
Dog 2 – check.
Wait, what?
I NEVER thought we’d be a two dog family. Ever. That wasn’t the plan. One dog (specifically, a yellow lab), then kids. That. Is. The. Plan.
But, somewhere in the middle of year two of our baby battle I woke up and had it on my heart to search for another dog. Why another dog? I have no idea. But I was on a mission to rescue a pup. I was called to save a dog in need. Husband said “okay, if you want, go ahead and start looking” read: “there’s no way we’re getting another dog, but if it will distract you from the baby battle, by all means, search for another dog.”
I’m fairly confident he didn’t think I was serious. And thinking back on it, I’m not sure I even thought I was serious. But hey, it would be a good distraction.
I researched about rescue dogs, and adding a second dog into your home. I spent hours upon hours reading, and answering questions about ‘is a second dog the right fit?’ and took all sorts of random quizzes trying to figure out if this was actually a smart idea. Excellent hobby, great change of focus from my previous obsession with getting pregnant. But, turns out, it was a smart idea.. All answers, all research pointed to ‘yes’. Huh. Well, maybe I’m not crazy. I mean, everything is pointing to ‘yes, Sarah, this isn’t crazy, it’s actually quite perfect.’
So, then began my search. I scoured the local shelters, and every now and then, I’d come across a cute face that called out to me, but, the search continued.
Until I came across this face:
The caption beneath her photo read: “10 months, house trained, in need of a loving family with another dog to learn from”. It may as well have said “SARAH THIS DOG IS MEANT TO BE WITH YOU. MAKE THE PHONE CALL”
So I did. I called. Requested more information on this little pup named “Velvet”. Turned out she was just down the street- living with a foster family who offered to bring her over the following Saturday.
She melted our hearts. Instantly. This tiny little pup fit into our world so perfectly that we didn’t have a single doubt that she was meant to be a member of our family.
She came over for a simple, brief, meet and greet/home inspection. And she never left.
We worked with a local organization – MARS – Midwest Animal Rescue & Services. They are simply the best. We completed the interview and all of the paperwork; application, background checks etc. before scheduling the meeting and home inspection which made the process move quickly, and smoothly. Once we came across Millie we were already set and no hoops to jump through.
If I am being entirely honest, I never thought much to rescue a dog. I think its a noble cause, and they all deserve loving homes, I just wasn’t aware that we were the loving home. Our hearts have been forever changed.
My dad said, just last week, “Millie sure won the jackpot” and the truth is, I think we did. She has forever changed our world.
For us, we were called to adopt. For others, that may not be the right fit, and that is totally okay. The beauty of it all is there are many different ways you can make an impact. Donations are huge, monetary or not. They can always use “stuff” – food, treats, beds, leashes, you name it. Or, perhaps fostering is an option for you.
There are a million different ways to help.
If you want more information on how to help other beauties like our little Millie check out: http://www.midwestanimalrescue.org/info/
We had been praying, and praying, for our family to grow. And just like that, in a flash, it did.
Just, not at all like we had planned.
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