Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Dixie's Story

I'm not sure how many people know the full story of how Dixie and I got into each other's lives.
I'm more and more amazed how our story has worked out.
When one of my best friends and I went to the shelter, we were just there to look and maybe give some dogs some time out of their kennels (it was a high kill shelter where the dogs rarely saw the outdoors). We made a list of dogs we wanted to play with and the first one was a spotted dog named Dixie of a breed neither one of us had ever heard of. This silly dog bounded in to the room with a smile on her face and her tail wagging like crazy. We were a little "eh" since neither of us really wanted to do the puppy thing (I wanted the cuteness but not the obnoxiousness). Then we called her name and she came. So we started trying to see if she knew commands. She didn't. So, on a whim, Jenn and I tried to teach her sit. She picked it up in the time we were in that tiny "get to know you" room.
Something had already clicked for me when a volunteer walked in a told us Dixie's entire adoption fee was paid but she had been there for a very long time (and at a high kill shelter, their days are numbered). Well, I knew that sealed the deal, Jenn loved her (and still does-she is Dixie's Aunt Jennifer and one of Dixie's favorite people in the world) and I couldn't leave without MY dog. I called Mom to ask if she would mind dogsitting for a month while I was in Australia. She agreed and I literally ran to the front desk to adopt my dog. She had to stay at the shelter to be spayed and I was a nervous wreck until they said they got her spay in earlier and I could pick her up 2 days early. She captured my heart and everyone else who met her loved her too (well, except Dad...he said she proved that animals could be evil!). Don't worry, Dad has come around too. I have yet to meet anyone that can resist Dixie's charm.
Today I have no doubt she is my heart dog, that four legged soul mate some people are lucky enough to have in their lives. She helps keep me healthy and improves my quality of life.
I've said it a lot, but I will never be able to repay her for what she does for me. Because of that, I want to help as many homeless animals as I can. So many people think that all shelter animals have problems. Guess what? They don't. The tope 3 reasons animals are dumped at shelters are :the owners moved, they had a baby or someone is allergic to the animal. There are purebreds and mixed breeds ranging in size from tiny to giant. Unless you show your dog in AKC conformation shows, I don't see the reason to buy an animal. There are millions of homeless dogs and cats killed every year and breeding your dog or cat without championships under its belt is simply irresponsible. The world does not need any more of whatever you have. If you breed your dog and it has 6 puppies, you have just sentenced 6 innocent animals to death. You can't guarantee that those puppies will go to great forever homes, generally at least 2 of those puppies will end up in shelters.
So next time you want to add to your family check out www.petfinder.org There are tons of wonderful animals out there waiting for their forever home!