Ellie and Gunner
Thursday, August 1, 2013
By: D Almeida

Our Hearts Are Full

In the Spring of 2000 after moving into our first home my husband and I realized our large backyard was empty and needed a dog. We went that day to NHS and after making the rounds the first time we had 2 dogs for our list and decided to go around again and see if we could find a third dog to meet. The first time we went around "Bella" was way back in the corner so this time we stopped, trying to see her and that's when she lifted her head and came to the gate to see us too. At that time she licked our hand and was so sweet we added her to our list of potential dogs to adopt. Our meetings with the dogs proceeded like Goldie Locks. The first dog was too quiet. The second was too crazy. Then "Bella" was brought in and we heard her story. She was 6wks old when they found her in the middle of 13th and California. She was perfect! Playful once she warmed up to us and snuggled with us once she was tired out. We signed the papers and right before we were leaving noticed her stitches from being fixed looked infected. NHS told us we could get another dog but we knew we would care for her and she HAD to come home with us! We could not bath her because of infection so she was a bit smelly and that's how she got her new name plus her nick names. Ellie Belly Stinky Smelly. When you call Ellie by all names together she goes crazy and wags her tail! We loved her so much and she was such a great dog we decided to get her a friend 5months later and got Brutus a White Shepherd Lab mix and a couple years later we got Frisco a chocolate Lab and then we had our son in 2004. We lost Brutus to Cancer at 8yr and then we lost Frisco to Cancer at 9yr. Ellie was alone after having a brother since she was 5months old so in 2011 we decided to adopt again! We were set on getting a dog Ellie's size or smaller since Brutus was 92lbs and Frisco was 102lbs and saw how hard it was when they were sick to care for them. Ellie is 70lbs so off I went to find our next family member. In an advance search I found a couple of dogs I thought would be perfect for us and Ellie but while I was there, in the very back corner kennel was this VERY large Yellow Lab who looked so sad! People were looking at him and laughing at how big he was as they walked by! It made me sad and told my husband about it when I got home. Hubby said we would go back the next day for all of us to meet the dogs I found but he really wanted to meet this HUGE Lab even though we decided we should get a smaller dog because he said we should try and adopt the dog least likely to find a home. When we got to NHS the 2 dogs I found for us had been adopted at the end of the previous night so hubby asked me to show him the Yellow Lab that was being laughed at. When we went to his kennel he was gone and we found out he was meeting with another family that wanted to adopt him but were waiting on another family member to make their final decision. We were sad for us but happy for him. We proceeded to meet a couple of other dogs and trying to make a choice was hard. So hard that we were there a very long time. In that time the other family had chosen not to adopt the VERY large Lab so we asked if he could be brought to us. We were told of his history of being surrendered by his previous family and that he had been in foster care for a long time because he had serious medical problems. His bowels and bladder were connected and his urine was brown and stool was squirting out but because he was such a wonderful dog the NHS and Dr's decided to try and save him and operate. He was now healing wonderfully and was a favorite amongst the dog walkers at NHS! Even at 135lbs, energy off the charts, serious medical issues that we were not sure were fully resolved we were goners when we met Gunner(his name when surrendered so we kept it)! He fit right in when we got home. He went straight to his bed at bedtime. Barked to go out and loved having a big backyard to play in. He did get in to the garbage a few times but now we just have a closed can. He got out of the yard the first week and we had to hunt him down but now he won't leave our side even if the gate is open. Gunner is 6 and Ellie is 13 ? now and has Cancer so we appreciate each day and know that when we do lose her, even with our hearts broken we will adopt again from NHS! I want to thank NHS for taking such good care of our babies until they found their way home to us. The unconditional love and fun they have all brought to our lives is priceless! I can't tell you how much we appreciate all the work you do and just want you to know our fur babies are loved and SPOILED every day of their life!! From my husband, my son, our doggies and myself, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!