and then there were two!

                                                         

Please say hello to our new girl, and Ella's new sister...

Amelia!  

Full name, Amelia Mae :)

Amelia is a 6-year-old rescue from Texas!
As with most everything in the house, there is a story about how she came to be ours...

It all started several months ago when I found myself on petfinder.com.  I don't often look there as I find the site to be a bit frustrating to navigate, but on this night I typed in my location, the breed (mix), age, gender,etc. that I was interested in and several pages later I came across this photo of "Amelia."

 There was just something about her sweet face that stopped me in my tracks and had me coming back to her page for days to look at her.  On petfinder.com it said that she was located in Connecticut.  That sounded optimum as we've never adopted a dog without meeting them first and since we would be bringing a new dog into Ella's life it was very important to us that Ella meet and be happy with the situation and the dog.  Ella is now 10 years old, and is very social and loves other dogs, but I wanted it to be a good match for her too.  We've been looking off and on for four years, or so, at local shelters for a sister for Ella, but have never found "the one."

After finding Amelia on-line I waited a good week before showing her to Dan.  I knew he would say "lets go get her!," and I wanted to think about and be sure this was something we should do.  On one hand we have perfect Ella (anyone who knows her will tell you how perfect she is; it's not just me saying it ;) and why would we want to rock the boat with an unknown situation?  But on the other hand we have both wanted to have another dog, and two at one time (which we have never had before) and Ella has such a wonderful life that we felt a pull to give that life to another shelter/rescue dog needing a home.

When I finally showed Dan the photo of Amelia, he did indeed say "lets go get her!" and he also said...  "I think Amelia was my grandmother's middle name."  Really??  After he went to bed  I looked it up and sure enough his grandmother's middle name was Amelia.  While, that might be a sweet coincidence, what I haven't told you is that his grandmother's first name was Ella!    (Ella, the dog, or Ellazene, which is her full name, was named after a great aunt of mine, but "Ella" also happened to be Dan's maternal grandmother's name.)  That we might have Ella and Amelia gave me chills.

I took this as a sign.

The next night I'm thinking I really needed another sign that this is the right thing to do.  Ever since we moved to New Hampshire and started looking for a sister for Ella I have always joked with Dan that I would probably have to go back to Texas to get our next dog.  Our first dog, Kelsey, was from Texas, Ella is from Texas and, I'm from Texas!!  So one night I'm looking at Amelia's profile on petfinder.com and I click on the link to the rescue organization where she comes from and I read her bio on their site.  And, I'll be damned.....
Amelia is from Texas !!
This one made me cry... laugh and cry.

Sign number two. 

I then start thinking I'm making too much of all these signs and maybe they are just coincidences. The next day we take a drive to the White Mountains in New Hampshire to see the fall foliage.  Along the drive up I'm wishing that the universe would give me another sign if this was meant to be.  We stop several times that day at parks in different parts of the state to let Ella out.  We encountered three dogs at the parks and they were all miniature collies (which are correctly known as Shetland Sheepdogs, or Shelties, but to me have always been miniature collies;)   We get into the car after the last park and I say to Dan "Don't you think it's strange that the only dogs we've seen and come in contact with all day have been collies?!"  I then put my head in my hands and start to cry.  Dan is concerned and asks me what's wrong-  I tell him that on Amelia's bio they were guessing that she might be part lab and part ...
collie!
We then start to laugh!

Sign number three.

That night I sat out on the terrace and looked up at the star-filled sky and ask for another sign.  I immediately saw two shooting stars, one right after the other.  While I've seen shooting stars before they don't generally fly out of the sky when I look up asking for a sign and I've never seen two in a row like that.  I decided that, too, was a sign from the universe;)
Sign number four.

Several more days go by with me asking, yet again, for another sign.  (I'm a bit pragmatic and can be skeptical and very literal at times; and I ask a lot of questions in life;)

At this point I have yet to even send off an inquiring email about Amelia- still just trying to figure out if we should go down this road.  So, I drive down our hill to a local garden shop to pick up a large mum for the front door.  I'm driving along and pass a shop that has a marquee sign board and I see this...

Apparently the universe was sick and tired of me asking for more signs and decided that if the woman wants a sign, well, we'll give her a damn sign!!!!

Sign number five..... literally a sign! :)

Thee next day I sent off an inquiry email about Amelia!  I mean, one can only dismiss the signs from the universe for so long without the universe bopping you on your head ;)  Turns out she wasn't in Connecticut after all, but was still at the rescue in Texas.  She has had a difficult life.  

When she was brought to the Brazoria County Shelter two years ago in south Texas she had a huge swollen growth under her chest.  She was skin and bones as you can see in the photo below (her eyes are so sad in this photo it breaks my heart.)  You could not only see her ribs, but her hip bones as well.  A very kind Animal Control Officer (A.C.O.) named Tammy was trying to coax Amelia (then unnamed) to eat by offering her own sandwiches to the dog.  The rescue organization that took her in was coming to the shelter to pick up another dog to take in and the A.C.O. asked if they would take a look at Amelia.  The rescue was worried that the growth was cancerous, but it turned out to be a large abscess that they were able to treat with medication. She was so sick when they first saw her that she probably would not have made it through one more day if the A.C.O. had not advocated for her and if the rescue organization had not agreed to take her.  Bless them all.

I then filled out an adoption form and made contact with their wonderful National Adoption Coordinator, Melody, who is a volunteer for the rescue group.  I asked many, many.... many questions about Amelia to which Melody would find the answers and email/text/call me with a reply.
The rescue organization Smiling Dog Farms that took Amelia in started small- two partners, Ricky and Jay, rescuing a dog here and there. They were (as Dan and I are also) drawn to the dogs that were the least likely to be adopted. Various rescue groups then started sending them their "unadoptable" dogs because they knew that Smiling Dog Farms was an absolute no-kill shelter and that the dogs would be able to live out their lives in safety and peace.  As they evolved into a sanctuary to house dogs that had no other place to go they also came in contact with other dogs that turned out to be adoptable, like Amelia, and would take those dogs in also.  They have approximately 300 animals at the farm, and Amelia was one of the lucky 14 or so pets that got to live at their house.  I was told that she spent most of her day in a crate and had turn-out time during the day with other dogs at the house. When Dan and I heard this our hearts cracked and we knew she was to be ours.  She was 6 years old (older dogs are more difficult to adopt out)  and was a black dog (as I've mentioned on the blog previously, black dogs statistically are the last dogs to get adopted from shelters.  This phenomenon even has a name- black dog syndrome.)  She had been at Smiling Dog Farms for two years and I felt at this point in her life, if we didn't adopt her, she would never find a home.  That, and we had fallen in love with her from her photographs, videos and everything we were learning about her.

Throughout the process it became clear that Amelia (who had been named by one of the Smiling Dog Farms founders when the name just came to him- yes, I asked :) was a sweet and gentle girl and had a lot of similarities to Ella. I added the "Mae" to Amelia in honor of my late Aunt Mae who would tell me stories about the dogs in her life and was very dear to me.  Ella is a spunky 10 year old (I can't tell you how often I hear "I would never have guessed she was 10!") but I knew we didn't want a puppy.  I was looking for an older dog (over a year, at least and preferably even older); we have always adopted the older dog- both Ella and our first dog were a year old when we adopted them.  I've been extremely inspired by Claudia of My Little Bungalow blog who I have watched adopt a 10-year-old dog, so I was open to adopting one much older! (Thank you Claudia!)

I was a bit concerned that we wouldn't be meeting Amelia first, but I was trusting all the signs I had received and the process in general.  Melody and the rescue organization were 100% forthcoming with every single little thing about Amelia- her temperament, her health, her overall condition.  

   The rescue organization sent a local volunteer from Massachusetts (it takes a huge village to save just one dog) to our house for an in-house visit.  We passed;)!!

A week and a half later Amelia arrived on the pet transport P.E.T.S. which makes weekly trips through the south to the north to unite shelter/rescue dogs with their forever people.  We were one of five families making pickups that day at their stop in southern Vermont. We were the second to last in line and the first dog came off the 18-wheeler and it was met with "awww" from the people waiting.  Then the second and third dogs came off, both puppies, and more "awww's" ensued.  Then sweet Amelia walked down the plank and the tone of the "awww" went down an octave from a cute, happy "awww" to a feeling-sorry-for "awww."  Poor sweet Amelia, (her tail tucked under, her head down) looked scared and pitiful.  She had demodectic mange on her butt (which I was told about early on.)  It is the non-contagious form of mange on dogs that will clear itself up once a dog's immune system is healthy.  We felt strongly that a little TLC, good food, exercise and lots of kisses would clear it up in no time.   I walked up to her, held her head in my hands and said,
"Amelia, I'm your mama."

That was 3 weeks, and 4 days ago.
To watch her transformation has been overwhelming.  She is a love bug!  She has landed in a whole new world at the age of 6 where she has to learn so many new things:  new environment, a new language, a new set of rules .  Day three after she arrived it snowed.  She loved it!  This photo is her very first taste of a New Hampshire winter!

And she loves walking through the snowy woods- so many new smells.

Amelia and Ella are really starting to bond.  Every day brings another baby-step of bonding.  It has been a joy to watch.  Several people have commented that they look like twins, or like they could be from the same litter!  They are almost the same size except Amelia is about an inch taller and 2-1/2 inches longer!  She adores Ella!
She came to us not knowing her name, not knowing any commands and having never (to our knowledge and due to how baby-butt soft her feet were) been on a walk. She didn't know how to play with dog toys.  She had never seen a stair before and was very fearful of them.  For the first three days we carried her up and down the stairs to the master bedroom (much to our back's and our chiropractor's chagrin ;)
She is now, in only three weeks short time, responding to her name, knows "sit" and is one the verge of getting "stay", "come", and "stop!" She has learned to walk well on a leash (matching red plaid collars were a gift from a friend- thank you Sara!),...

... and up and down the stairs like a pro.
She has learned to chew bones, ...

... and  "puppy pops"- a.k.a. ice cubes which Ella eats after dinner!
The first time she saw Ella eating them Amelia thought Ella was crazy.  I then broke some up and offered them to her and after several days of this she started munching on them too!

 She is learning to not be afraid of the vacuum, or the loud pops that come from the pitch on the logs in the barn room fireplace, and has learned to love the bear "rugs," as we call them (faux bear throws;) in the barn room!
Amelia is under the faux bear rug on the left and Ella is on the right!

sweet Amelia!

 In only two weeks time, the mange on her back has completely gone away as has the mange on her tail!  The mange on her back legs and the one ear is well on it's way to growing back also.  We started her on Omega 3 fish oil two days after her arrival and I think that has made a huge difference- that, and the daily walks, good organic food, and lots of love and attention!  She has been amazing and we all love her so much.   Ella always wags her tail around her and they are just starting to "jaw" in the house when playing with each other!  .

 We can't imagine her not being a part of our family and have loved watching the little bud that she is unfold into a beautiful flower!

I will do another post on some of the challenges we have easily overcome in hopes of encouraging ALL of you to consider adopting instead of shopping and to especially consider an older dog (a year or older!)  I also want to introduce you to the rescue organization that took Amelia in and saved her life.   But for now I will leave you with this photo of our sweet new girl Amelia!
Just look at that face, and the white tips on her paws and the tip of her tail!!
That's a lot of love!

Please, please, please ... adopt, don't shop.





"When you adopt a shelter pet, you save 2 lives.
The one you adopt, and the one that takes its place."

Even if you're looking for a purebred, you can find purebreds at local shelters and there are many rescue organizations across the country which specialize in specific breeds.
Please adopt!
I promise... you will not be sorry.
xxojoan

Happy Ella Day!

Today is Ella Day!!!

And here you thought it was just a regular, ol' Monday.... nope- seven years ago today we adopted sweet Ella (then known as "Jelly";) from the SPCA in Dallas! 

A year and three months prior to this date seven years ago our first pound-puppy, Kelsey, died at age 11.  I was sad and missed her (still do) so much.  Every time Dan and I went to our favorite Mexican food restaurant (Herrera's on Maple for you Dallas people and, tell Nora we sent you!) I would say "Lets go to the SPCA today and look at the dogs," since it was fairly close to the restaurant.  And every time, Dan would say "Really?!"  and I would reply "No." 

I just wasn't ready.

But for some reason on this day I said "Yes, but just to look!" 

So, after lunch we walked into the SPCA, greeted all the puppies and walked to the room with the cages with the older dogs (both of our dogs have been a little over one year when we adopted them), and there she was- in the very first cage with her cellmate Olivia.   She looked me right in the eye and never lost eye contact with me.  (Making eye contact is criteria one for me when looking for a dog to adopt.  You can't train them easily if they won't look you in the eye.) Olivia, the cellmate, was hyper- bouncing, jumping and excited and sweet, calm little Ella just sat behind her wagging and looking at me, and waited for her turn.  I fell in love on the spot even though she looked nothing like what I had anticipated our next dog would look like- I was thinking Benji.  But, here she was-  another black dog like our sweet Kelsey.  (btw- I have literally heard college educated people say that black dogs are inherently mean..... seriously??  I'm always surprised by how stupid some supposedly smart people can be.  It is a fact though, that black dogs don't get adopted from shelters as quickly as other light coat dogs.  I always love the unloved (house, dog), so I'm thinking that probably plays into my love of black dogs!) 

Dan walked on to look at all the other dogs, but I couldn't take my eyes off of the little scrawny black dog they had dubbed "Jelly"!  I suppose they named her that because when she is happy she wiggles and waggles and as they say in the south.... "It must be jelly, cuz jam don't shake like that!"  We took her out of the cage and spent a long time with her and really liked her.  Then.... we put her back in the cage and we went home. 

Yep....

 I left her there wanting to make sure I wasn't making such a big decision on a whim (remember we were supposed to be just "looking"!)  My last sighting of her that day was of a young couple standing in front of their cage. 

The next morning (seven years ago today) we woke up and couldn't get back to the pound fast enough.  I walked into the big dog room and Olivia and Jelly's cage was empty.  My heart sank.  But, after walking the isle we found them in a different cage!  I scooped her up as fast as I could and never put her down until we had her home!

 As I sat with her in my lap in the lobby of the SPCA while Dan wrote the check a woman came up and told me how she had once had a doberman and what wonderful dogs they were.  WHAT??  Did I just unknowingly adopt a doberman?  We've always adopted mutts, so we've never even taken notice of breed dogs.  I was a bit panicked for days as I had had a run in with a large, mean dobie once while jogging in my early twenties and was a bit fearful.  But after a couple of days I realize that breed doesn't make a dog mean, and that no matter what she was she was sweet and precious and our life would never be the same!

  To this day we always get asked what kind of dog she is and we proudly say... she's a mutt from the pound!  To which "Oh, those are the best kind!" is often the reply.  So true!  People like to offer their opinion;) as to what breeds she has in her and we have heard everything from doberman, dachshund, pit bull, greyhound, lab, rottweiler, to Louisiana coon hound!   Whatever heinz57 mix she is, if I could duplicate it and market it we could be millionaires!

Ella was a stray and some kind person found her and brought her to the pound.

To that person I am forever grateful.

These are the first photos I took of her after getting her home.  She didn't have a name until about a week later since I had just been "looking" the day we found her! 

She developed kennel cough on day two and I knew she was the best girl when she would sit on the velvet sofa with a kleenex under her little dripping nose!

Her given;) name is Ellazene!  It was my great aunt's name (Southern) and I have always loved it! 

She actually answers to a lot of names:  Ellazene, Ella, El, Sweet Potata (I've always thought her head was shaped like a sweet potato!  And, yes- it's pronounced "po-tay-ta" :), Sweet Potata Salad, Sweet Potata Salad Head, Sweet Potata Pot Pie,  Love Bug, Bugs, Bugs Bunny...   It might confuse a lesser dog:)

She was a little over a year old when we adopted her, which makes her 8 years old today, and it was obvious she hadn't experience much in life.  We have done our best to rectify that!!

When we brought her home we stood on opposite sides of our backyard with the intent to have her run between us.  Ella is fast- she runs like the wind.  She easily ran to each of us, but had no idea she was supposed to stop and literally ran into us (hard) and knocked us over!  After about three direct body hits she learned to slow down/stop and we learned to step out of the way!  

Our sweet girl now.  Loved by many and well-traveled!  Ella's been to 26 states, many states multiple times!  She has stepped into both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans!

all photos by me

Ella loves Home Depot!  Here she is visiting with her friend Lois- she loves Lois!   Ella is giving Lois a "high five" and hoping that Lois has a treat on her (which she usually does!)
One day last month I made a quick run into this (our favorite) Home Depot, so I didn't take Ella in with me.  I then let Ella out in the open field next to the fenced-in plant area of Home Depot.  As Ella was out by herself in the middle of the field sniffing around I heard a voice yell.... "ELLA!!!!  IS THAT YOU ELLA?!!"  Ella whips around and sees her friend Lois who had spotted her roaming the field and recognized her!  We hadn't seen Lois in a couple of months, so Ella was very happy to see her and visa versa!

Ella likes to antique shop.  Here she is at Bowerbird- a wonderful shop in Peterborough.  If you stop in tell them Ella sent you!

Ella waits patiently while I talk to friends.

  Ella loves riding carts.  Without prompting she'll jump on a cart!



This is Ella playing with her beau-friend Gus!  Gus loves carrying sticks and logs around!  He is a big love, and he and Ella are best buds.  When Ella sees Gus she'll twirl 5- 7 times fast!  I've been told she needs a tutu!

Here they are together on a walk.... Ella deciding it's time to take Gus' stick away from him.... or try!

Ella loves the bank and toll booths as sometimes they give her cookies.

Ella loves snow and, like us, has taken to living in New Hampshire quite easily!

Ella driving! (I know I've shown this before, but it always makes me laugh!)



Ella loves Maine and running on the beach.  There is usually another dog or two there to play with which makes it that much more fun!

Ella loves her "babies" and plays with them, but is very gentle... though sometimes after a good game of tug-a-war the babies have to go to the infirmary!

Ella, like her Mama, loves a bit of the bubbly too;)  Here she is at the liquor store!

If she doesn't go into Lowe's with us employees literally ask "Where's Ella?!"

Ella has a bit of a reputation as the girl who is always wearing a different collar!:)

Here she is shopping at another favorite antique mall... 

can you tell New Hampshire is very dog friendly?!!  They love their dogs here.

Ella's a very diligent shopper, always sniffing out a bargain :)!

Ella likes to go to the dump with Dan.  As you can see she's very helpful in sorting the recyclables;)

Ella helping hold down that misbehaving peat moss bale.

Sometimes people come to Ella's house and take pictures, but that's just fine with her.  She's there to help if they need anything.

It's not easy being Ella.... but some puppy has to do it!!

This is Ella's favorite spot at the end of a wintry day.... on a fur throw in the barn room.  I think she thinks it's her "birth" Mama (as opposed to her "earth" Mama, which is me!)

She is the best hugger and she adores Dan.

This is a puppy hug and there are not many things better in the whole world!

Ella eyeing her Mama's champagne!

It's good to be Ella!!

 

I wish I could thank the kind person who brought Ella to the pound seven years ago.  Little did they know the gift of daily love and joy that their action would bring to us. 

Ella sends you a wag and a wiggle!

And, I wish you a Happy Ella Day!!

If you read my blog you know that I am a huge advocate for adopting pound/shelter/rescue group dogs.  I hope that if you are ever looking for a dog (even if looking for a purebred- there are many purebred rescue groups) that you will consider adopting.  And, please don't rule out the older dog...

you will not regret it!

xojoan