Shelter Pets :: My "Tooth Fairy" Dog

2 years ago, and 2 days before Christmas we lost our Cleo. She was 16 years old, and had an aggressive form of cancer. Truly one of the worst days of my life. But I would not change one minute of my time with Cleo. She was such an amazing, loving dog. Never once snapped at my girls no matter how many times they pulled her fur, yanked her tail or climbed on her to ride her across the room. She would just look at me with these big eyes as if saying "can't you get them to stop doing that?"

It has taken me awhile to be able to write about her as I still miss her terribly. But I think it is time to tell a few of the stories; stories that make me laugh and wish I could just scratch her behind the ears (she loved that). 

Let's start at the beginning. Just after we bought our first house, we immediately started talking about getting a dog. My husband and I had been renters for 10+ years and could never have a dog. 2 months after we bought the house I came home one day with the worst tooth ache; it was so bad I couldn't move my jaw. Diagnosis? Yep, it was my wisdom teeth. So after the procedure, laying there in bed and a bit zoned out from all the lovely drugs they give you ... my husband says "you feel up to visiting the ASPCA?" Roughly 2 seconds later I had my shoes on and was heading out the door. 

When we walked by the room (with bars) Cleo was in, we noticed she was shivering and huddled in a corner. My husband knelt down and held out his hand to her. It took her a few minutes but she looked in his eyes and walked over to sniff then lick his hand. That was it. She picked us to go home with, and so we headed up to the desk to fill out the paper work. Easy peasy, right? nope. It was 5:00pm and they were closing, and told us we'd have to come back tomorrow. And, btw, there was another couple who wanted to adopt her. WHAT?

Now that we had met Cleo, we knew she was the one. That was a rough night of anxiety, and we were standing outside the door when they opened the next day. The other couple was right behind us, but they were behind us. Ok, so we just fill out the paperwork and take her home right? nope. First we had to be interviewed to see if we were suitable to adopt Cleo. You see she was kind of a 'special needs' dog. Her previous owners had neglected her. Leaving her all day locked up, and then would hit her when they returned and saw that she had gone to the bathroom on the floor. She also had not been socialized as a puppy and was extremely timid. We always joked that she was not an 'alpha' dog, but an 'omega' dog. She would hide behind our legs when other dogs were around. That never changed. No matter how many times we tried puppy school. 

After much convincing that we understood that she was going to need some special attention. We moved on to fill out those papers ... FINALLY. But then we had to come back to get her the following day as the ASPCA will not allow adoption without having pets spade or neutered. So we waited one more day. I always called her my 'tooth fairy' dog as that was the prompt that got us to the ASPCA at just the right moment to find her waiting for us. I love this picture of her getting her first bath as she licked the water off my husbands hands. She was just so happy to be with us, people who wanted her, played with her and included her in our lives. I'll leave you with one more thing. A treasury from Etsy that I created as encouragement to adopt a shelter pet. They have so much love to give.

'The Simple Truth' by AntiquityTravelers

Give love, receive love. Hug, and love comes back. Find a pet. Adopt a pet. Rescue an abused or neglected animal. You'd be surprised how amazing it is to provide a loving home to a shelter pet.

Give Love. Wood Block Decor. bubblewrappd $11.00	Shelter Dog Photography Blac... kaelynmichaels $12.00	Adopt a Dog Decal Paw Print ... VillageVinyl $3.99	Dog photography- australian ... KatyJanePhotog... $18.00
Cat Photography Black and Wh... FabianArts $60.00	Love Wedding Sign - Photogra... ALittleMiscell... $40.00	who's a pretty boy (dog ... susansabophoto... $20.00	Maybe My Dog Rescued Me pill... uppercases $15.95
Journal - I Heart My Rescue ... BeadedTail $10.00	best friends dog girl photo ... Lindentreephot... $6.00	Love Like Crazy. Home Decor. bubblewrappd $10.00	Rustic Pet Photograph - Let&... ErinBphoto $25.00
Digital Image Download,Digit... VanillaExtinct... $5.00	Nursery Decor Photo Cute Bla... FelinesCanines $14.00	PATTERN - Frog Hat for Kids... FashionPattern... $5.50	I Love You To The Moon And B... wordwillow $38.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house