Today’s pet adoption story is of Jenni-Ann and her beautiful dog Isaac. Sometimes the animal you fall in love with may not be your first choice, proving that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (or a dog by its barking). All adoptions save lives, but Isaac had a particularly close call. Meet Isaac and Jenni-Ann:
My husband decided that we should adopt a dog when we finally moved into a house with a garden. We had 2 babies, a 1 year old girl and a 14 week old boy.
We went down to the rescue center that was located on a farm. As soon as we arrived we were able to see 8 kennels open to the elements of the vast countryside. Some kennels shared more than 1 dog and only one chewy plastic bed for added comfort! When we walked in, I immediately pointed to a dog and said “not that one.”
We took a look at all the dogs, and the dog I had first pointed out barked at one of my sons. That cemented my first thought, so I went ahead and decided that I liked the look of a female dog, but for some reason my husband had fallen in love with the female dog that I had immediately judged and dismissed.
He went in to ask about the dog and found that Isaac had been there longer and was to be euthanized in 4 days. My husband asked to take him for a walk and as soon as the dog came out of the kennel he felt fine, he was not really interested in children and he walked very well on the leash. We could tell that he just didn’t like his surroundings, and he was extremely low weight as well.
That night my husband couldn’t help but think that Isaac was cold and hungry, so first thing the next morning we had a dog! I was really anxious and worried, but there was no need. Obviously Isaac was well trained as a puppy and used to young children. He let them climb over him, he never got ahead, and when we gave one of the kids the lead, he slowed down like he knew he had to be very careful.
He really adored children and now I know why his breed is called the babysitter dog! One time my little boy got out and started down the road on his scooter and Isaac followed him and stayed next to him on the roadside until we left the house.
It took us a year to get Isaac to a healthy weight and at first we got some nasty looks like we were starving and abusing him.
The only problem we had was the aggression of the dog, and Isaac would see another dog and leave! He once ran to another field while walking to start with 4 boxer dogs!
Unfortunately, Isaac began to get sick. He slowly began to sleep more and then began to fall, falling down the stairs, once even knocking himself unconscious upon falling.
Whenever he needed to go to the bathroom, his legs couldn’t support him so he slipped and landed on his business, and we had to start holding him just so he could go! In the end, we had to make the heartbreaking decision to put him to sleep because he was in so much pain. He was my boy’s best friend, we loved him so much and were distraught for a long time afterward!
Now we have rescued another dog and we hope it will be a part of our family for many years.
