This is Chloe.
And this was her first night in our home. :)
She's a one year old doberman, one ear flops and the other stands straight up (one of many characteristics that I find adorable about her), she's a skinny petite little thing that loves more than anything to be close to you, put her big paws on your leg, arm or even face if you let her, who's cropped little tail is always wagging, sits directly on your feet and loves to gaze up at you with those big brown eyes, loves food of ANY kind (after all when you go without, you're up for anything) chew up toys (no matter how durable you may think they are), runs as fast as the wind, and has the most genuine and sweet little heart that I've ever seen in an animal (well besides my Bella girl, that is). I'm a little in love if you can't tell!
Chloe has consumed most of our lives this past month. If we weren't with her we were certainly always thinking about her. We were connected with Chloe through the dog rescue group that I volunteer with - Street Dog Foundation. They knew that we were doberman lovers (after all Bella is at least 1/2 of my heart) and called when they found her. She was dropped off at Shelby Forrest. We think she must have been living in the woods for weeks. When she was found her ribs showed, she had ticks, and worst of all (but we didn't know at the time), she was heart worm positive. How can someone dump such a sweet little girl? I mean look at this face!
I will never understand this and pray that those people are shown more mercy and grace by our God then they have given.
Michael and I just knew that we should foster Chloe from the minute we saw her. I'll never forget meeting this wild little skinny doberman and then looking down at Bella who's my calm, mature princess (who also has notably not skipped a meal.. :) and thinking WOW. How can we really go from this to that? We're so used to Bella who is for the most part poised, trained and in her little routine.
We thought and prayed about it and decided to take Chloe in and let me tell you it was an experience for the first 2 weeks. I've never realized how mentally and physically draining fostering is. It's something you just have to experience for yourself. It took some adjusting for Miss Bella too although now I don't think Bella could imagine being alone again.
After she started heart worm treatment, which was pretty rough on her for a couple of days, we found friends that were interested in taking Chloe for a 2 week trial. When the day came that they picked Chloe up I literally felt like I was giving away my own child. I was a hot mess the entire week... crying, calling Michael and my mom, etc. When it didn't work out with the family I couldn't wait to get her back. From the moment she walked back in that door (and we realized she was in heat... what an experience that was... never thought I'd go to Target to get Depends for a dog) we knew that we couldn't let her leave again. Bella was instantly happier. That week she had been moppy around the house. We also kind of felt like a little spark was missing.
In the 2 weeks since we've had her back she has learned to wait patiently for her food, share toys and even bones (which is a BIG deal around our house) with Bella, sit when commanded, walk on a leash, and give kisses. :) She took her last heart worm treatment yesterday so now she can really run and play again! Yesterday was also a big day because she was adopted into our family as Chloe Ann Jacques. (Oh yea Mike... I gave her a middle name too) :) We celebrated with a "Welcome Home Chloe" peanut butter cake from Three Dogs Bakery, a ceremony with Streetdog, a sweet poem and a bag full of goodies!
We are so happy to say she's ours. Here's some pictures from our little celebration.
I hope we can give Chloe the forever home that she so deserves. We love her so much & think that she loves us too! If you are considering fostering or adopting, DO. You don't know how big of a difference you can make in a dog's life and how much it will impact yours.
Love,
R & M
