Okay, I’m just being dramatic. Dottie didn’t save my life but she sure has made it better. I often joke that Dottie is, “…the best $200 I ever spent!!”.
We had just moved to Georgia from Germany. I had a dog already–Sheriff. He is a mess. A lovable, sometimes-I-want-to-strangle-him mess. As we were settling into our new home I realized how lonely I felt. That’s a strange thing for me to say because I am married and have four kids. And I could see that Sheriff was lonely, too.
Against my husband’s better judgement (sorry, Vince!), I started prowling the local Humane Society Facebook page. I was overwhelmed by adorable-ness: cats, kittens, dogs and puppies of every breed and color…it was amazing. I shared countless links to photos of critters that needed a new home. And then it happened: I saw her. I…wait…I’ll be right back–I have to love on Dottie for a moment….
…okay, I’m back. She’s so cute. Where was I? Oh, yes: I saw her. I remember that it was past midnight on Wednesday and a staff member had posted her pic. I thought to myself, “That’s funny–someone’s holding my dog.” By Saturday, I had convinced my husband that we were just going look at Dottie. Yeah, right. We all knew how it was going to end, but Vince was kind enough to play along.
The Humane Society was clean and the staff was amazing. It was fun and amusing to see so many happy critters walking around freely, checking each other out and the humans, too. It also hurt to see the injured fur babies in cages healing from necessary surgeries. But before it gets too real up in here, let’s get back to the feel-good part of the story.
So here comes Dottie, completely oblivious to the fact that her Forever Family walked in the door. She sure was fat, pudgy, and everything I expected her to be: loving, funny, and too cute for words. We spent $200 on her. I don’t quite remember what the cost covered but I remember thinking it was reasonable. Some facilities charge less than that, so don’t let what I paid deter you from at least checking into it.
As we drove home I couldn’t believe that we actually went through with it–we had a new Fur Baby! Integrating her into our lives was no work at all. With some minor training, she fit right in. Sheriff and Dottie don’t play much together, but I can tell that they appreciate each other’s company. The kids fight over who gets to sleep with Dottie at bedtime. And me? I’m not lonely any more. My spirits are lifted and when I feel down, loving on Dottie helps me to feel better and put things into perspective. Maybe she saved me after all <3
Writer Bio
CJ Heath is married to her long-suffering husband, Vince, who allows her to do crazy things like get Fur Babies from the Humane Society. She is Mama to four human babies and two fur babies and life couldn’t be more pleasanter. Thank you, Dottie.