Thursday, July 8, 2010

Dixie's 3rd Gotcha Day

 May 31st was the third anniversary of the day Mom adopted me!  We celebrate this every year since I love Mom so much and she loves me and is so thankful that she adopted me!  She got me a really yummy cake and it said Happy Birthday since she couldn't find a Gotcha day one (she is going to special order it next year).
 It was really yummy!  Of course, Mom made me pose with it before I ate it and this was after she had taken like 5 pictures.  Enough is enough Mom, especially when special treats are involved!
 It tasted so yummy!  It was grain free, so it didn't make my tummy upset.  Mom always tries to do something special for my Gotcha Day and this cake was awesome!
 I even shared some with Lola.  Of course, she only got to lick the icing because she is allergic to so many things.
I thought that I would share the story of how Mom adopted me.
Mom and Aunt Jennifer had just signed the lease on a new apartment where pets were allowed and Mom knew she wanted to adopt a dog.  She also knew that she was leaving for Australia to study abroad in a week, so she thought she would just go to the shelter with Aunt Jennifer and get some dogs out of their kennels to play (at that shelter, dogs only get out if they are taken out by an adopter or volunteer).
They walked through the shelter and made a list of what dogs they wanted to take out.  I was the first dog on that list.  Mom said I was happy and she had never seen a dog like me or even heard of a Catahoula!  When she and my aunt got me in the room, they both thought I was a great dog.  After 45 minutes, they taught me to sit and Mom had totally fallen in love (Aunt Jennifer too!).  They agreed that I was the right dog for Mom but weren't sure about adopting a dog right before leaving for a month.  A volunteer came in and said that I had been there for months and that someone had sponsored my entire fee.  Mom decided to call Grandmom and see if she would mind dog sitting me until Mom got back.
Grandmom said yes and Mom grabbed my papers and ran up to the adoption counter.  Mom officially adopted me but they said she had to wait until the end of the week to pick me up because the spay schedule was full until then.  Mom and Aunt Jennifer stayed with me for a little bit more but then they had to leave.  Mom spent the rest of the day getting everything she needed for a dog.
The next day she got a call that she could pick me up 2 days early!  They got me in for my spay early.  Mom came to visit me after my spay and then picked me up the next day.
In the 3 years since we have had so many adventures together.  I've been a service dog, I'm going to teach the new service dog what to alert to, I've taught people who didn't like dogs how to love them, I've got to meet so many awesome people and dogs.  I can only imagine what the future holds!

7 comments:

  1. Awww... what a great adoption story. Happy (belated) Gotcha Day Dixie!

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  2. Happy Gotcha Day Dixie!

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  3. Hi Dixie - sorry this is late - am behind with visiting my friends - but just wanted to wish you a Happy Gotch Day! That was a lovely story! You're so lucky to have found your humans - and it just sounds like you were MEANT to be together! :-)

    Slobbers,
    Honey the Great Dane

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  4. Happy Birthd-errr Gotcha day :-p I like (I almost wrote lick lol but that wouldn't be so wrong anyway)your cake. Lola is lucky to have you because you share yummy stuff with her.
    Of course your mom totally fell in love with you duhhh you're an awesome gal, who wouldn't?

    Face Licks
    Charneka

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  5. I just found and started following your blog -- Happy belated Gotcha Day! I look forward to playing catchup and learning more about your journey. Please stop by and check out Cura's Corner (she is a rescue Vizsla/English Coonhound mix that had become an amazing mobility dog). Also, if you have any other Service Dog blogs to recommend I would really appreciate it!

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  6. Can't believe its been only 3 years! It feels like Ashley has had Dixie forever, and that's without seeing them all the time! There is no denying that Dix is a special pup, who has never failed to be there when either one of us has needed her.

    Lots of love to Dixie Lou!
    ~ Aunt Jenn

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