Jackson goes home!

Holy cow!

What a crazy holiday break!! Christmas was wonderful and uneventful and New Year's Eve I got hit by a car. SO, that's that.

This past weekend we kicked 2015 off with a bang! Two adoption events in one weekend! Saturday was the Gambrills event, which I sadly missed. I was recovering from my NYE injuries with Vicodin and take out. I got an awesome surprise though that my neighbor Wes, went to the event and brought home Jax, one of our dogs! It was truly a perfect fit, Jax loves small kids and having Kaiden around is perfect for him. 

Then Sunday, we had a Rockville event. Always one of our biggest. Kate and Jenn, the couple who run it are seriously the best. So helpful and nice and learning from them was great. I spent the first hour of the event as designed puppy holder, tough work I do, huh??

Poppy is Brittney mix and a little squirm worm! But while I was trying to prevent her from climbing on my head, I had had to fight off people wanting to pet her; because Pops was only a few weeks old and didn't have all her shots.

There is a doggie advice for the week: NEVER ASSUME you can just pet a puppy. Always ask the owner or handler first. Puppies, like babies, are prone to lots of diseases and can get sick quickly. Always sanitize your hands (WELL!) and ask before petting a puppy. 

The second half of the event was the most exhilarating for me. Jackson had finally gained enough weight to make it to his first event. Before being put on puppy duty, I spent a lot of time with Jackson's volunteer handler, asking how he was (temperament wise) and playing with him. She raved about him and I could see why. Jackson was so friendly with the other dogs and was even more friendly and loving to his human friends. I loved sitting with him and looking into those big happy eyes. I started writing up his brand-new bio in my head, because the one that we had for him definitely didn't do him justice. He was an amazing dog.

A woman came up to me and said she and her family may be interested in Jackson. I was overjoyed, but a little nervous that I was about to have to explain to her that Jackson was heartworm positive. I gave her the whole spiel about how heartworm is contracted, how it's treated, and what the recovery process looks like. She definitely looked a little overwhelmed. How can a dog who seems so happy be so sick on the inside? Then we both happened to glance down at the same time. Both of her sons, who are probably around 12 and 10 (one wearing a Red Sox shirt!), were on the ground laughing and rubbing Jackson's belly. He was on his back with his legs in the air and his head thrown back in complete happiness. We both smiled. She told me that she wanted to speak to her husband see what he said. "By all means!" I told her. "I'll be around if you have more questions!" 

She approached me about 20 minutes later, this time with her husband. I was happy that I was with Kate at the time. While I am informed on heartworm disease, I am still new to the rescue rodeo workings. She filled in any blanks that I left out and I noticed his face softening as we gave him more information. They decided to take him!! I really could have burst into tears right then and there, but I swallowed them back and offered a professional "Oh! Great news!" 

As they went of the contracts at the adoption table, I made the boys promise me they'd get him a Red Sox shirt as soon as possible! They laughed and promised! They were truly the ideal family I had for them. Active and loving. Just watching Jackson with them looked like he'd been a part of that family for years. 

The rest of the day was a breeze and we decided to foster a little lady name Princess. What an adventure so far! More on her next time!