It was nearly midnight on February 12, 2001 when I walked
into my house and collapsed
on to the floor and began to cry the deepest cry of my life. I had just left
the
emergency vet clinic where I had to make the horrible decision to end the
suffering
of my beloved Tai, my male chow that spent 13 years with us. The pain was
almost too
much to bare because just three short months earlier, we lost our beloved
Terra, our
female chow of also 13 years, to cancer. So as I laid on the floor and looked
around
this empty house, it was then that I realized I was chow chow-less for the
first time
in over a decade. I was devastated beyond words.
Several months passed and I apprehensively began searching
the Internet for another dog.
I justified it by saying that I just "curious." It didn't matter
what I found because I
was convinced that I was never going to allow myself to love another dog again,
because
I could never go through what I did just a few short months earlier. Those
thoughts were
completely erased when I met Tess, a beautiful cinnamon 2 year old chow.
Tess was a rescue and she had been living in a kennel for a year the day I
met her.
It was a bright sunny spring day. She was excited to be out walking the grounds
with me.
My only prerequisite was that if she was right for me, she would give her
prospective
mom a "kiss" on the cheek. This was the same test I used when I
picked out Terra. So I
bent down to get a look at her beautiful face and it was then that she looked
at me and
kissed me. That was it! I took her home the following week.
I believe Tess was meant to be with me. And I also subscribe
to the notion that out
of every bad comes a good. Tess is a true testament to that belief. She needed
a home
and someone to love her and I needed the companionship only a chow can bring.
My mom
always says that there is something special about a rescue; that they truly
appreciate
you, that they know you rescued them and gave them that loving home they so
desperately
need. Everyday I see Tess' appreciation. She looks right into my eyes and
I can see her
love. Some people believe animals can be their soul mates and if I had to
put Tess
into that category, I would. She is special beyond words and she fulfilled
an enormous
crater in my heart and for that, I will be forever grateful.
I would highly recommend a rescue. They have so much to offer, so much to
give. They
may have belonged to someone who passed away or someone who threw them away.
Whatever
the circumstances may be, they were given extra big hearts to share with someone
who
needs them, just like the way I needed Tess. ----Blake
Blake found her wonderful new friend thru the Spelko-Pal chow rescue in northern
Ohio. To contact them email Donna at ddpal@aol.com