My Passion

I love animals. I always have. There is a soft spot in my heart when it comes to them. That's why when Ashley over at The Shine Project asked for us to link up our pet stories, I knew this challenge was for me :)

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She just adopted this little cutie, Oliver, from the pound!

As a lot of y'all already know, adopting animals is something that is near and dear to my heart.

ALL of my animals have either been strays, headed to the pound, or rescued from a shelter.

Since I've had quite a few, I'll only tell you about the two most recently adopted :)

Meet Youri

Youri is an 8 year old, full bred Pomeranian. March 2011 marked one year since I adopted him from Lowcountry Animal Rescue. It was love at first sight when I first saw him online, and I had no doubt that he was the dog I was looking for. I had to wait months to adopt him because he had so many problems. 

His previous owners before me were very abusive. He was malnourished. He was kept outside on a chain that caused him tracheal damage due to him pulling on the chain. 

He has scarring around his neck. His teeth are broken off from (my best guess) attempts of escape. His breath smells from tooth decay. He scares easily. He has trust issues. He has aggression problems. He has a bad cough from his tracheal damage. He has an overly sensitive stomach. He goes to the bathroom a lot in the house. His eyes don't see as well as he should. His ears don't hear as well as they should. He has bitten me a couple of times.

And he is mine.

The way his face lights up when I tell him we're "GOING," and he knows he's going for a ride. The way he trembles when I come home because he's glad it's me. The way he wants me to play with him with his toys, but he doesn't know how to trust me yet so we do the best we can. The way he lifts his nose in the air when he smells his favorite treats. The way he nuzzles his head in my neck as we go to sleep at night.

These are the things that I think of when I think about my experience adopting him. Not the bad.

Not the things he experienced the 7 years before me.

But the experience I've given him for a year now.

The things he should have been given all his life.

Meet D'Artagnan

D'Artagnan (pronounced Dar-tan-yun) is a 12 week old kitten. I adopted him from Operation C.A.R.E about a month ago. He was found underneath a porch. He doesn't remember any of it :)

To view adoptable animals in your area, please visit petfinder.com. You will enter your zip code, type of animal (optional), and breed of animal (optional). The search engine will give you a list of animals that are adoptable, their bio, and the shelter associated with them in your area.