My dogs chose me. I wasn't looking for a dog either time. Bev was a stray in my neighborhood. Who could resist keeping her? Minnie was at HSI for two months, and I just couldn't leave her there any longer. She looked at me so pitifully every time I went in there! I used to go there and get toys for Bev and visit the animals. I don't go and visit the animals anymore. We really are at financial capacity at the moment!!

Well...where to start.....Okay, pretty much all of our animals have chosen us. Guttons for punishment that we are, we used to regularly go to the Humane Society to help out. we'd walk the dogs and play with the ones that seemed to need it. So most our dogs have come from the Humane Society. Colton we got from some irresponsible people who apparently didn't realize having unaltered dogs would cause you to have unwanted pups. Now Maize is a different story, we use to have a Pyr/Golden mix and LOVED all the qualities he showed of both breeds. After doing lots of research we decided the next dog we got would either be a Golden or a Pyr. So on my birthday 2 years ago, we bought Maize. The funny thing is, this year for my birthday I got my Pyr. Of course he is a foster and not ours permanently, but I already love him.

We did search for three of the four. Cats usually find us, though when my partner wanted another siamese, we did get Wen Sing from a rescue. The dogs I went looking for, but found immediately. Not a particular breed specifically, but I wanted intelligent dogs and looked for herding dogs. However, the days I decided to look, they were there, and there was no doubt about who was going home!

My sister and her now ex-husband got Deuce from Uncle Kill's, um Bill's, because the ex-husband always wanted a pug. They had him for about a year when they moved into a new house. To make a long story short, Deuce was kept in his kennel about 15-18 hours a day because the entire family was too busy to give Deuce the time he needed. I fell in love with Deuce and all his silly little pug ways and asked if I could have him. They agreed and he became mine in August of 2005. I love that dog more than words can say.

Francie also found me through IndyPaws and I'm so glad she did. I love this sweet, stubborn, poop-eating dog!

Most of our animals were strays. They chose us. Except LeeLee, Bailey, Roxie, and Callie. LeeLee and Bailey was born from a stray that we brought in and decided to keep them, I chose Bailey because there was something about him that made me drawn to him, and mom chose Lee because of how shy he was. Roxie and Callie we got them from the paper. Bandit followed my mom home when I was in second grade. And Cindy Lu well hers is a long story about how we got her. So most of our animals chose us to care for them and give them love.

Well, I think they both chose me. Sunyr was a little stray and only six weeks old when she was dropped off at a grooming salon. My stepkids, at that time, found her and brought her over, knowing that we had been thinking of getting a dog in the future. Yes, it was love at first sight. She was a little furball and became my soulmate at once. That was almost ten years ago and she is still and always will be Mommys heart and soul baby girl. Skippy came from Petfinders two years ago. We were visiting with family who foster dogs and there was this cute little dachshund mix who decided to latch onto me for dear life. then before the weekend was over, this little guy connected with Kerry and then Sunyr. Sunyr never really cared for dogs but she sure loved Skippy right from the start. I had thought about getting another dog so Sunyr would have company, but just couldn't decide if it was the right thing to do or not, since Sunyr had been an only child for so long. But after watching her and Skippy play together, it was an easy decision. They get along great and Sunyr has more energy now than ever. They are a great brother and sister and I love them both with all my heart.

I adopted Lita when I 13. I picked her out of 11 pups. It was pretty overwhelming having that many pups greeting you, but somehow she stood out. It was love at first sight. lol. Lita's my best pal!

When I was ready to adopt another dog, I went to AC&C. I looked through all the kennels and there stood Hewie (who was originally named Dexter) all skinny and pathetic looking. What really caught my eye was he looked alot like a dear old dog I used to have. Hewie's been a handful but I never regreted that 60$ that bought my velcro dog friend! =D

We got Sid and Sweetie from HSI. We wanted ONE black cat. I looked on their website and found Sid, she was very sick and skinny, she had only been back out on the floor for one day when we went to get her. When we got to HSI, they said "hey it's a two for one deal today". So we decided to get her AND Sweetie that day. Sid practically jumped in my arms when I opened her cage, Sweetie on the other hand, came up to the door, sniffed me, then turned around and showed me her bum. It was such a cute bum, we took her home! :) O.C. was a stray that I had been giving treats too for a while, he came up to the house one day with a huge chunk out of his head. I had $4.12 in my account, so I fixed him up myself, it took about a week to heal completely. Now he's the happiest most loving cat we have ever had. Now, for the pups. We had been talking about getting a dog for a while, an adult dog, not a puppy. My Ma and I went to ACC on my birthday, to see a beagle mix that had one blue eye and one brown eye. When we got there, he had already been adopted out. I walked down the aisle, quickly, and about half way down on the right were these two puppies. One was a cute little scruffy mix of something, the other was this long, lanky black hound. I bent down to say hi and the lanky hound pushed past the other puppy and pushed herself against the door, hard! (she still pushes up against me when we snuggle) She gave me some kisses and when I smelled that puppy breath, I was hooked. I took her out and she was licking all over me and trying to eat my hair. They said I couldn't take her home for a few days because she had to be spayed. I went back up there everyday for three days. I had to see my baby! She is my little baby boo! Charlie, of course, was our first foster failure. He and Penelope bonded right off the bat. He is the sweetest boy ever! We couldn't let him go. Dibs!! We are one big happy (furry) fam!

A year or so ago, I went to tractor supply company to get some duck feed. They had their rabbits and their chicks out. They had baby rabbits but then they had 3 adult rabbits, "rejected fair rabbits." There was something about that chubby ginger patched rabbit that I couldn't ignore. I picked her up, she growled at me! I laughed so hard. It was the cutest thing. My older rabbit died months ago and Chubbz filled that hole. So I got out my 10$ and bought my new baby. She's the bestest bunny! ^_^

After my elderly toy poodle crossed the bridge, I was looking for another small dog on Petfinder.com. I saw Daphne's picture and was interested. They had her listed as an Italian Greyhound Mix (ha ha ha), but the minute I saw her, I knew she was some kind of terror (I mean Terrier) and I fell in love with this goofy girl. Then, when Daphne and I moved into an apartment, Daph seemed lonely, so once again I checked out Petfinder.com and Annushka. I went to where she was fostered, then they came to check out my place and Annushka just jumped up on my couch and into my heart. Maybe, just maybe, I will look into adopting another small girl this summer, once I get moved into a house.

My girlfriend gave me Peaches for my birthday 10 years ago....her pair of yorkies had 3 babies....2 girls and 1 boy. Her mother-in-law got Angel, the other girl, and they kept Skyler, the male and I got Miss Peaches. She's just the most loving and sweet doggie ever. KC came from the Humane Society...my oldest son and I went to get dog food....he called me over to where the adoptions were taking place. I picked up KC and she layed her head on my shoulder...I was hooked. Emma came into the family when I remarried....she's soooo affectionate....I don't know what I would do without both Emma and my honey in my life. Tweeter and Rescue are my sons' dogs, but live with me. Now my oldest son moved out, but I asked to keep Rescue (much to Peaches dismay, I'm sure) 'cause he's a fireman and I don't want him to be alone that long. I love them all, for sure!

My knucklehead Ernest T was a birthday present three years ago (Mar 9th). He was part of a litter that was bred to replace a dog who had passed on. My friend brought him to me @ my old job in a box. He was soooo little (6 wks) and his ears were soooooo big. He started licking my face and crawling all over me. It was love, love ,love. Didn't think I needed a dog at the time, how wrong I was.

Maddie definitely chose me. I had 2 old male dogs at the time and was not in the market for a whip-smart little piece of energy. Like Rhonda's case, somehow Maddie's human parents didn't realize that 2 unaltered dogs of different breeds would mate. DUH! They mated Maddie's litter (the second litter) on purpose, and, while I don't believe in doing things like that due to the overpopulation explosion, I am everso glad I have her. She came for an audition with her litter brother and sister, both canine parents, and both human parents. I said, no, I didn't need a dog right now. I could think of nothing but Maddie for 2 weeks, then finally called and they said they had been keeping the smallest female for me. The rest is history. A friend found Sydney on Petfinder. She was the result of the last "breeding" that they did of the ACD and Papillon, but had been in abusive and neglectful situations 3 times through no fault of her own. I had to fight to get her, as they were not inclined to adopt out of county. When I explained the whole situation she came home with us.
Chaka and Luna were found kitties, both outside places of business, and both glad to be scooped up by my husband and brought home. I saw Kinky in PSP. She was there through Southside, and I fell in love with her beautiful gray fur and knotted tail. Denny Crane lived in the neighborhood, probably dumped when someone moved. When it started getting really cold, I invited him in and he announced himself...Denny Crane.

My parents dog,Spot (family dog) had passed away about 6 or so months before I adopted Riese. And I was just going through a low point in life, feeling lonely & a bit down. I just knew I wanted my own dog. I had recently purchased my own house and it seemed like great timing. I petfinder.com searched OFTEN.. but just never went farther then falling in love online with their pics. Visited HSI once, but didn't have a good experience with staff. I really always pictured myself getting an older dog. But I fell in love with an ARPO pup named Leland. So much so I turned in an app. to adopt & went to visit him @ their Petsmart visit that week. The whole litter of fluffy pups was too much to resist! I inquired about Leland ... he was already spoken for :( But figured they're all cute, I could love another! Thats when I looked over and noticed Lawson (now my Riese). He was trying to nap while his siblings were jumping around. ...... la la la .. LAWSON BECAME MINE! He came home the very next day!! He's been my baby ever since.

I LOVE hearing ARPO success stories!

When I met my husband I had already rescued a cat. When we moved in together he wanted a dog, not just any dog but a pit bull. I was a mother of 2 and a cat owner, needless to say a feeling of dread came over me!

I was scared to death and even refused the idea for some time. I didnt want my children mauled to death by these vicious creatures!

So one day I come home from work and he has this little white quivering pup in his palm. All it took was one look at that beautiful little innocent face and she had me hooked!

He bought her from breeder and after having her for a few months and learning about the breed and lots of research we decided that we needed to pay some sort of penance for purchasing that pup! So we started fostering for Astro and did that for a couple of years. About the 2nd dog we fostered was a dog named Carl and I tell you what, you will not ever meet a kinder gentler dog. We fell madly in love and adopted him.

So November 06 I was working in a vets office and this gut dumped this awesome tuxedo. This cat has more personality than any cat I had ever met soooooo.......he came to live with me, 2 pit bulls, and a mean tortie!

Then I was working at the same office July of 07 and a girl walks into the office with a meijer uniform and tells me she has a dog in her car that was found at meijer and that the cart boys were throwing bottles at him so so grabbed him and took him. My boss was standing there (there was a strict no stray policy) so I said, im sorry we cant accept strays but knew that the groomer would want to see him so I told him to go out there. He had more pull than me there. He brought the dog back in and said I will take care of him. He took care of him until I couldnt stand to leave him there over night and I started taking him home with me, back to work the next day looking for a new owner the whole time. Now I didnt know anything about a cattle dog but apparently they tend to be a one owner person, they get attached and wont let go. You are their ward, they must take care of you and follow you wherever you go. After a couple of weeks of bringing him home, knowing my husband would say no I quit looking for a new owner but still took him to work telling everyone he was mine. After awhile my husband caught on and said "he's not getting a new home is he?"

NOPE! Hes mine!

Thanks for the post, its nice to remember why I have the animals I do and appreciate everything that each and evryone of them have brought to our lives here!

I love that you can get past the fact that she is a poop eater!

She went to the right owner ;)

Oh, it was love at first sight for me and my owners. I saw my owners family friend first and then they went to her house and i just was so giddy when i saw them. I rove my ramily (=