Adoption Month

January is adoption month in our family. We took a chance and got Teddy in January 2008 and Ellie in January 2012.  If I wasn't logical, I'd probably get one every January :) Any chance I get for sharing these pictures again....well, I will.  Their little adoption anniversaries.  

Cutie #1

Cutie #2

If you've met Ellie, you might think she is crazy. Or maybe you have seen the snuggly side. Or maybe you think she looks sweet in pictures. Or maybe you don't (seriously though, look above). Well, she is a very sweet dog. 

Sometimes, a sweet little pain in the ass. But what sometimes is a pain is also what makes her fun.

Like Teddy, she is a rescue dog, so we aren't sure exactly how old she is. But she is at least 2 because we got her 2 years ago last Sunday :)

She was about 6-8 weeks when we got her.

She is so adventurous and playful. Sometimes I can't believe she is still so puppy-ish.  Well, anyway. Let me skip to the point of today's story.

We have this gate out back that has like a million places to secure it shut. Ok I exaggerate. Dog owners probably know where I am going with this already.  But in the cold, damp air (and especially in the dark, if I'm dealing with it at night), I get a little lazy. And the slide latch things are difficult to slide all the way in. The other day I was upstairs and looked down into the yard, and it was wide open. The dogs were outside. I knew Teddy was still there because he was whining at the door (per usual). I sprinted down the stairs and to the back door as fast as possible and by then, Ellie was just standing near the door looking around, staring at birds. Phew! Right?

The Gate

Today is a similar story, except I had been upstairs for a while and Ellie was outside. I went into our bedroom and looked down and didn't see her. I walked downstairs and didn't see her from the massive french doors and sliding glass doors in the living room. I walked around to the 3rd door where I let them in and out and could not see her anywhere. I looked at the gate. It was closed, but looked unlatched. The worst possible case; she is out, and couldn't get back in if she wanted. Panic.

I am in my slippers and white robe. I sprint outside, dash through the wet rocks and mud, open the gate and start yelling "Ellie, come!" as loud as I can down the alley. I felt fairly confident that if she was anywhere near, she would come.  But I feared she had wandered off to the river or something. 3rd time's a charm....my little Ellie came trotting down the alley toward me with her puppy trot and white socks. Felt like the biggest relief of my life in that moment. She didn't even have her collar on; I have gotten pretty (too?) comfortable leaving those off the dogs unless we are going somewhere. Her heart was pounding so hard. I am not sure if it was because she was scared, or if she thought I was mad, or both. I felt so bad. She looked so innocent.

Teddy never walked out of an open gate (found it open in Kansas a couple times). Ellie got out once in Washington, but I didn't panic quite as much because we were on base. She ended up right next door :) They are different dogs, though. Teddy doesn't know what to do without his humans. She figures she will give it a try. See what's down the alley.

But here she is while I'm blogging.

Now she is keeping my feet warm. See? Sweet :)

From time to time, especially when we were moving over here to England, Dave and I will complain about what a pain they are and we joke about getting rid of them, or just one. Whoever we are frustrated with in that moment. But on days like today those seem like awful jokes! In the bottom of my heart there was never any doubt they were coming with us. They do bring so much joy to our lives and are such great company when everything else seems uncertain.

So I don't know. I guess the point is...dogs are awesome. I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST LOST MINE. Go hug yours :-p

Oh and I'm going to share this video a friend posted this morning for a little extra plug for rescue animals (although I will admit, it wasn't until they got to the dog part that I think I actually got a tear in my eye :) Click here if it doesn't display below.

CHANCE!