Kids

Meet Holly – Our Newest Family Member!

8 Comments 04 November 2012

You may recall that we lost our family dog, Lilly, at 14 years of age last September. Lilly had diabetes and for the second half of her life received insulin shots from us twice daily, ate a super-special diet, and was just generally loved and pampered by us. In the last year of her life we could see that she was going downhill, and about a month after we moved to California she passed away. My heart broke into a million pieces that day. She was such a huge part of my world, of my heart – and it was the second dog that I had lost in my adult life. It was hard – so hard.

 

Audrey Grace and Lilly

Audrey Grace (2) and Lilly (11)

 

Morgan and I knew that we would be adding to our family again with a little fur-baby at some point, we just didn’t know when. For a while I was really thinking about getting a Sheltie – they remind me so much of Lilly and I’ve always wanted one. But then I started feeling guilty about doing anything other than adopting a dog – I’m such a fan of supporting shelters and giving homes to dogs that really, really need them – that I just couldn’t bear the thought of not adopting. I talked to Morgan and he agreed wholeheartedly.

Every now and then I would look through the pets at shelters or peruse PetFinder.com. One night last week, I typed our parameters into PetFinder (female, small to medium dog, within 100 miles of us) and there were 847 available pets. I felt a bit like I was dog speed-dating. A few dogs caught my eye during the process, but dog 822 (out of 847) just leapt out at me. I turned the screen to Morgan so he could see this sweet little face:

 

Holly Christmas Puppy

 

And I just knew we were done for.

Meet Holly. Holly Brown. Holly’s mom was rescued from underneath a car in a parking lot when she was very pregnant with her little of 4 pups. Holly and her brothers and sisters were born on 9/1/2012. We think she is a daschund/spaniel mix but we honestly don’t know exactly what she is. Well, except we know that she was meant to be a Brown.

 

Holly Christmas Puppy

 

So on November 17th, we will travel to San Diego and pick up our new family member. I look at that sweet face and know that we are in so much trouble. It’s kind of scary to open my heart again – in comparison to people, dogs come and go from our lives so quickly – but I know that it will all be worth it because – like Cindy and Lilly before her – Holly will bless us with lots of love and kisses.

And our hearts will never be the same.

 

Holly Christmas Puppy

 

I’m also thankful that through this adoption experience I’ve discovered Baja Dog Rescue – an amazing non-profit organization in the San Diego area that tirelessly rescues, rehabilitates and adopts out as many dogs as their facilities can possibly handle. It seems like they don’t turn any dog away if they can help it – dogs with cancer, huge tumors on their faces, with mange and parvo – no problem is too big for them to open their hearts and doors for – and they are truly making a difference in the lives of so many animals. Long after Holly is settled in our home I plan to still support Baja Dog Rescue for all of their amazing work.

Maybe you can’t adopt an animal this holiday – but you can give one a new lease on life. Even small donations can help these sweet helpless creatures. I hope you’ll consider adopting or at the least, donating to Baja Dog Rescue or an organization like theirs. It is tax-deductible but moreover – your heart will be forever changed.

Happy Holidays.

Your Comments

8 Comments so far

  1. Eve says:

    such a cutie. i just want to hug her. So nice to pick a rescue dog

  2. Bev says:

    What an incredibly sweet face! This is a match made in Heaven!

  3. Emily says:

    How precious! What a lucky puppy to be part of your family!

  4. oh my goodness! how precious! such a great addition to your little family– the time that dogs give us is worth the pain, I think… so just savor the happiness, E!

    ps- I had to look for you on Facebook with the name change :) Congrats! You look ABSOLUTELY gorgeous!

  5. Baja Dog Rescue says:

    Holly and our volunteers here at Baja Dog Rescue look forward to meeting you next weekend!

  6. Julie says:

    Holly is adorable and I’m so happy you went the shelter adoption route! Here’s hoping she brings many years of happiness into the Brown family!


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  1. Bissell Spot Clean Pet Review - Chic Shopper Chick - May 6, 2013

    […] in December we welcomed a new addition to our family – Holly The Dog! Holly is a rescue from Baja Dog Rescue down in San Diego (they do great work if you are in the […]

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