Make my day

Today's my birthday and I've received many good wishes and expressions from many people and sources and I appreciate them all.  This is one that I received in an email that really hit home:

Hey Brent,

 

Thought you would like to know Hanah is doing well.

Without a doubt, she is the best Shepherd I have ever had.

 

I am sure you have changed many lives by your dedication to the Rescue, but probably none more than my own.

 

Thank you for trusting me, and allowing her to be my companion.

I can’t imagine life without her.


This guy didn't know it was my birthday, but he sure made my day.  Hanah was a middle aged dog who was dumped in a rural county shelter because her owners decided to move to Florida.  They probably held a yard sale and then dumped their dog like they dumped their other possessions before moving to a trailer park in the L.A. (lower Alabama) section of Florida.

Hanah was a bit spooked by it all.  She was, and is still, a very devoted shepherd and she stuck to me like glue for the time she was here.   She was one of few fosters that I kept indoors right from the start, both because she could be and because she needed to be.  Her reaction to being dumped was a lot like Maya's had been.  Hanah was a bit older, more mature, and handled the stress and confusion a little better, but you could see the same look in their eyes, wondering why the only world they had known had been suddenly shattered and what had happened to the only people they knew and trusted.
   

I remember corresponding with this adopter and thinking what a perfect fit they seemed to be.  He had recently been divorced and had lost both of his parents in the prior year.  He sounded as lost and alone as Hanah, and equally confused by it all.  He lived in Virginia but over on the Eastern Shore, but he got a ride up to a Gainesville adoption event with a VGSR volunteer. 

Instead of the typical "send me more information" email, he wrote to me about him, his home, and what he could offer the dog rather than just what he expected from the dog.  This is only part of what he wrote to me, but it's the part that sold me on him:

She will be the center of my life and affection.

I will love and care for her.

I will protect her, and meet every need she has.

Nothing will separate her from me.

I promise you all these things.

And he meant it!  The two of them hit it off immediately, although Hanah had generally been a bit wary of strangers.  They made the long drive home and they've been together ever since.  They could have gone home and shared their sorrows, but I suspect that, instead, they went home and began sharing their joy.