Scout's Story

Scout as a puppy

Pet's name: Scout
Adopted by: Trina and Adam
From: Champaign County Humane Society, Urbana, Ill.

Trina, who sent Scout's story, blogs at Let's Just Build a House, where you can find more Scout photos and updates.

Our dog was first introduced to me by my now husband Adam at the local humane society. I had been basically begging for us to adopt a pet, and when Adam accepted a new job that would require him to be away from home 75 percent of the time, he took me to the local shelter. When the staff first brought the sweet little puppy to the meeting room, he clumsily walked right up to me and plopped down in my lap.

The first night we brought him home, he cried and cried until I of course gave in—I slept on the couch and he slept on the ottoman next to me. I woke up in the morning with him snuggled up under my blanket. He still loves to sneak under the blankets and cuddle.

The only problem was that the shelter had named him "Butch." Not my first choice. His name had to be changed. We decided on Scout. Although, we do call him Butch from time to time when he is being a stinker. We like to say that it was his evil alter ego Butch, not Scout, who chewed on my brand new leather boots. It was Butch, not Scout, who knocked the Christmas tree over when we were at work. Oh no, there goes Butch with the fresh loaf of banana bread in his mouth, stolen off the counter!

Scout is a super happy, playful, snuggly pet. He's a prissy house dog but has a blast every weekend when he visits the farm or the ground where we are currently building our new home. He isn't afraid to jump in the creek, or roll around in the mud. But at the end of the day, is always happy after a bath and snuggling on the couch with us. He really cannot wait to be a country dog next year when the house is finished.

Scout is now three years old and hasn't knocked down holiday decor, or stolen any baked goods lately. He is still playful and full of energy. We love him, and he gives us so much love back every day. We look forward to many more snuggles with him.

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If you adopted a pet from a shelter or rescue group and you'd like to share his or her story, please email me. I'd love to hear from you!

Maisie's Adoption Story

Pet's name: Maisie

Adopted by: Francie
From: New Leash on Life Chicago

Maisie's adoption story originally appeared on Francie's blog, Maisie and Me, where you can read about their adventures together.

Nobody's Perfect

Although I obviously adore Maisie, I feel I should also try to make an effort to paint a realistic portrait of what living with her is like. She is a dog with issues ... although she's great off-leash at daycare and the dog park, she is leash-aggressive and sometimes man-aggressive, and I have more than once referred to her as "my cross to bear." 

It may help you to understand Maisie a bit better if I share some of her history. In the fall of '08, when she was probably not yet a year old, she and another dog were found at an abandoned house near the United Center. Here is a picture of where they were discovered by a lovely and dedicated woman named Sue (who also started the Trio Animal Foundation). They were near the open space at the bottom:

Maisie was found here with another dog.

This is what skinny little Maisie looked like then:

Maisie when she was found

After Maisie spent some time at Animal Care and Control, Sue managed to find a family to adopt her. They named her Harley. The husband wanted a dog to be a running partner, but something Maisie experienced in that first "lost" year of her life made her fearful of strange men. She would not run with him, and the two just did not bond. So the family relinquished her to Playful Pets, a daycare facility that sometimes housed dogs without foster homes for a rescue called New Leash on Life Chicago. (Full disclosure—I was a founder of that organization and still serving on the board of directors at that time.)

In January of 2009, I had to put down my dog Kaya after over 16 years together. It was a very painful time, and after less than two weeks I could no longer stand the silence and stillness of my empty apartment. So I decided to foster, and then to foster "Harley." She'd been living at the daycare for a month at that point, with no applications to foster or adopt her. Although (as you all know) she is very very cute and also quite smart, she is a) black and b) a pit mix, both of which greatly reduced her adoption potential. Black dogs tend to be overlooked in favor of lighter-colored dogs, and pit bulls (and pit mixes) are obviously not the easiest dogs to place. So Maisie came home with me, and with the exception of walks and eating, basically slept for two days straight. These are two of the first pics I ever took of her:

After a month or so, I had fallen in love with her (and she with me). I was determined to make her feel safe at last. A month later, she was mine. And she was Maisie. 

In addition to the aforementioned fear-related aggression problems, Maisie also has horrendous separation anxiety (she's been on anti-anxiety meds for well over a year but still freaks out when left alone) and a loud, frequent bark which actually once made me lose my apartment! We've done quite a bit of training together, and while there have been significant behavior improvements, she is and perhaps always will be a work in progress. I hate to think of what Maisie's early life must have been like to make her so scared and jittery so often. People have asked me why I went through with the adoption after knowing her issues ... but we ALL have issues, myself included. If I can't love a damaged little soul like her, why should I be deserving of love?

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If you adopted a pet from a shelter or rescue group and you'd like to share his or her story, please email me. I'd love to hear from you! (And by the way, From Alone to Home is now on Twitter and Facebook!)

Libby and Jack's Adoption Stories

Libby lounging

Pets' names: Libby and Jack
Adopted by: Kim and Scott Vargo
From: A veterinary clinic in rural Ohio (Libby) and City of Chicago Animal Care and Control (Jack)

Kim and Scott (of Yellow Brick Home) split up the writing duties for their pets' adoption stories. Scott contributed the tales of Libby and Jack, which you'll find below, and Kim wrote about Maddie. Check back tomorrow for Maddie's story! 

Libby, our little tail-less wonder of a cat, came into our lives in a very peculiar way. The adoption stories of pets choosing their parents could not be more true than in her case. I was working a job that had me traveling to rural Ohio every week, and one of my favorite customers was the local veterinary clinic. I had known the staff for about a year, and would spend a few minutes each week saying hello to puppies with broken legs, cats wearing surgery lampshades, and the occasional feral raccoon being nursed back to health.

One week, the perky head veterinarian insisted that there was a special new kitty that I absolutely had to meet. Knowing that I was a sucker for a sweet face and a unique appearance, she led me into a sterile room that had been cleaned without bleach or harsh chemicals. "Libby is a special kitty..." she said. "She has terrible allergies, chronic asthma, and has had two emergency surgeries to remove part of her intestines." Expecting the feline equivalent of Frankenstein's Monster, imagine my surprise when this sickeningly sweet, beautiful, charming grey Rumpy Manx came hopping out to meet me.

With full knowledge of her health challenges, I returned a week later on my day off to bring that little grey moonface home. What can I say? I was compelled. The early days with the Libster were a challenge as she adjusted to her new family and environment, but we eventually fell into a routine with her medication and special low-residue diet. Five years later, we're happy to boast that Libby's asthma has gone almost completely away and we've weaned her down to a much healthier, lower dose of her medications. It turned out that she's a pretty sensitive kitty, and her ailments were, in large part, magnified by stress. A happy stable home was just what the doctor ordered.

Jack on his first night with Kim and Scott

Our puppy Jack, on the other hand, has a much more "traditional" adoption story. I'd been bugging Kim to adopt a dog for years. She'd grown up with Australian shepherds, and I'd grown up in a dog-less household. She had largely outgrown the responsibility of caring for a canine, and I was ecstatic at the idea of multiple daily walks around our beautiful Chicago neighborhood with my soon-to-be best friend. Finally, after what seemed like decades of bothering her to allow us to save another life by adopting from the Chicago city pound, she relented. "Okay, okay," she said, "we can go look at dogs tomorrow." After spending hours on Petfinder.com and narrowing our choices down to a few virtual candidates, we were off to see the pups in the flesh.

We headed to the pound with a few ground rules for our ideal dog candidate; female, 45-pound adult weight, and preferably a boxer or pit bull mix. We brought a few of our virtual candidates out to the play yard, where we were largely ignored in favor of ropes and chew toys. Of the first few dogs, none were very engaged or excited to see us. A little disheartened, we headed back inside and walked past the cage of "Jimbo" a few times. He was a scraggly, ribby fellow, with a projected adult weight of 55 pounds. Unfortunately, he was the wrong gender, and he was going to be too big (and he smelled a little). He was a pit bull mix, however. But the poor guy just wouldn't stop staring at us. We finally relented to his droopy, red-rimmed eyes and gentle whimpering and took him outside. He immediately licked our faces and was ready to play fetch. We were smitten. We knew we could bring him to handsome maturity with a new name, a few baths, and a healthy diet, so we quickly filled out the paperwork to bring him home. "Jimbo" became "Jackson McDogg," and we quickly became besties. Then came the hard part...

Jack's first vet visit was, well, interesting. We'd had a few days to fall deeper in love with his goofy grin and infectious energy, so we took him to the vet for his checkup. Turns out our boy has a level-5 heart murmur. Yup, 6 is the worst and our boy's a 5. After a visit to a suburban specialist and draining our savings account, we were given two options: Option #1- Travel a few hundred miles for an incredibly expensive, unproven surgery that might kill him, might make things worse, or might help improve his condition from a level 4 to a level 2. Option #2- Do nothing but love him extra and give him the happiest, most fun life that a dog could ever hope for. Our vet recommended option #2. We agreed.

Jack's condition is serious enough that medication won't be effective, but not so serious that it restrains his quality of life. Sure, his heartbeat sounds like the equivalent of chucking a basketball down a long spiral staircase, but he certainly doesn't seem to notice. Jack is happy, healthy, and loves every person and animal he's ever met. He currently weighs around 60 pounds, and he's still a boy. It just goes to show once again, that the you don't choose the pet, the pet chooses you.

Happy Jack