Tessa

4 years ago, we brought Tessa home from the rescue center.  I'm not sure if I've ever told you Tessa's story.  If I have, forgive me for telling it again - but I really love her story.  I had recently put down my previous dog.  It was sudden and my heart was hurting and I did not feel ready for another pet in my life.  I was at work, and one of my work friends came and said we're going to lunch to get my mind off of my sadness.  She, too, is a dog lover, and knew what I was going through.  But I hesitated, knowing that in the lobby of our building, there was an event going on with local organizations.  It was to encourage employees to get involved.  I knew that WARL was going to be there with dogs that could be adopted.  My friend suggested we just walk quickly and avoid the scene.  I agreed.

I was walking through the lobby and instantly was drawn to all the doggies..puppies...adorable little creatures!  And then, my heart flickered.  I saw this:

Yes, those are pictures from the day I first saw her.  There were dozens of people around her, calling "puppy, puppy" and trying to get her attention.  Instead of getting her attention, she was too busy putting her front paws up on the table and knocking over brochures. 

I immediately called Ian and said there's an adorable puppy.  I sent him those photos.  He asked "are you suggesting it's time for another dog?"  Meanwhile, this was before Ian and I were living together, engaged, or married.  I was hesitant.  But they insisted I fill out an application because the application process was a long one.  It didn't mean I was definitely interested, it meant I'd be interested in adopting a dog at some point.  I filled it out.  I went to lunch.

Ian and I went to the rescue league that weekend to take a look.  I asked a lot more about her.  She was about 5-6 months old, and was from New Orleans.  Her mama was pregnant with her during Hurricane Katrina.  She was found at about 6-8 weeks old, alone, in an ally.  No mama, no puppy siblings with her.  She was found hairless from a common skin disease.  She was all bones.  She was going to be put down, until WARL called the shelter and said to hold off on putting any animals down for 24 hours.  WARL went down, and selected 23 animals to come back to DC.  She was one of the 23.

We took this picture at the shelter:

We went back the following day to check her out again.  And finally, we confirmed that we wanted her.  But then we found out we were one of 4 people who had applications in to adopt her.  So we each were interviewed.  Then they touched base with my previous dog's veterinarian to determine whether we had taken good care of her.  Then, all of the applications went to a committee.  We finally got word that we had been chosen.  On November 18th (exactly 4 years ago today), we brought her home.  We immediately changed her name from "Voodoo" (what the shelter had named her) to Tessa.  (Voodoo - seriously who names a dog that name?!) 

We took these photos:

She was sweet looking.  Now, she's sharp, alert, and I'm not going to lie, she's kind of fierce looking.  People are normally scared of her if they see me walking on the street.  And I even was recently asked "is she your guard dog?"  And because we live in Baltimore and the guy asking me was CREEPY, I may or may not have said "yes."

And how different her personality is now!  She used to be afraid of grass, the fire hydrant, walking.  Everything!  They warned us - no kids under 12.  Is she perfect now?  Nope.  But I'd say she's pretty perfect for our little fam.  And she's adorable with our L.