Our Furbabies-Part 1

A piece of me died with every child we lost. Sounds morbid, but its true. Little by little, day by day, I began to notice all of the pieces of my heart that were gone.  Those pieces will always be gone, tucked away in a place now solely reserved for my grieving.  

Throughout our recurrent losses, we have been supported by friends, family, coworkers, bloggers, etc.  We have posted about our gratitude towards them a few times. But we have also had another major support system in our lives that we have not talked much about, who has made the remaining pieces of our hearts so full..our furbabies.  

Not too long ago, I mentioned that a post about them was long overdue, so here is part 1.  Some of you may know that we currently have 2 boy dogs, one who is 6 yrs. old, and the other who is 2 yrs. old. Part 1 will be dedicated solely to our 6 yr. old…seniority rules. LOL.  

One day, back in 2010, I was lounging around the house during Thanksgiving break and decided that I would go tanning.  I was only about 5 minutes down a busy road close to home when I saw a little chocolate covered dog running across it.  

I should have prefaced this post by saying what a HUGE animal (specifically dog) lover I am.  I have a major soft spot for them.  Anyways, when I took this drive back in 2010, we only owned our adored Chihuahua who was then 12 yrs. old (Sadly, he passed away at almost 17 yrs.old in 2014).  Our Chihuaha was spoiled, and not the nicest, so we never really considered getting another dog.  But when I saw that little dog running down the road, I had to stop to help him. I knew he was going to get hit soon, as he was weaving in and out of traffic.  

Initially, I pulled over and tried to call him to me. Just as he would get really close and I would try to pick him up, he would sprint away.  I could see he had no collar on.  I followed him down side streets, sometimes on foot, sometimes in my car.  He was the fastest dog I had ever seen…seriously.  People came out of their houses and tried to help me catch him.  One guy brought out a collar with a leash, another tried luring him in with dog treats, and another brought out her very large dog.  No luck.  All of these methods failed, especially the big dog attempt–this little guy got so scared. After a certain amount of time, all of the different people trying to help would say sorry and give up.  I kept chasing him.  

I eventually called my husband and told him what was going on.  He told me I was nuts.  I begged him to come where I was and to bring a net or something.  I thought maybe we could throw it on the guy & trap him.  My husband found us and we tried my idea out…another fail.  At this point, we were back on a main road and I was sure he was going to get hit right in front of my eyes.  I will never forget the one vehicle that zoomed by him, it had to have only been 2 ft.away as it went by him and I turned my head.  

We came up with a new idea.  My moms female beagle was back at our house with our Chihuahua.  I asked my husband to go get the beagle and bring her to us.  I thought maybe this little intact boy dog would be attracted to a little girl dog, and I was right…he was! It wasnt easy, but he followed her on foot quite a ways until we lured him into our backyard and shut the gate behind him.  Finally!  It took hours.

We put up signs, called the local shelters, and animal control to see if anyone was missing a dog.  Nothing.  I took him to my vet to determine if he was microchipped, but he wasnt.  Soon it became apparent that whoever owned this dog did not want him. He had worms and was very skinny.  He was scared to death to be touched or held, to the point of going to the bathroom when we tried.  The vet believed he was only about a year old at the time, and most likely a Manchester Terrier/Chihuahua mix.  

My husband wanted to keep this little speed demon right off the bat, but my Chihuhua at the time and I werent so sure.  It took me almost a year to finally admit we were keeping him.  And I am so glad we did.  I cant imagine my life without him now.  When our Chihuahua past away in 2014, this little speedy gonzalez, who we had named “Rocket”, was our lifesaver. And every miscarriage, he was there to lick away my tears and lay on my tummy. 

Rocket is by far the most loyal and obedient dog I have ever owned.  He will give up food, water, going outside, etc. if it means being by my side.  And to think he came from an abusive situation just blows my mind.  He has finally learned to relax and is so loving towards my husband and I.  I think he has begun to forget his past, which I didnt think was even possible.  Here are some pics of our guy:

The Rocket man himself!

   

Thanksgiving 2011, 1 yr after finding Rocket. Our Chihuhua, Nacho, who passed away, is also pictured.

  

Family photo, Christmas 2013…pre-IVF days of our life

  

My man & I lounging

  

Rocket doing what he loves most, playing with a bone at his grammas house

  

Sleepy and sooo cute!

  

Hi mom!

  

Sporting his new sweater on our coffee run

  

Those ears!

 

Loving his dad!

 I thank God everyday that I decided to go tanning that winter afternoon 5 years ago.  Rocket is my angel, and I feel so blessed to have him here making my heart more full everyday.