Today I am sharing a post with all of you that I am incredibly passionate about, pet adoption.  Many of you may know that almost 3 years ago Chris & I adopted our sweet boy, Sarge, from a local shelter in Palm Springs.  Chris began researching dog adoption and the first photo he came across was Sarge’s, he was sitting on grass, with a red collar on and a big smile on his face.  Chris sent me the photo and I fell in love!  He continued sending photos of all the sweet pups looking for a forever home and I just couldn’t take it, I wanted all of them!  We decided to make a trip to the shelter on a Saturday in November to meet Sarge.  Let me tell you, shelters break my heart and I always end up crying for all the pets that don’t get adopted so this trip took some strength since we were just in the initial stages of MAYBE adopting.  When we met Sarge he was in a kennel with another dog, Lucy, who was about the same age and size as Sarge, if either of us had more room we would have taken her home too.  We were escorted to a bonding area where we got to interact with Sarge for a while and see how we all got along.  He could have cared less that we were there! LOL!  He was way too busy playing with a tennis ball and pooping (yup) to engage with us for the first few minutes.  Slowly I got his attention and he playfully grabbed my wrist with his mouth which freaked Chris out (he didn’t grow up around dogs and didn’t understand it was simply playful)!  As we continued to play with Sarge I fell in love with this big, furry boy and I could see that Chris had too.

^^the day we met Sarge

As we drove away I was devastated that Sarge was left behind.  Chris and I discussed it and both agreed we wanted to adopt him!  We call the shelter and left a message telling them that it was a YES from us.  After a call back from the Director of the shelter we learned that Sarge (who was already 7 or 8 at the time) had come to them from another non-profit shelter that closed and had been with them for a few years.  They expressed concern that he may have never lived in a home (tears!), may not be housebroken, etc. and suggested we foster him for a few weeks before committing to the adoption.  We picked Sarge up the next day and the poor thing was so freaked out in the car!  We got him home and brought him into Chris’s place for the first time.  In typical dog fashion he sniffed around, drank some water, and promptly lifted his leg on the brand new couch!  We made it through night one with only 1 more bathroom incident before bed.  The next morning I was walking Sarge inside the courtyard at Chris’s place and decided to see how he listened off leash.  I stopped about 8 feet from the front door and took him off leash…BIG mistake!  He bolted out the open gate down the street!  I threw my coffee cup down and chased him, barefoot in my PJs until I finally caught him.  Did I mention I was too afraid of Chris yelling at me to tell him this story for a good 6 months?

After a few days of fostering we quickly learned that Sarge most definitely was house trained and so spoiled that we kept finding him curled up on that brand new couch!  We officially adopted him a few weeks later and could not love him more!

These days Sarge is a spoiled fur baby who has a basket full of toys that he likes to pull out one by one to decide on which one is perfect to chew on, loves to lay on the couch with me in the evenings (we gave up telling him no pretty quickly), lives for car rides and walks around the neighborhood, and enjoys basking in the sun.  He is literally my shadow, he follows me all over the place and at times won’t go out with Chris unless I join them.  He is also my ultimate protector and has been known to bark at people walking too closely to us.  He loves Chris’s son to pieces and sleeps with him when he visits and whines like a baby the minute Chris gets home from work.  He is also a bottomless pit who would eat all day if we allowed him to!

^^reading GQ because he is a dapper dog

Overall, I cannot imagine our lives without this furry baby and know that he is so happy we chose him.  There are so many wonderful, loving pets currently in the shelters across the country just waiting for someone to chose them.  If you have been thinking about a new addition to your family this Saturday is the “Clear the Shelters” event.  Shelters across the country are offering discounted and even free adoption to find forever homes for their loving shelter pets.  Head to their website for more information and to find a shelter near you!  Also, this post is not sponsored, I am just beyond passionate about rescuing!

As a PS to shelter pets I have to give a little RIP to my first rescue dog, Hudson, who I lost back in 2012.  He was another amazing, loving, fantastic boy who brought so much joy my life.

^^I came out of the shower and found him like this wearing my bikini!

XO, Niki