It happens so often that I don’t know why things take the turns they do.  I give every ounce of effort to heal and give my kids an optimal chance for a good forever home.  It’s almost laughable how often a special case will take a turn that I never saw coming, last week’s Loretta was a perfect example.  I visited her at the Nordens a few days ago and the experience left me flooded with tears.

The gang of nearly all gray- faced pooches bowled me over with attention.  Mikey, Alice, Henry, Mitzy, Tigger and I’m sure I forgot some names, came to me and said, “Uncle Lennie, did you see our new sister?”

Through it all Loretta’s tail never stopped wagging and the look of sheer joy on her face was constant.  She joined the group for my attention like she’d always been there and if I had a tail it too would have been wagging.  Shy and sweet Loretta has seemed to have found her puppy hood again as love permeated the household like a dense fog. Cindy told me she has totally bonded with Ray and he is loving it. Cindy and I said our usual prayer for guidance and as I left tears of joy were literally rolling down my face.

Ruth and Ted have been through some tough times lately, Ruth is a cancer survivor and Ted is recovering from heart surgery.  Both are people of deep faith and meeting this dear couple was an honor and a privilege.  They had lost their two family dogs a few years ago and the thought of going through that pain again seemed to be more concern to them than their illnesses.

Ruth had been following Roscoe’s adventures faithfully and a bond of love kept tugging at her heart from afar.  She finally convinced

Ted that it was time for them to have a new dog in their lives and off they went to Dogwood Farms to meet Roscoe in person. There wasn’t any hesitation, upon meeting him the bond and love simply grew deeper. Josh and Astrid (who I have utter faith in) agreed that it was an excellent fit for Roscoe and off he went to his new home.  I met them for the first time after their church services and Ruth was walking Roscoe to do his business. Roscoe greeted me warmly but made it clear that I was just Uncle Lennie.  Inside Roscoe darted back and forth between Ted and Ruth receiving attention and telling me “these are my parents, this is where I was meant to be.”

Two days later I returned with lots of toys, treats and things for Roscoe to chew on.  Roscoe has been visiting friends and neighbors with their dogs and is doing wonderfully.  He has become the talk of the neighborhood and has learned to walk off leash and will come dutifully when called. He loves riding in their truck and goes into his crate bed without any fuss at night.  He has had a couple of accidents in the house but far, far better then the past.  Still I’ve sent my dear friend Debbie O’Donnell to help with his training.

I did explain that he is very intelligent, make him understand what pleases you and what doesn’t, reward good behavior and he will learn.

When I left the house I had the exact same feeling as I did when I left Loretta.  Ruth said, “thank you very much Lennie, my house is once again a home.”

Thanks for listening.