The year 2020 certainly started off with a surprise in our household; Ginger! While we hadn’t planned on immediately adding another fur baby to our family, she has been the most perfect fit in every way.
It all started on Friday, January 3rd. I just gotten settled at my desk for work that day. Suddenly, my phone started going off like crazy with text messages. Different family emergency scenarios ran through my mind until I realized it was a deep discussion about three little puppies.
These three little puppies had been dropped off at a kill shelter in Robstown, and their euthanization date was this Friday in the late afternoon. My heart instantly broke, and I commented how cute they were, before trying to keep them out of my mind.
The trouble with loving and wanting to save all the dogs in the world is the horrible truth that we just can’t save them all on our own.
The text messages continued, so I checked again.
“We want to get two of them. But we can’t leave the third, so we won’t. If someone doesn’t take the third, then they’ll all die.”
UGH. Court texted me. “What do you think?”
I texted back; “I think I need to call you.” Court and I had agreed that Penny needed a sibling, and that maybe this summer would be a good time to find one and get them acclimated to a new home. I was teaching dance in the evenings at the time, and Court had several business trips coming up in the first half of the year, so it was not a good time to be adding a puppy to our family.
After some discussion, he said, “it’s up to you. I am okay with it if you want to get this dog.” (This is why she is my dog now whenever she misbehaves!)
A jolt of excitement beamed through my heart. This was really happening. I texted back in the group text, we would take the third one. There was a flurry of coordination and text messages as calls were made to save the dogs and my in-laws immediately set out to pick up the dogs.
I couldn’t contain my excitement through the rest of the day; I got permission to leave early from my boss and Court and I both met at home to go pick her up from the vet with her sisters. I had practically memorized all three of their little faces; their tawny fur, small white patches, little ears laid back. Three little triplets, all getting rescued at the same time.
They were only four months old, and I was excited at the prospect of having a small puppy for the first time in a long time. To this day, I wish we could’ve had Penny as a baby, so I was thrilled to raise this baby from a little tiny thing.
We arrived at the vet, told them we were here with our family, and they took us to the room. Court and I shared an excited look before opening the door. We both froze.
These girls were almost as big as Penny, the smallest weighing in at 35 pounds and the largest weighing in at 37! And they were rib-showing skinny, with giant paws clumsily racing around the room like little hooligans.
After spending some time with the three of them, my in-laws had decided to keep the shyest and the wildest one together, so we would be taking the middle puppy. They handed us our puppy’s leash, and a little food for me to feed her from my hand. The sweet little girl immediately came up to me and smiled up at me with a wildly wagging tail. Even then, she was such a happy girl.
The vet tech handed us some paperwork and frowned. “Oops, looks like we need a name for her. What’s her name?”
Court and I stared at each other. We had managed to adopt a dog and hadn’t thought anything about a name. I pondered a name while petting her soft, gingery hair. My head snapped up; “how about Ginger?”
Court shrugged, “Sounds good to me!” Ginger. Our not-so-little baby had a name.
We brought Ginger home and prepared to introduce her to Penny. Penny had always been really good with other dogs, but you just never know what will happen. I had read countless articles about introducing dogs for the first time, and we were doing everything wrong. But it was almost 10:00pm, so we didn’t have time to be walking them in the pitch black and finding a neutral spot to introduce them.
The moment we set Ginger down, Penny immediately greeted her with a wagging tail and wiggly body. Ginger ran away, overwhelmed with being apart from her sisters for the first time in her life, being in a new place, and meeting a new dog for the first time.
We gave them space, and they started to acclimate. Until Penny tried to play with her, and Ginger snapped back in fear. What have we done? I thought as I held Ginger while Court pulled Penny away. We had always decided that we would only get a new dog if it was right for Penny, because she was our first dog and this was her home. There was nothing to be done that night, so we put Ginger in her kennel and everyone slept on it.
With baited breath, we let Ginger out of her kennel that morning, Penny warily keeping her distance. The moment that door opened, Ginger went right up to Penny with a wagging tail and “good morning” kisses. We exchanged glances; maybe this was going to work after all!
Throughout the day, the change in Ginger was clear. Penny showed her all around the house and the backyard, introduced her to all of their toys, and even taught her how to jump on the bed. After hours of playing and running around the house, they fell into a snuggly heap together on the couch.
I’ve always felt that dogs know when they’ve been rescued, and though she was still a baby, Ginger definitely seemed to know that she was now in a loving home with parents and an adopted fur sister that would take care of her.
To this day, she remains one of the happiest dogs that I’ve ever met. Her eyes are bright, her tail constantly thumping on something, her mouth open in a smile. She was the last thing we wanted three days into the new year after the holidays, and yet she was everything our little family needed.
Jess and the Outdoors 