Trust me, the dog WILL find you.

I don't remember the first time I heard that saying "the dog will find you" but I DO remember when I started believing it.

My first recollection of starting to look for another dog after Sammy passed, was some time in October of 2009. I didn't know for what exactly I was looking but the one thing I knew for sure was it would not be a Yorkshire Terrier. There was only one of those for me in my lifetime and it was Sam. One night in November, I was perusing the Cape Ann Animal Aid web site and I came across this adorable dog named Mandy. I just thought this little dog was the cutest thing. It was late, so there was nothing I could do until the next day. I don't remember why the next day I went to the web site, maybe to check or something, but the dog I wanted was gone. I was so sad I just started to cry. I was so ready to go up there and adopt this adorable little dog, but clearly it wasn't meant to be. I had no idea at the time that my dog was less than a month away.

Sometime between Sammy passing and the search for a new dog began I had a dream. I was driving my Jeep with my doors off, through a wide open lush green field. In this field there were lots of Yorkshire Terrier puppies. As I was driving, one of them jumped up in my Jeep and sat on the passenger seat and took a ride home with me. Once home I noted that two dogs were on my couch (which was in my childhood family room). On the left side was an elderly and ailing Sammy just as he was prior to his passing. On the right side was the brand new puppy. I approached both of them and noted that the new puppy had really goopy eyes. Conjunctivitis I assumed. I needed to make a decision as to which dog I was going to give care. I struggled with the decision only momentarily and chose Sammy (we all know I would take care of both in the real world). Sammy was my boy I owed him the loyalty. After making my choice I woke up. This was only a dream. after all it was a Yorkie puppy and I was not looking to get a Yorkie. Nope, not going to happen.

On December 2, 2009 I got an email from my friend. See if you can follow this: My friend, got an email from her friend, who got an email from her sister in law that she had a friend whose mother had gotten a puppy, a Yorkshire terrier who was too much for her. The email read "Received this email from someone I know, her mom has decided that at 69 years old she is simply too old to handle a puppy - of course this means she cannot handle Bella - she is not quite a year old, she's been spayed, has had all her shots, she's a Yorkshire terrier - she's a full breed but is not registered. She is micro-chipped. If you know of anyone that would be interested in the amazing ball of energy, let me know - she's about 99% litter box trained (box with a pee pad in it - she doesn't like litter in it)... mom did the litter box bit because she's not steady on her feet and taking a dog out in the ice and snow wouldn't be a good idea.Bella needs someone who can PLAY with her - she LOVES kids, loves to run and jump - she IS vocal, but I'm sure with training, that can be curbed - she sleeps in her crate all night with no problem. because she is still a puppy, she does like to chew things - like cords. Mom feels horrible about this because she loves the companionship, but she's just unable to do this. If you are interested let me know and I will get in touch with the person."

My friend was hesitant to reach out to me as I had said "No Yorkies" but something about this made my friend reach out anyway. She talked with me and told me to think about it. I was trying to process this all. My head was swirling. Is this the right thing? Is it too soon? I just don't know. Do I really want another Yorkie? What if I compare them too much? I talked to another friend of mine who said "Follow the path you believe God will lead you" But how will I KNOW? After about an hour my friend who sent me the email called me back. She said to me...."So the woman had TONS of offers to take the dog, including her own groomer..." Thinking this was an easy way to let me down, I said "well that's okay....probably not meant to be anyway. My friend then said to me, "the woman wants you to take the puppy." I was flabbergasted. I asked my friend how the woman who has never met me or talked to me knew about me and my friend informed me that her friend told the woman about me and Sammy and the life we had together and how he had just passed. That's all the woman needed to hear and she chose me. Even over her groomer. In telling this to my brother he said "What more can you ask for?" while another friend said "You certainly are not accustomed to ignoring God when he pounds on the door". Well, I did ask how will I KNOW? I set up a time to visit this little dog and brought two friends with me. If you read my "About me" section, you will know that I got additional validation that Bella was supposed to be mine. I brought her home that night. 

About a week after having her home, she was laying on the couch. I went to sit with her. I picked up her little face to talk to her and noticed something odd.....both of her eyes were really goopy. My dream came back to me. No....couldn't be. I scheduled her an appointment and brought her to the vet who confirmed "Bella has conjunctivitis in both eyes". Then it hit me. That's when I KNEW that the dog WILL find you. Not only did she find me, but because I was insistent I wouldn't get another Yorkie, Sammy personally told me she was coming. He didn't want to take any chances of me missing out on this precious little dog. Sammy told me and he showed everyone the way. That was 11 years ago this coming December 4 and we have never looked back. Oh and come to find out, Bella is a Silky, not a Yorkie. If that had stopped me from taking her home I would have really messed up. But it was all pretty clear, she was meant to be mine and she is.   

And while it would be perfect to end this here, I can't help but add the story of Clover finding me. I started a new job in 2009 in Gloucester Massachusetts. There I worked across the street from Cape Ann Animal Aid https://www.capeannanimalaid.org/ a tiny animal shelter all of about 1200 square feet. Over the course of almost three years I occasionally enjoyed taking a break from work to go across the street to get some stress relief and visit the puppies.  

In February 2012 the shelter was planning on moving to their new state of the art 7,500 square foot shelter and I would no longer be able to visit them as they were now going to be a 15 minute drive up the street. Since they would be moving in the next few days I decided I would make a trek over to drop off a donation for their silent auction. After saying hi to the staff I asked the CEO if I could visit the puppies. She said sure. I had Bella two years and two months. I never had two dogs at once. It wasn't even an amoeba of a thought when I went to say hi. Out back with all the dogs, there was little Fadua sitting in the arms of a shelter worker. As you may have read earlier I stood there forever until the staff asked if I wanted to hold this precious little dog. I fell instantly in love with Clover. It never was so instant with any other dog in my life. She began giving me kisses after kisses. The shelter worker told me that she had not seen this little dog do this with anyone else. Her hold was up the next day. I filled out the application for her, gave them a check, and set up a time for Bella to come and meet her the next day. On February 11, 2012 I brought Clover Fadua Tinkham home for good. The day I went to visit was a Friday. I wouldn't have looked for a dog over the weekend because I wasn't looking for a dog. If I had waited to go earlier, she wouldn't have been out because of the hold period. If I had not gone, she would have been scooped up within hours of going on the website. If the shelter hadn't been moving I wouldn't have dropped off a donation. And if I waited to drop off a donation I would have never even seen her. Clover knew she was supposed to come home with me. I believe that God knew what was ahead of her and He knew I would care for her every moment of her life no matter the cost, no matter the time. He whispered in Clover's ear and sure enough she listened. I guess she wasn't in the habit of ignoring God when he knocked on the door either. For me, he didn't have to knock this time, He told my heart and my heart said okay done deal.

So if you wonder if the dog will find you, if the time is right, if you're not sure...just wait. When the dog finds you, when the time is right and when you don't have an ounce of a question in your mind you WILL know. Your dog WILL find you.

To check out the two fabulous organizations click here Cape Ann Animal Aid https://www.capeannanimalaid.org/

And All Sato Rescue who will forever have my heart and support for finding and saving Clover so that I could share life with her - click here:  https://allsatorescue.org/