When my husband and I lost one of our beloved dogs to cancer after 10 years, our black Lab, Bear, was inconsolable. We considered getting another dog to keep him company but our hearts were not ready. However, we were at our wits end trying to deal with Bear’s anxiety. Then one day I saw an ad on Craigslist. It was a desperate plea for foster homes for PNW Border Collie Rescue. My husband and I decided to give it a try. We could help a dog in need and possibly help Bear at the same time.
We answered the ad and Jill came to our home to interview us and check the security of our property fencing, etc. Within a few days she had a dog in need and asked to bring him out over the weekend. It was all set, but mysteriously the dog went lame the day before our appointment and had to be put on kennel rest. At the same time Jill got a frantic call from a woman wanting to surrender her dog to the rescue. That dog was Emma Rose (formerly known as Taz).
We got off to a rocky start. Emma snarled at Bear and tried to bite my husband. She came from a “nice” family with several young children and one other dog. But she had spent most of her 18 month life on a chain in the yard. After a couple of weeks we were hoping she would be adopted soon. I even called Jill to ask if she had any prospects.
Then a funny thing happened. Jill called and said she had a family that would like to come out and meet Emma. Initially we were excited and thought that was great news. But when the reality hit us it was a completely different story. Just the thought of Emma leaving with someone else was more than either of us could bear. That’s when we knew our hearts were ready, and somehow we would make this little girl a part of our family.
Since that day Emma has become the center of the household. Bear adores her and is very protective of her. She sleeps between us every night in a king size bed and we are completely “besotted” by this little lady.
Emma Rose has her own blog on the internet, (Emma Rose) where she shares all of her comings and goings, and she is pretty much spoiled rotten (within reason, of course).
At 3 years old Emma is still a work in progress. She is not perfect, but she is “perfectly Emma”. And we are not perfect, but she loves us in spite of that.
The wonderful woman, Jill, from PNW BC rescue, retired shortly after we adopted Emma. I never got to tell her how much of a blessing Emma has been on our lives and how grateful we are to her and the rescue for making it all happen.
-The Kirkpatricks
