A New Family Member

In March, I wrote about the loss of my dog, Kodi. He was a wonderful friend and companion. Not just a dog, but a member of our family. I thank everyone for their support, understanding, and kind words.

As I wrote, the house wasn’t the same without Kodi. I needed a “big black dog” in my life. For 22 years I’ve owned black Lab mixes and I wanted another one. So I adopted Jade, a Lab-Alaskan Malamute mix.

Jade and her 7 siblings came from a rescue in Mississippi that takes in dogs who have been left at high kill shelters or just dropped off somewhere. By the time I checked out a site, which was recommended by a friend, only 4 dogs out of this litter were available for adoption. I was amazed at how different all the siblings looked, but I fell in love with Jade.

I contacted the rescue and after some paperwork, I was approved to adopt Jade. Unfortunately, I had to wait 6 weeks to get her because we were going to Disney for our first family vacation in 11 years. My son’s marching band was performing on Main Street USA. The rescue found someone who could foster Jade until we came back from our vacation. Before I even got her, she had been through a tornado that went through Tupelo, MS. Fortunately, all of the dogs and their foster families were ok.

A few days before getting Jade, the owner of the rescue sent me an updated picture. I was amazed at how much she had grown.

 

Jade was 4 months old when I got her. She arrived by transport and I picked her up at a rest stop on the NJ turnpike. I couldn’t wait to hold her.

 

I’ve had Jade for 5 weeks and she’s a wonderful dog. Funny, active, loving. Slowly she is fitting into our family (although one of our cats is still undecided about the new addition). Jade has found a new playmate in Nina.

 

 

I haven’t blogged in a few months. Things have been crazy busy. I just wanted to take a minute to share pictures of our new family member.