I was sitting here two weeks ago today flipping through my emails, attempting to get my inbox below 2000 when an invitation from the Houston Beagle and Hound Rescue to a Yappy Hour. I could not attend the party but I wanted to donate money to them. They had rescued a lot of dogs lately and paid out of pocket for some expensive surgeries. Considering I had rescued 6 year old Piper just last year from them, I figured I could certainly help.

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

As I made my donation, hoping it would help a little, I decided to click around and look at the dogs for adoption. I didn’t necessarily want a third dog but the kids and I had been talking about adding some sort of pet for them to care for. I was thinking a stuffed cat but the decision had not been made.

The moment I clicked on available dogs, I knew I was in love. Little Jack looked sad and forlorn and in desperate need of a forever home to be loved. I didn’t know his story at the time, or how he lost his eye. I just knew that he did not have the best start in life and my heart ached for him. I also knew that when I typed my email to the woman who helped me adopt Piper, that I had to have him. I had to love him, give him a home and erase whatever trauma he had started his life with. I knew most people would not want Jack because of his missing eye. I knew he could be deemed ‘unadoptable’ through no fault of his own. My heart knew that the missing eye was not an issue for me, and could even be a great lesson in teaching the girls about loving everyone as is. II needed to save him from a life of never having a forever family.

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

It turns out his story was much worse than I could have thought. Bad enough that tears came to my eyes as I learned about him. Bad enough that I will spare you the details. Only through the grace of God and the angels at the Houston Beagle Rescue did this little guy even make it. The rescue took him in, put him on the best food to get weight on him, decided to pay out of pocket for the surgery to remove his badly damaged, painful eye and nursed him back to life.

By the time I got off the phone a mere hours after seeing his beautiful, perfect face on the website, he was on his way to meet me. When he got here and jumped out of the car, still too skinny to look healthy, I had tears in my eyes. This little guy was mine and I knew it. He was like me; damaged early in life, saved by the angels of the world and full of love to share if anyone gave him the chance.

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

The meet with my 12 year old Bud, savior from all intruders, and my sweet Piper who has happily learned to nap and eat and eat and nap here, went really well. Piper is defiantly the Alpha and showed her dominance right away. Bud and Jack ran around on my acre, playing happily. Bud introduced him to the neighbor’s dogs through the chain link fence and took him under his wing.

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

As the foster mother left, tears in her eyes as she let go of a Beagle that she had grown seriously attached to, Jack curled up in my lap and went to sleep. It was as if he knew that no matter what, he would never be hungry, scared, sad or abused again.

Sure, I need another dog like I need a hole in the head. It does not escape me that I, a single mother, now have three children and three dogs to care for. But Jack needed me. I could not turn away.

Since he has been here he has brought happy play back into the home. My two older dogs actually get out of their bed and play with him. And play with him… and play with him some more. My girls are feeding him, loving him, walking him and letting him sleep with them every night. Sarah, my middle daughter, and him have an especially tight bond. It is so sweet to see!

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

But more importantly, just as Piper did, he seems to know that he was rescued from a life of neglect and pain. He seems so grateful and so eager to please us. They say dogs don’t have emotions and know their circumstances, but I know all of mine do. Bud was a 5 week old puppy when I found him and I swear he still knows that he was saved from a life as a stray. These dogs are so kind and so generous and so loving to me and my girls that I can not image my life without them.

When you think of adding a pet to your home, please please consider rescuing one versus buying a puppy. So many dogs with minor disabilities – or who seem unadoptable because they are too old – need homes more than the easy to sell puppies. The rescue dogs from reputable volunteer places like the Beagle Rescue come with all of their shots, micro-chipped, housebroken, and with the best care a dog can get. All you do is pay the rehome fee which is a fraction of a new puppy fee and love the dog as if it has always been here.

Why I Rescued a Disabled Dog: Meet Jack

My little one-eyed Jack is here to stay and I consider it a blessing that things fell into place so that we could get him. I don’t know what would have happened if the events did not play out as they did. But knowing his chances of adoption were slim, I Rescued a Disabled Dog… and he is the most amazingly wonderful addition to our family!

adimemail