My Dad passed away in the fall of 2007 and I was not in a very good place during that time. Every dark day blended into the next and no matter what I did to try and pull myself out of the deep slump I was in, I was unsuccessful. January rolled around and my boyfriend at the time asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said I wanted to rescue a dog from a shelter. I was the luckiest girl in the world because the following weekend I was on my way to North Shore Animal Shelter, one of the largest "No Kill" shelters in the United States to pick out my very own dog. The entire drive there I was filled with all kinds of emotion. Of course I was thrilled for this new adventure in my life, but I also was nervous not only because of the responsibility I was about to take on but this shelter was an absolute zoo and I had my heart set on walking away with a dog that day.
Okay, so imagine the mall on Black Friday...This is how it worked.
You walk into a room with a bazillion cages each with a puppy inside. If you find one you like, or that looks like it will be a good fit, you quickly grab one of the volunteers who will grab the puppy out of the cage for you to hold. Now as soon as that puppy is in your possession you have first dibs and no one else walking around that room can have that puppy until you put it down. I quickly walked the area looking for a dog that wasn't barking and was female of course. I don't know why but the thought of saggy dog balls on my couch made me want to vomit lol. I could not find a single one. Feeling a little bummed I walked over to my boyfriend and told him I didn't see one. One of the volunteers heard me and said that they bring new puppies out every hour because that is how quickly their dogs get adopted there. So we made our way to the local Walmart and stocked up on doggy supplies. Having no idea what to get I walked away with Pee Pads (check), a bone (check), a kennel (check) and Dog food (check). Now all that was missing was a doggy. We drove back to the shelter and as soon as I got into the parking lot I became even more determined to find the dog for me. I power walked into the room and did my loop feeling let down once again, UNTIL I spotted a cage all by itself in the middle of the room none the less. This couldn't be right. I walked up to the cage and the dog came right up to the door and was not barking ANDDDDD she was a female!!! I quickly grabbed one of the volunteers not understanding why she was still available. As the volunteer grabbed this little pupperz out of her cage to hand her to me she said this pup had kennel cough and it was curable but will take a little time. The volunteer placed the little thing in my arms and as soon as she did so, the doggy put her head on my shoulder under my hair and dug her claws into me. I tried to put her on the table so that I could look her over and make sure she looked okay but she wouldn't budge. Her head was firmly pressed into my neck and her claws even deeper into my skin. I began to get teary eyed and when I looked up at the volunteer who was looking on, she said something I will never forget "You know, people say that dogs choose their owners just as much as their owners choose them." I looked at her with the biggest smile on my face and said "she is the one. I want her."
I waited for what felt like an eternity in the waiting room while they called three of my references to confirm that I was capable of taking care of the cutie patootie. I thought it was incredible how they made sure the person adopting the dog was a good person. I read over her paper work and learned that she was from Tennessee and was stranded in Hurricane Katrina. After my references checked out I was free to take my 3 month old home! I sat in the back seat the entire 45 minute drive back from Long Island to Queens and could not stop smiling. This was the first time in months I felt happy and I could tell with her head still on my shoulder, that she felt the same way.
It took awhile to coax her off of me that day...
I decided on the name Sedona because I wanted to incorporate a lil' bit of home while living in New York and one of my all time favorite places to visit is Sedona. It didn't take long for Sedona to adjust to her new home and before I knew it she was no longer little. I started to worry that her supposive full grown "medium" size that they had marked on her cage the day I got her was beginning to look more like LARGE and when the shelter guessed the Boxer Breed in her would most likely dominate the Great Dane wellllllllllll, they were wrong haha. It got to a point where I could barely hold her the way she loved being held anymore (sad face) and she quickly began to show her silly human like personality.
I was getting ready to take her to the park and this is what I walked out to... haha.
Apparently she was waiting on me.
I, along with any one else who has met Sedona, notices that there is something extremely special about her. One of the many silly things she will do is stand in front of me and try and talk until I guess what it is she wants or needs and then she will become satisfied that she got her point across. Or, when I find her sitting in front of a mirror intently staring at herself. Most of the time I find it funny except for when she does it in the middle of the night (that tends to creep me out a bit).
Raising her in NY was a bit of a challenge at times, especially when we would have to go on potty walks in the freezing winter months or when she didn't want to walk up the 12 flights of stairs when the old elevator in my building was broken, but I would not trade any of it for any thing. One of my favorite memories of Sedona in New York was when she would watch the train go by out of my bedroom window.
It was like clock work every time the train went by...
1.5 years later, it was time for Sedona and I to end our time in New York and make the long road trip across the country to sunny Arizona. I could not have asked for a better partner to have made that trip with. Sedona will be 6 years old come November. We have embarked on quite the journey thus far and Arizona has brought a lot of "New Favorites" for Miss Sedona. Such as...
Car Rides
Early morning hikes
And naps where it is too sunny. Never had that problem in New York (haha)
Sedona is the one thing I can always count on coming home to every single day so happy to see me and always so sad when I leave. She has brought a world of happiness into my life and continues to help me in more ways than I can ever begin to thank her or God for. It's funny, because of Sedona, I have learned to love in a way I never knew was possible, as that is the way she loves me. In addition, I have also learned to be patient in a way that I wish everyone could learn.
Although she is to big for me to hold now (80 lbs), she still manages to find a way to rest her head on me; Just the way Sedona did the day we rescued one another.
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