A family of five

“Oh, Nova,” I sigh, “do you really have to help me get ready for school?” I straddle the brindle pit mix while I put on my makeup. Final touches accomplished, I open the door to a heavy sigh.

“Yes, Charlie. I hear you.” A tan shar pei/pit mix lies in the doorway to my bedroom and looks at me with his big brown eyes. “Alright, guys. Let’s go outside.” Both dogs bound for the door and head out to explore the backyard that’s been theirs for eight years. What did we do before them? I can’t remember. It’s like trying to remember what we did before our son was born. Their stories define them, and we love them for it.

We had just moved to town and our new house had a fenced backyard. Our son, Cael, had been begging for a dog, so we promised that as soon as we had the space, we would look into it.

I grew up on a farm with lots of animals and I was missing having pets as well, so he wasn’t the only one lobbying for a furry friend. My husband, Allen, on the other hand, was not a huge fan. His mother’s dogs were her pets, and that’s about all they ever were to him - pets. He tolerated them at best. Our cattle dogs, however, were members of the family. They worked side-by-side with us and earned their keep.

Allen relented and we started looking at the local Animal Control Center’s website to check out the available dogs. There he was - “Peanut.” Such a cute puppy with fluffy, tan fur and big, floppy ears.

“Can we go see him, Dad? Can we?” The excitement emanating from our seven-year-old was contagious, and we visited the next day. As the Center worker retrieved Peanut from his kennel, we meandered up and down the aisles of homeless animals. Some cowered. Some barked. Others growled. I’m sure I passed judgement on more than a few that were acting aggressively. How would they ever find families? Poor things.

Peanut was as adorable as his profile picture promised. We played and gave him treats. And then something weird happened. None of us fell in love with the little guy. It was weird. We all expected to go home with this fluffball, but somehow we knew that we were just not the right family for him. Back to the drawing board.

The Animal Control Center would frequently hold adoption events at the Tractor Supply stores in town. We noticed that just such an event would happen the next weekend and checked out the animals that would be there. A beautiful German Shepherd caught Allen’s eye. I was interested. But then I saw another description. “Nova. Female brindle pit mix. Between three and five years old. Puppies have been adopted.” It went on to say that since she had been at the shelter for so long, she would be put down soon. I knew which dog Cael and I would be looking at. Allen? He could check out the German Shepherd. I’m visiting this poor girl.

We pulled into the Tractor Supply parking lot and made our way to the tent set up on the edge of the property. A man with a big smile on his face and adoption papers in his hand led a beautiful German Shepherd toward his car.

“Oh man!” Allen realized his first choice had just “left the building” so to speak. Cael and I exchanged a happy grin. No competition! Yes! We made a beeline to the workers and asked to see Nova. They took her out of the kennel and let us pet her. They told us more of her story.

She had been living as a stray for a while, but Animal Control could never really catch her. They could tell she had been in some scuffles on the streets, but they didn’t know if she had chosen a specific place for shelter. She got pregnant, and as she got bigger, she slowed down enough for them to finally wrangle her. She had her puppies at the Center, and they were adopted as soon as they were old enough. Of course. People love puppies, right? A year later, they were still looking for a home for her and time was about up. As we listened, Nova stared at us with her sad eyes. She had seen so much and never really had known love. Could we teach her to be a pet?

“Dad! We want Nova. She needs us! Dad?” In the meantime, Allen had been around to the other cages. A big, tan boy with a unique face seemed to smile at him.

“Can I see him?” The worker put a leash on “Chinaman” and led him over to where Allen found a place to sit.

“What are you doing?” I was completely surprised that he had picked a dog to look at. “We want Nova.”

“Oh, look!“ exclaimed the woman who told us Nova’s story. “He’s hugging you!”

“He is?” Chinaman rested his head Allen’s leg with the biggest smile on his face. Apparently, right behind the ears was the magic spot for this guy. “What’s his story?”

Chinaman came in with another boy, “Red.” They had both been used as bait dogs for a dog fighting ring. The scars on his face and the deep gouge around his neck left there by a chain or rope showed us just how hard of a life he’d had. As luck would have it, his owner was incarcerated, and when the landlord went to check the house, he found the poor boys in the garage. Animal Control was called, and here he is. He was a favorite of one of the Control Officers. She would come and take him to the park on her lunch break. He was even her screen saver on her work computer. They estimated him to be between four and seven years old.

Allen looked at me with the same eyes Nova had given me just minutes before.

“So, what do we do?” I sighed.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but…”

“Can we get them both?” Cael threw out the idea that neither one of us had wanted to put into words.

Allen looked down at Chinaman. “I guess we probably can.” I laughed and hugged Nova. What? My husband who “tolerates” dogs? Really?

It took a while for Nova to warm up to Allen. She had obviously been beaten by a man. When Allen took off his belt after work and Nova ran to her kennel screaming and shaking, we knew it would be a while before she would realize she’s safe. Water was a no-go either. Was she sprayed as a punishment by a hose or beaten with one? We don’t know, but we’re sensitive to her fears. In the last couple of years, she’s actually started playing with toys, which we never thought we’d see. Chinaman is now “Charlie,” and is a happy boy who just wants to snuggle and have his ears scratched.

One of the first things we did was take them to a dog training class at our local pet store. Our first night there, who did we see? Peanut and his new mom and dad. We knew he was meant for someone else.

Both of our babies have slowed down as they’ve aged, and we don’t want to think about the day that we have to let them go. When it comes, though, we know we’ll honor their memories and adopt more unfortunate animals that just need a chance. Remember, we walked through the aisles of kennels looking at the scared, the loud, the aggressive. Our Nova and Charlie were two of them and we walked right past without giving them a second look. My first questions next time at the Center will be “Who’s been here the longest?” and “Who needs a chance the most?”

You can follow these pups on Instagram @novacharliepits