The Rescue of a King

On a cold spring morning in March of 2012, my family and I received a call. The landlord had finally made the decision to allow us to have a puppy. The search began looking online and in local newspapers. We called up several places that were holding dogs for rescue. One particular place stated that they had a few larger dogs, but we were looking for a medium-sized puppy and had to decline. The best opportunity came in the form of a call from Dakin Animal Shelter, in Springfield, MA. They made an appointment for us, and we went, with our son Jacob to see what puppies were available. Upon arrival on that Thursday morning, there was a line, outside, of people that were there to receive shots for their fur babies. The animal shelter provided a much-needed discount on shots and vaccination for many types of animals. We pushed through the line, and double doors and were politely greeted by a woman by the name of Carrie. She was excited to see us and to share the opportunity with us about owning a puppy. She explained the procedure of adoption, as she walked us to the kennel, to meet our potential new family member. The animal shelter was well kept, and well stocked with toys, animal foods, leashes, and items for purchase. I have to say, I was impressed with the organization and the atmosphere of the shelter. Upon entering the kennel, I asked our son Jacob, who was 9 years of age at the time, " are you excited to find a new puppy?". Jacob smiled and said, " yes!! finally!!", as it had taken a while for the landlord to approve us for taking in an animal. The kennel was loud, with the sounds of barking, and some whimpering from some of the more shy puppies. We looked down one side of the Kennel, and then as we rounded the corner, we saw an all-white puppy, with a few large spots on him. He was medium in size and was very excitable. The scars from a previous owner were evident, and he was considerably thin as if he was malnutrition. We requested to see the puppy and so they walked us into a large light green room, full of empty chairs around the perimeter. "King" was the puppies given name, and so we slowly approached the puppy, and pet his nose, and fur. Jacob took a liking to him right away, and he licked my hand to say hello. He was quite friendly, considering he had been abused, and starved by the previous owner. I could see his ribs and some scarring on his belly. He looked up at us with his big brown eyes, which were surrounded by black spots, and he just kept licking Jacob, and my husband, George. We were hooked!! Jacob said, " Yeah Mom!!, I want this one!!", and so we decided to take the puppy home. After a considerable amount of paperwork and the purchase of a few necessities, we drove "King" home to the house. We later decided to rename him " Spot", as it seemed a more appropriate name, Spot warmed up to us, and our other family members in no time. He started to gain weight, and within time, more spots appeared on his coat. We were told that he was a Jack Russel, but they explained that he may be mixed with another breed, perhaps Dalmatian. As he got older, and more spots appeared, we came to the conclusion that the shelter's assumption was correct. Spot has been with us for several years now, since 2012. He will be 9 years old this year, and such a great dog. He is well trained and very well-loved. We are so glad that we were able to rescue him from being put to sleep, and he has been a loving companion. We cannot imagine our lives without him. We did not just rescue Spot, he rescued us as well.