Imgur user numbersnut shared a bittersweet, inspirational story about the loss of a best friend and the beginning of new friendships. He had no idea it would lead to this, but that’s what makes it so amazing.
Here’s the story in his very own words:
“This story begins with the death of my best friend. This is me and him on Black Friday of 2013. 6 months later he’d leave me for good and leave a huge hole in my heart.”
“After my dog’s death I wasn’t ready for another dog, but I filled out an application to become a foster doggy daddy as I thought it would take a month or two for them to process my application. I wanted my name to be in the pile for when I was finally ready, but it turned out there was no pile. I was called the very next day and interviewed over the phone and then later in person.”
“I thought I wasn’t ready for a dog in my house as I was still in serious grief at the loss of my own dog, but I guess you could say it worked out well enough. I wasn’t ready for “my” dog, but “this” dog was exactly what I needed.”
“About a month into my rescue efforts I got a text with this picture attached saying that there were two hound dogs that had been dumped at the pound and were at risk. I could handle a Chihuahua mix in my home, but I wasn’t ready for another hound, much less two. I asked the rescue to find someone else if they could, but to let me know if they couldn’t. Two days later I got another text saying these boys still needed help and I agreed to take them in.”
“When I got the dogs they were malnourished, covered in ticks, and had infections in their wounds after being neutered. They also had sores on their hips and elbows from spending so much time outside on concrete.”
“This dog would choose the hard tile even though a memory foam doggy bed was less than 5 feet away. It drove me crazy!”
“My original foster wasn’t too happy to be introduced to her two big brothers but she quickly grew to love them. My “little” is now officially house broken, good with cats, good with big dogs, and good with all people. This dog is ready for a home. She was a calm dog at home who never barked, but she was a holy terror once she got to adoption events. I spent 3 months of the summer promising people that she wasn’t a yippy dog at home. Nobody believed me, and I didn’t blame them.”
[taboolamiddle]
“My original foster tried to teach her big brother how to sleep on a bed.”
“And he would protect her at the adoption events. She was much calmer now that she had her big brother with her and she soon started getting a lot of looks for the first time.”
“This is the last time I saw her. A wonderful young couple saw her for what a gem she was and adopted her. It was bitter-sweet to say goodbye. I couldn’t save my dog, but I helped save this dog. I was also crying my eyes out in this picture and realized that sunglasses are an instrumental part to fostering dogs and then giving them to their forever homes. Crying is inevitable, but I didn’t want the adoptive parents to feel like they were taking something from me. Of course they were, but they were taking something that I wanted to give them.”
“A couple of weeks later another awesome family adopted my hound. In this picture we are saying goodbye. And that’s all I have to say about that.”
“In a calculated plot to make this experience even harder he jumped up and put his paws on my shoulders. I got the best hug of my life from him. Again, sunglasses are key in the rescue system.”
“If you’ve ever read “Where the Red Fern Grows”, you’ll recognize Old Dan. I read that book when I was a small child, and a dozen times since. This was the first Redbone Coonhound I’ve ever seen outside of my mind’s eye and I felt like my childhood had come alive. After being a part of rescuing two dogs and a few months since my dog’s death, my heart began to open to the possibility of having my own dog again. Plus, those eyes.”
“So I took my foster to another adoption event but this time I got selfish and adopted him for myself. In the rescue system this is called a “foster failure” as my adopting the dog theoretically ties up a spot that could have gone to another rescue. But in reality this dog has helped me in my efforts to rescue more dogs, something that I couldn’t sustain without him.”
“I think he was happy with my choice.”
“To this day me and him are still actively involved with rescue. We’ve had as many as 5 dogs in the house and he has been instrumental in all of their rehabilitations as well as healing my own heart. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. If your home has room, please considering fostering a dog or cat. Just remember your sunglasses. “
What a great story, I just loved reading it! Make sure you share this one with your friends. 🙂
[source – Imgur ]