This is a new feature on FBR's website, one that we hope you will find inspiring and heartwarming. Newer stories are listed towards the bottom of the page.

 

Tail #9  Saint Dizzi

Below is a letter we received from an adoptive family:

 

"Here are some pictures of our little Boxer girl, "Dizzi." She used to be "Mindy" but that didn't fit her well and she did not respond to it. 
 
Dizzi came into our life in early March of 2007.  Now that we had a house and fenced in backyard we decided that it was time to get a Boxer so we applied through Boxer Rescue.  My husband had a Boxer girl growing up who passed away last year (she was very old).  We met a few Boxers at the Bowser Games where I was the photographer for Florida Boxer Rescue. Although all were very sweet (especially Oakley!) none were quite the right match for us.  Unbeknownst to us, there was a Boxer girl there who was a little too excited to be out with all of the other doggies and she was in the kennel at the FBR booth.  A few weeks later after I had gotten to know Candi (local FBR volunteer) quite well, she suggested to me a Boxer girl she wanted us to meet that she thought would be a good match for us.  We went to meet her in St. Cloud and it was well worth the trip!  Although she barked at us for the first 20 minutes we were there, as soon as my husband sat down and said "It's ok, I don't trust people either," she immediately stopped barking at him as if to say "finally someone understands!" and fell into his arms and snuggled with him.  That was it....right then we knew this was our girl!  We decided to call her Dizzi because of her innate habit of "spinning."  Words like "walk," "treat," "bath," (she LOVES baths), "car," etc...  turn her into a whirling dervish!  She also loves to put her head in your chest and put all of her weight into you (kind of like a cat) and snort! 

 

 

Everyone that has come to our house just adores her and after about 10 minutes of snuggles and wigglebutts they ignore the cleft palette that she has...even the cats don't mind as long as they get attention too!  All of the people at PetSmart know her by name and give her lots of attention and treats.  They even like to use her for training other dogs, especially puppies - she LOVES them!  She is going through some training right now herself for her barking...she barks when she first meets people and at dog parks where people are afraid of her because they think she is mean with her two front teeth showing from her cleft palette, so we have to show them that there is nothing to be afraid of.....unless you mind getting licked to death!  Sending many Boxer wiggles and kisses from the sweetest most loving Boxer in the world!

 
 

Love,

Dizzi, Kristen, Shane, and Carmen & Esy (our two kitties that share their home with the rest of us)"

 

Tail #10   My Maggie

 

 I’ve attached one of my favorite pictures of Maggie.  It was taken when she was about four years old.  Maggie passed to the bridge at 11:30 am on 3/31/08.

About a year after Maggie came into my life I decided work wasn’t for me and I chose the path of “early” retirement.  All the soothsayers were quick to tell me how lost I would become and predicted I would be back to work in a couple of months.  Well, they we wrong! I had my Maggie and we embarked on a wonderful journey of life -up early and out to the park to take care of her business and a bit of play with any of her buddies that happened by that particular day.  She had a bunch of friends but I must admit she was a bit clannish and did prefer playing with Boxers.  Maggie was the official block greeter.  I met new neighbors and became reacquainted with many.  She did prefer the women to the men, but had a wag of the tail for all.  She never met a kid she didn’t like.

Maggie was very docile and I actually had to teach her to bark when the door bell rang.  I thought if someone broke into the house she would stop them with Boxer kisses.

She was always off lead when in the park.  Free to chase the squirrels and sniff to her hearts content.  One day a few years back we got to the park just before sunrise.  I let Maggie run off to do her thing and proceeded to walk down to a pavilion bench area.  I was confronted by two good size snarling stray dogs.  I’ve been around dogs long enough to know that I was going to get bit.  I had no place to go and I had no protection.  I could not advance, retreat nor cajole these dogs.  Like magic, Maggie appeared in front of me, hackles up, snarling and bearing teeth.  Each time one of the dogs advanced Maggie would also advance snarling.  The strays gave up and ran out of the park.  Maggie turned to me for a pet on the head and returned to her sniffing and chasing of squirrels.  That was my Maggie.

The soothsayers were almost right.  I am lost.  Not because I miss work but because I have lost my faithful companion.  She is at peace and I thank my God for that.

Yes I will adopt another little girl when the opportunity presents itself.  Not as a replacement but as a companion in the journey of life.

~Dick C.