and then there were four

From the first day he came into our lives, Jake became our best buddy. We spent every free moment loving him, training him, and learning from him. However, every time I looked at him I felt something was missing. Dogs are pack animals and I hated that he would spend the days alone while I was finishing school. Besides, I still wanted my little girl!

Mario wasn't so sure, though. First of all, having Jake was a big responsibility and second, he was terribly afraid getting a little dog meant having a "girlie" dog.

Now, if you know me, you now I'm about as persistent as it gets. Getting a second dog, a little girl-dog, became my mission. I spent every free moment on Petfinder.com. I was so obsessed I had to give Petfinder up for lent!

And it was right after Easter that I found Save-a-Pet's website and a litter of patterdale little girls. EXACTLY what I had been looking for. Patterdales, if you don't know, look a bit like labs shrunk after being thrown in a dryer, which means I get my little dog and Mario doesn't have to have a "girly" dog.

The litter had 4 puppies...all different...all too cute for words. Originally, I had chosed a black and tan puppy named Faith. She looked like a miniature version of Jake. But the universe had different plans. We arranged a time and place to meet halfway between Forsyth, GA and our house. This was going to be Jake's puppy, so of course, whomever would come home would have to pass the "Jake test."

The four puppies (Faith, Hope, Sissy and Joy) were all under 5 pounds and 5 weeks old. We put them all down on a grassy area and brought Jake out to meet them. Jake, at 70lbs, looked like a tank next to them, so naturally most of them weren't so sure what to make of him. Hope (Luna) didn't seem all that interested...and when he came up to her and startled him from behind, she turned around, and with all of her 5lbs slapped Jake accross the face. Without even looking at each other Mario and I said, "That's the one!"

That afternoon, we also learned why her name was Hope. You see, black puppies are the hardest to adopt, which subsequently means, they are the most likely to get put down. The bigger and blacker the dog, the less its chance for survival. Her name was Hope because the rescue group really "hoped" she would find a home. Well, Hope...which became our little Luna, didn't have to hope anymore. We left her with her sisters until she was 9 weeks old...and then, she came to our house to complete our little family of four!