Help From Home...

A young lady that worked at my clinic a few years ago while in high school, has been visiting the clinic lately.  Her name is Alexis, and she is close friends with my veterinary assistant, Miguel, who most of you know by now from other stories.

Now that Alexis is a young adult, and is living on her own, she has decided it has become time for her to become a doggie mom.  She has always wanted a dog of her own, and the time has come to make that dream a reality.  She visits our clinic, and meets our adoptables but is waiting for "just the right connection".  I think most of us that are pet parents understand exactly what she means.  After several meet and greets, Alexis would leave the clinic a little disappointed that she had not met "the one" but hopeful that the right dog was out there for her.

A few weeks ago, we took in a pair of adorable puppies. 

These two adorable puppies came from another animal shelter that was unable to place them on their adoption floor because the puppies were timid and did not pass the "personality" testing.  So this adorable pair of six month old pups were made available for rescue to other qualified rescue groups willing to take them into their adoption program.

When Miguel saw these cuties, he sent his friend Alexis a text message.

 "When you get a chance, you should stop at the clinic.  We have two cute Cocker spaniel mix puppies for you to see."

Alexis stared at her phone, reading the words in disbelief, as a brief recollection of a recent dream overwhelmed her.

Entering adulthood was not the only reason Alexis chose now to become a pet parent.  She was hoping a puppy of her own would help her heal and adjust to a tragic change in her life.  Just five months ago, her father died unexpectedly in a car accident.  She has been struggling to cope with the loss that occured just 8 days before her 20th birthday.

Just a few weeks prior to Miguel's text, Alexis was on a family vacation in Colorado.  On the last night of this family trip, she had a dream.  In this dream, her father and her grandfather (also deceased, and with whom she had shared a special bond) stood before her, alive and well.  It gave Alexis a warm feeling of comfort to be so close to them again, even if only in a dream.

As the dream continued, her Grandpa said, "These are the puppies for you, Alexis."  With the men, were two very cute, shy, cocker spaniel puppies.

Her father smiled in amusement as Alexis seemed overwhelmed, joyful, and definitely caught off guard by the two puppies romping at their feet, unsure of which puppy to call her own.

Her Grandpa turned to her again, "You have to pick one, Alexis." and he gave her a gentle smile.

As Alexis awoke, she felt the comfort of having seen them again, but the visit created a new longing for them to be with her now.  She wished that last night her Dad had chased her up the stairs growling like a tiger, the way he did at bedtime when she was just a girl.  She longed for him to be there as she climbed out of bed, waiting to give her that big morning bear hug meant to wake her up and start her day. 

The presence of the two puppies in the dream made little sense to Alexis, despite her ongoing search for her own dog.  She would often pray to God that he could help her through this tragedy.  She would ask God to help her find a puppy, and help her be patient in her search.  She would often "talk" to her Dad about getting a puppy, asking if he could help her find the right one.  When you consider this, perhaps the strange presence of two puppies in that dream was not so strange.


As Alexis stood looking at her phone two weeks later, reading the words texted to her by her friend Miguel, the dream suddenly made sense.  She knew before meeting them that, as her Grandpa had said in the dream, "These are the puppies for you."

She begged Miguel to put a hold on the pups until she could get to the clinic, fearful they would get adopted in the few hours it would take before she could make it to the clinic. 

She arrived at the clinic a few short hours after the text.  As her dream had predicted, she had a difficult time choosing which puppy would be hers, and she could hear her Grandpa's words, "You have to pick one, Alexis".  And slowly, the choice was made.

Meet Izy, one of two dogs that had been deemed unadoptable by one animal shelter's standards.  She is now a beloved family member and providing the gift of comfort and unconditional love.  Two lives have been completely changed for the better.  

It seems as though Izy was destined to provide the comfort, the humor, the occasional stress of pet ownership to a young woman who needed help to heal, a woman who cried out for help in finding her canine companion, a woman who received that help from the two people she least expected would be able to help her. 

While we struggle with loss, the truth is, we never lose those we love, and Little Miss Izy is tangible proof that love can surpass all boundaries.

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