{"id":52893,"date":"2025-05-02T13:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secondchanceanimals.org\/?p=52893"},"modified":"2025-05-02T13:17:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T17:17:58","slug":"two-years-six-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secondchanceanimals.org\/two-years-six-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Years, Six Days"},"content":{"rendered":"

An open letter to my dog, Roxie.<\/h3>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0by Second Chance volunteer Mike<\/h4>\n

It was 2 years and 6 days that you spent in the shelter.\u00a0 And you eventually adjusted to shelter life, you finally let more and more people into your social circle.\u00a0 Two years filled with stress and anxiety; I hope the 2-3 days a week that I visited and took you out were the best parts of your week because they were the best part of mine.\u00a0 It was two years of doing the best you could with what you were given. We didn\u2019t know what your future was going to look like, but we knew it was going to take a specific person to take you home, someone to put in the time, to earn your trust, to give you freedom and let you make choices on your own.\u00a0 You needed to feel safe.\u00a0 We knew the person that gave you your second chance was going to have to understand a dog like you with big feelings and be able to love you for who you are and not what they wanted you to be.<\/p>\n

I remember Bethany, Second Chance\u2019s adoption councilor and staff trainer, telling me about you and I just knew I had to meet you. You\u2019re my kind of dog. Folks at Second Chance know the dogs I gravitate towards. I like the dogs that bark and growl and snap.\u00a0 I\u2019ve spent a lot of time learning about dogs like you and learning from you. \u00a0I know most dogs like you are just scared and confused and trying to fit into a world that is ever changing around them and just trying to make sense of it all.\u00a0 Once upon a time you would have been the dog so many people wanted in their home, loyal and protective and vigilant and vocal.\u00a0 Once upon a time we wanted dogs like you, for security, for protection.\u00a0 But now we punish dogs like you for exact instincts we selected for them.<\/p>\n

I remember meeting you and bringing a peanut butter Barkpouch and you licked it and growled at me and barked and then licked some more peanut butter and you kept your eyes on me the whole time.\u00a0 I realized that you were more comfortable in an open space where you had freedom of choice so we spent time in the grassy yard.\u00a0 I realized you loved squeaky stuffies and loved to play. \u00a0I remember how goofy you looked dancing around the stuffed animal. \u00a0I remember how afraid you were of me just putting the leash on you or touching you around your head so we worked on all your fears, slowly and carefully, and with a bit of patience we overcame so much together.<\/p>\n

Do you remember the first time we got into the car and the first time we tried to take a walk.\u00a0 Do you remember the woods you wouldn\u2019t walk in, the trails you froze up on.\u00a0 The time after time I sat on the ground waiting for you to feel safe so we could move forward or head back to the car.<\/p>\n

I remember being so proud the first time you walked the trails with your nose on the ground and not a care in the world. You walked with so much pride and intent and purpose. I remember that day like it was yesterday.\u00a0 Just to be part of that day gave me so much peace and I saw the real special individual you so desperately needed to be.\u00a0 To watch you grow and blossom and come out of your shell.\u00a0 I knew then we had something to work with and maybe your future wasn\u2019t so bleak.\u00a0 But there aren\u2019t a lot of people out there for a dog like you.\u00a0 And I know that.<\/p>\n

\"\"When we first met, I didn\u2019t have a house, I was living in an apartment that did not allow dogs.\u00a0 When we first met, I had just said goodbye to one of my favorite shelter dogs as she went home with her new family and I lost some very important people in my life during those times. I needed you then as much as you needed me.\u00a0 I saw you become a better version of yourself and you helped me become a better version of myself.\u00a0 So, I had a mission, I decided to buy us a house.\u00a0 I know there are not a lot of people out there that would do this for a shelter dog and I know that it seems crazy to buy a house for a dog.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t that I needed to buy you a house; you made me realize that I needed a house to give you a home.<\/p>\n

And I know, you\u2019ll never be that friendly neighborhood dog, you\u2019re not going to be a dog park dog and I\u2019m ok with that.\u00a0 You\u2019re\u00a0 not the dog the greets strangers with a big grin and a wagging tail and I\u2019m ok with that.\u00a0 But you\u2019re a smart dog and you arehappy in my world and I am happy to have you in it.\u00a0 You\u2019re goofy dog and silly dog and you\u2019re a loving dog to the people you let in. And for 2 years and 6 days you were a shelter dog.\u00a0 But now as I write this and you sleep by my feet in a house that you made a home, I feel like you are now the dog you were meant to be.\u00a0 My dog.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welcome home.\u00a0 Roxie.<\/p>\n