Right about this exact time last year, I saw this exact Instagram post you see pictured here. I was sitting in the Anchorage, Alaska airport with my cousin getting ready to board a flight back to @dfwairport. I was scrolling social media, saw this sweet face and my heart immediately skipped a beat. I think I even showed my cousin and said “look at this 19year old dog, it’s family just took it to the shelter”… or something along those lines. I had just put my “soul dog”, Bear, down in March and the feelings we’re still very raw. I knew what it meant to me and what it meant to Bear for me to be right by him one last time. I hated that for this old black lab lookin dog. Her family that had loved her for 19 years was going to let someone else surround her in those last moments, someone she had never met. I couldn’t stop thinking about her the entire flight home. I had a pit in my stomach, I was broken hearted, I loved her already. When my cousin and I landed in Dallas, my BFF roomie, @lisaflores_85 , picked us up from the airport and I showed her the same post you see here. She looked at me and said “let’s get her”….. so I got to work. I scoured the rescue community in DFW to figure out who tagged this sweet girl and reached out to @thepawerfulrescue the next day. I don’t remember what I said, but I knew they explained to me that she likely only had a month… “were we ready to take that on emotionally?”. I’m sure in some way I had explained to Steph and Duke that I had just gone through this. I knew the signs, I knew the hurt, but I also knew what it meant to be by his side the whole time. I wanted to be that for Annie. Today was the day that this story began. On this day last year, the adventure started. Today was the day… June, 21st 2022.
