Karma / Fate / Luck

[TrishB]

It's funny how often I hear of stories about how people found their dogs. Stories of how an accident slowed down the people ahead of them so that they could get there first to chose their puppy, how all of the pups in a litter went to homes with the same interests - even though they didn't know each other, etc....

What role of karma / fate / luck what-have-you played a role in you finding your dog / your dog finding you?

[LORHEL]

I've got a good one. Last year, after having to put our first rottie down, due to fear aggression issues.... I was devastated. I had gotten him from a cousin who is a BYB, and we were very naiive to say the least. So this time, around, we were going to do it right. Had a deposit lined up with a breeder out in CA.

The behaviorlist who had tried to help us with our male, and was there when we put him down, was also the person I wanted to start off on the right foot with a new puppy. I wasn't going to write to her for another month. The puppy was due to be with us in early December. I thought it would be a good idea to write to her since she has 5 kids, in addition to working at the animal hospital.. to give her plenty of time. If I had not written to her, I never would have found out about Makita.

Pam called me a couple days after I sent her a letter. Said there was a sweet female who had been there three weeks, recovering from being hit by a car. Her owner never came back for her.

I told her that I had a puppy on the way, and didn't really want to take a chance on an adult, not knowing the background, but at least I could go see her, just out of curiosity.

We spent almost two hours with makita, me, hubby and my bro in law. I wanted to make sure she hadn't been abused, and wasn't scared of men, and tested her a few other ways too. She came in and went right to my husband... she had definitely been a man's dog. She had a bad limp, but was expected to make a full recovery. She laid down, and was totally at ease with three strangers in the room... it was no big deal to her at all. And she felt like she was at home, having been there for over three weeks. They were so good to her, I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I have been to them. I take her in all the time now, and give them updates, pictures, and visit.

We went home that nite, after meeting Makita, and I was at a major crossroads....I knew no way could I get both. I had to make a choice. I felt like Makita was a wonderful dog, and something told me she was meant to be with us. I called the breeder that night, told her I was totally unexpectedly given this opportunity, and I hoped she wasn't too upset. I didn't expect to get my deposit back, however, she said anytime you can rescue a rottie, go for it... She was so good about it.

I called Pam to tell her I wanted Makita, and she wanted to know when... I gave her another day, as I needed to get ready. I had about two months with no dog, and I was very lonely. I picked Makita up from the animal control, after formally adopting her... I was afraid she would not like to ride or be terrified after being hit by a car... she got in that car, I never heard a word out of her, the whole time....

One year later. She has passed one Petsmart obedience class, gotten her CGC at Rottstock this year, and given me a year of pure happiness, and joy.

I took a chance, and for once, made the right decision.

I don't regret getting that puppy, and I don't know that I ever will get a puppy, I think adults are the best choice for me.

The irony of it all was I never thought I could walk back through those doors, knowing the pain from putting Zeke down, and it was so fresh... to find the dog of my dreams waiting for me.

It truly was meant to be...

[RottiMomCT]

I know that NERR's 1000th dog, aptly named NOVA was adopted by a fabulous family whose rottie passed away some time earlier - his name...

NOVA!

I think the adoption contract was also signed on the date that the 1st Nova crossed the bridge...

As for me - I truly believe that my Ben chose me. Hubby saw an ad in a local paper advertising an NERR event at a local PetCo. He went to the website, checked out a fe dogs, checked to see who would be there, and we all decided to head down and check it all out.

There were NINE dogs there (it's tough to get ONE at an event in CT these days...:(), and Ben was among that nine...skinny, silly, and adorable -all wrapped up into a 75 pound body. I spent time with four of the dogs there that I was interested in possibly adopting, but Ben seemed to be 'the one'.

After each dog, I went back to Ben...called him Mr Puppy for some reason (come to find out later his former name was Mr Big!).

Anyways - I filled out the adoption application, went thru the process, and a week later he came home with me. I was told that the folks at that event saw 'something' in how Ben and I interacted...something good....

The rest is history :). He's been with us for 2 1/2 yrs and I can't even recall what it was like to NOT have a dog...I vaguely recall haveing ALOT more room in bed & less dog hair on the floor... :p

[Knucklesmom]

Well, I finally caved in to my younger son's request for another dog. He wanted a Rottweiler in the worst way. We had visited web sites and talked about different names, but never came up with one we liked. His girlfriend's parents even offered to buy him a puppy for his birthday, but I thought he needed to pick out his own dog. We started our search in February by visiting the local SPCA. No puppies, but plenty of big dogs, even a couple that were probably Rottweilers or mixes. On big placid guy had a placard on the pen that said his name was Knuckles. I pointed it out to my son, and he thought it was a great name. This Knuckles was 3 years old and a stray. Since we didn't know anything about his past, we didn't want to risk injury to our yorkie or cats, so we passed. We visited 3 other shelters and more or less gave up. Our son was pretty disappointed. (He is 18). Later that evening, he decided to run up to the local Ameristop and get a "Tradin Post". He brought it home, and put it aside. I happened to pick it up later that evening, and turned to the Dogs section. There was an advertisement for 4 Rottie puppies, located about 80 miles away. Our son called and called and finally got ahold of the man selling the puppies. At the time, they were about 1 week old, but the guy wanted to make sure he had good homes for them when they were ready. Our son, Andy, went to meet his new buddie (as well as his mom and dad) at age 2 weeks and give the man a deposit. A few weeks later, Knuckles came to live with us. Was it fate that we found the name and then found the dog to go with it, on the same day? Knuckles is 7 1/2 months old and a great guy. I'm glad he's a part of the family. (And he is Mommy's boy, no matter what anybody else says!)

[tilerspop]

I can't tell you why I came home with Tiler. I wasn't even really looking for a dog. We had to put Teddy down earlier this summer and Shadow passed on last summer. We knew a new dog was in the future but not just then.

I was near one of the local shelters on a job and decided to stop to look. They had several Rotts, including Tiler, but nothing I was especially interested in. As I was leaving my wife called and said she was on her way down. I had not told her I was there or going there.

When she arrived I told her about the several Rotts and a couple that she may have been intertested in (she wasn't exactly sure about a Rottie). We walked back through and looked at them again. Tiler was not as active as the other Rotties but there was something about him. I checked his card and found he was an owner give away, but the shelter couldn't tell me any more. The name on his card was Tiger, but I had already decided that the next dog was going to be named Tiler. I figured Tiger to Tiler wouldn't be too tough to retrain. We talked some and decided to come back the next day when he became available for adoption. We couldn't even see him out of his cage at that time.

The next morning, we were allowed to see him in a separate room and he was still sluggish and depressed but he came right to me and buried his head in my lap. We decided to adopt him. Then the shelter told us that his previous owner had been elderly and nearing death. I hope they know that he went to a good home.

The rest is history. Tiler is fast becoming one of the best dogs I have ever owned. He still won't leave my side willingly and gets nervous if I leave him. He has been trained and it has been fun discovering what his training is. He doesn't get nervous about machinery or power tools, so I can take him to work with me as much as possible. He is so well behaved that my customers all love him and he is welcome anytime. He has become my constant companion.:D

[Nina&Bill]

I steeled myself to write Smidgen's story in the Rainbow Bridge forum for her birthday last week so if you're interested you can read it there but she was my heart dog, no doubt about that.

I knew that I wanted a rottweiler and knew that I'd name it Smidgen because I thought that was a great name for a big, goofy dog. After much research, meeting with breeders & looking at a few litters Smidgen found me. I went to look at a litter of 11, the mother wouldn't nurse so the pups were weaned very young & hand fed (the breeder would hold the mom on her side & pet her so that the puppies could sneak some meals but you know that couldn't have been easy or satisfying for the pups). The pups were obviously very accustomed to people so when I put my hand into the box where they were it became engulfed by a tidal wave of 10 black & brown wriggly bodies. One little squirt was clever enough to sneak down the side, around the edge of the crowd thus avoiding the press & sneaking right to the front of the pile & into my hand (and heart :)) Of course I was enchanted...she was obviously meant to be mine. She chose me!

As time passed I discovered that the little weasel was a glutton for attention, everybody was a friend that she hadn't met yet and that there was no such thing as too many hands scritching her at once. But her name fit her perfectly.

The funny thing was that I found her breeder as a result of the chooch that I was dating at the time & the only good things to come out of that particular relationship were Smidgen and an appreciation for a finer caliber of male (like the one that eventually became my husband ;)). And as much as Smidgen may have approved of my choice of spouse & have plotted as to how she could end up on the bed & me in the crate she was without a doubt my dog.

And she still is. Gone from this earth but never from my heart.:)


Nina

[Rottlva]

My story is probably one that will go down as being one of the most irresponsible ways of getting a dog.

I was in college. My roomate and best friend and I had been talking about getting a dog. I wanted a jack russell, she wanted a rottie or a newf.... We'll long story short one day she came home with the two most perfect rottie pups you could ever lay your eyes on. During that period in my life I was going through a tough time. I was deep into the depths of an eating disorder...depressed and not looking much towards my future. I kept going though.... sometimes it was my horse that needed to be fed and loved, but most often it was that little ball of black and tan fur that needed me to walk, feed and love him.

Unfortunately my best friend was having problems as well and she decided to try and take her life. This left me lost and looking for a way out. I ended up moving back to NH from college to be closer to my family. I had to sell my horse...but kept that black and tan furball....Max and I did everything together.... he never left my side, he was the reason that I had to get up each morning....I became so withdrawn that Max was my only friend.

[Rottlva]

I continued my education back in NH. I was originally going to go to veterinary school, but with all that was happening I was happy just to be attending classes. Max began classes with me. He waited patiently in the car until I was finished and then walked the trails with me.
People began to inquire about the rottie pup I toted around. It ended up that my professors allowed him into selected classes. Max became my connection between myself and the other students. Through him I began to meet other k-9 enthusiasts including my best friend who is currently an obedience instructor. I began opening up and started dealing with my own problems. Max was beginning to blossom into an adolescent and my quest to further train dogs lead me to an invaluable internship with a local behaviorist. It turned out to be not something I really had the patience for, but the experience was invaluable.

Fast forward to graduation... I am still on the mend, Max is growing and I am looking for a new place. Problem is no one will take my rottie! I finally get an interview and land a nice place in the city. My landlord introduces me to a handsome dark haired man who just loves Max. He to has a dog and we begin walking our dogs together... two years later we marry.

I am happy and healthy now and have no question in my mind that my prescious rottie is the reason why I am able to write this today. There were days that I knew I had to keep on living because Max needed me. I hope I can give him all that he's given me. He is my prescious boy who is my heart and soul. I look forward to sharing him with my children....sometime in the real near future!

[godfreyc]

Well this isn't a rottweiler story, but fate IMO just the same. I was on my way home and for some reason the shelter just kept pulling at me when I was driving past. I thought I'd just walk through. I went in and I had to wait for someone to take me back there. There were all these big loud dogs. Mostly black, you all know how that goes. But there all by hisself in this big cement run was a little 7 pound rattweiler :D More commonly known as a black and tan chihuahua. He was just sitting in the back shivering. The woman opened the gate for me and he burst out of there jumped in my arms and started licking me all over. I just kept petting him and talking to him and he was soooo desperate, like PLLLEEEAAASE get me out of here. He couldn't leave that day because he just came in and I had to wait 3 excruciating days, calling to check on him everyday. That morning I made hubby camp out in front of the pound an hour before they opened. First come first serve so to speak. About a half hour before they opened a guy pulled up next to us and my heart started pounding so I got out and stood at the door. When they let us both in we just kept looking at each other and I could tell he was thinking the same thing. "Please don't take my dog." I got to go first and I told her which dog I was there to pick up. The guy next to me breathed a sigh of relief. He was there for the cocker. Zeus was thrilled I came back for him. As I was walking out a lady walked in. She had wanted my boy. Needless to say I'm glad I got there first. When I took him to the care all hubby said is, "That's the ugliest dog I've ever seen." He agrees with me now. Zeus is one of a kind and a really great dog. I wouldn't change a thing.

[fbkeays]

I was having a hard time getting a show quality puppy with parents with the health certs and backend titles I was looking for. I returned a puppy a year earlier for incorrect temperament. If I put my name on the list before the breeding took place, it either didn't take, miscarried or only a singlton was born. On litters that were already on the ground, the puppy in questions suddenly wasn't available anymore. I was getting convienced that I was cursed. Meanwhile Maureen Griffin started e-mailing me about carting. We e-mailed for months about carting and a few other things. At the 2001 ARC nationals we met briefly during a break in the carting test. We chatted while I exercised my two dogs. As we parted I asked her if she knew anyone that was planning a breeding or had pick male available. She said she would see what she could do.
A few weeks later she e-mailed me and told me that SHE had pick male available if I wanted him. I didn't even know she had a litter and they were 6 weeks old. I found a cheap airfare and went out to CT, really expecting to come home empty handed. We sat on her kitchen floor for hours that night with three 8 week old rottie males. One she felt was pet quality, one that she thought I would like and the one with a little white. I really tried to like the one she thought was best, but I just couldn't resist Fizzy. He had a little bit of white on his chest(that is now only three hairs). I decided to sleep on it. The next day, I was still drawn to the boy with the white spot. I decided to take him home.
I do see a few of those dogs I was "supposed" to have. I then look at Fizzy and know I came out ahead. He is everything I wanted in a dog. Nightwind's A Piece of the Action, PT JHD CGC. Next week we go for our AKC certification track. Next month I will try him out in the obedience ring and next year on the show circuit. He certainly fits his name.