![\"\"](\"https:\/\/feedingandrew.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/tomatoe-pie-3.jpg\" "\\"tomatoe")
<\/a>\n\tTomato pie with a biscuit crust<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Tragically, there was no shortage of dogs to be rescued.\u00a0 The list was so long in both the retriever and shepherd websites I had perused that I lost much sleep as I poured long into the night over the pictures and profiles of abandoned pets.\u00a0 I was fairly sure I wanted a dog who was older, but not so old that it couldn\u2019t go backpacking or hiking.\u00a0 I definitely didn\u2019t want a puppy.\u00a0 I am still reeling from our Labrador\u2019s puppy stage that ended a couple of months ago after an extended six-and-a-half-year preadolescent phase of destruction and general mayhem.\u00a0 To be honest, I fondly refer to him as a wannabe rescue dog.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure anyone else would have given up on him long ago.<\/p>\n
Once started on the rescue sites, I would begin looking at the four and five year olds who seemed to fit our needs.\u00a0 Soon, however, I would start to click on the ten, eleven, and twelve year olds and my heart would start to break.\u00a0 Their story was always a variation on a theme:\u00a0 family forced to give up dog — good with kids, loves to chase a ball, etc.\u00a0\u00a0 I just couldn\u2019t imagine what kind of tragedy happened that would force a family to let go of its beloved pet after so many years, leaving it to end its days longing for its owners to come back and bring them home.\u00a0\u00a0 Barely able to look at the page by this point, I would end up looking at dogs with the word \u201chope\u201d for their last name, as in Maggie\u2019s Hope or King\u2019s Hope.\u00a0 It turned out that these dogs had serious behavior issues and needed a miracle worker to come to their rescue.\u00a0 By one in the morning I would find myself distraught and convinced that one day I was going to be that news story about the old guy found living in a double wide on some parcel in the country cohabiting with 40 or more dogs among the linoleum and avocado shag carpet.<\/p>\n
Rescuing a dog sounds so heroic and it eased any qualms I had about bringing another dog into the house by the \u201cdoing the right thing\u201d feeling it gave me.\u00a0 Just the idea made me feel down right noble.\u00a0\u00a0 Then, I met up with my first dog rescue organization.\u00a0 These organizations often find and save dogs just minutes or hours away before \u201cgoing to the farm.\u201d\u00a0 Then countless volunteers take these lucky dogs to a kind of rescue limbo where they live with foster families or in large kennels while they wait for their forever home.\u00a0 To get one of these dogs, you have to apply and survive an arduous and humbling clearance process.<\/p>\n
I applied.<\/p>\n
The quality control team, an older couple, arrived with their two very large and very rambunctious dogs.\u00a0 They needed to see if Truman would take kindly to other dogs.\u00a0 He did, and the three of them tore up the house while the couple grilled me on my exercise habits, work schedule, dog food, types of dog training I had used, etc.\u00a0 They would dismayingly look askew at each other after my every attempt to assure them I could keep a dog. \u00a0I started to doubt my ability to raise Andrew, let alone another dog. Finally, I just told them about every thing Truman had destroyed and pointed out that he was still alive and living with his first family.\u00a0 That seemed to appease them and they pulled out measuring tapes and started to measure rooms, back yard space, and fence height.\u00a0 Somehow, we passed.<\/p>\n
The first adoption possibility that came up was a German Shepherd rescue in downtown Los Angeles.\u00a0 They had determined that we were not fit for a young dog, but could possibly get a middle-aged mascot. \u00a0This was fine with me. \u00a0The problem was that any dog that fit the bill was just down right ugly and Andrew would have nothing to do with them.\u00a0 Secretly, I was glad to have Andrew to blame for not wanting them.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t in any hurry and decided to go back the following week.<\/p>\n
Again, we spent a couple of hours meeting and greeting different dogs. However, each time Andrew pointed out one that he liked, the rescue said they were not a good fit. \u00a0We were about to give up again, when they brought out a gorgeous petite Shepherd, Ivory Von Schtudnizt, who came right up to Andrew, stood on her hind legs, wrapped her front paws around his neck and kissed him right on the lips. \u00a0 Andrew’s eyes lit up and I knew the search was over.\u00a0 Our only problem was that she was less than a year old, full of energy, and a bit skittish.\u00a0 Everything they said we couldn\u2019t handle and everything I didn\u2019t want. \u00a0Finally, it was determined that we could foster to adopt, a sort of \u201cmoney back guarantee\u201d if things didn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n
Even before we got home, Andrew had chosen Maggie as her new name. \u00a0My mom had mentioned that it was President Truman\u2019s daughter name and Andrew liked the connection to our other dog, Truman. \u00a0I tried to brainstorm \u00a0a few Germanic sounding names, but he was settled on the name and wasn’t interested.\u00a0 We got her home and made sure all gates and doors were secure.\u00a0 We weren\u2019t going to take any chances this time.<\/p>\n
And then we started to fall in love.<\/p>\n
Maggie turned out to be a \u201ccuddler\u201d and lover extraordinaire.\u00a0 No matter where we went, she was there pressing all of her 55 pounds as close to us as she could, and she wouldn\u2019t let us out of her sight.\u00a0 This was good because we were determined to not make the same mistake we did with Teddy and we kept close tabs, even keeping her attached to us with a leash in the house when we couldn\u2019t give her our full attention.<\/p>\n
On the fourth night at home, we were watching TV with Maggie cuddled up between us on the couch when our downstairs neighbor decided to come up and check on the new addition.\u00a0 As he walked up the back stairs, the dogs began barking at the intruder.\u00a0 Upon seeing who it was, Truman changed his tune to a tail wag.\u00a0 Maggie, on the other hand, took one look at John\u2019s six -foot -four, 240-pound frame and peed on the spot.\u00a0 Then she hightailed it straight through my bedroom, down the hall, through the living room, and made a great leap out \u00a0an open second story window and into a tree .\u00a0 She scrambled her way down and shot off into the dark.\u00a0 By the time we realized what had happened, she was gone and out of sight.<\/p>\n
I saw the utter shock and disbelief in Andrew\u2019s eyes.\u00a0 I held my head in anger, frustration, and fear.\u00a0 Somehow, we had managed to lose two dogs within a couple of weeks.\u00a0\u00a0 With heavy hearts, Andrew got on his bike and I got in my car and we took off into the night calling out for a dog with a name she barely recognized and in a neighborhood surrounded by some of the busiest streets in Los Angeles.\u00a0 Teddy may have survived a night in the canyon without getting eaten by coyotes, but I had no hope Maggie could survive even twenty minutes on La Cienega Blvd.<\/p>\n
Part IIII and the last installment on this story and theme coming very soon.<\/p>\n
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