The Decision to get a Dog

I really wanted a dog but Thomas and I were both hesitant for practical reasons. We live on the 23rd floor of a high rise and Thomas works a lot from home. We weren’t sure if a puppy would be too much of a distraction when he was trying to get stuff done. But eventually my desire for a dog became more like a need. So we decided to get an adult dog who was already house trained. 

The Search

I was always in love with the happy-go-lucky friendly lab so I started my search on Petfinder for a young adult lab mix. We were turned down from one shelter because the young lab needed a yard. Another wouldn’t give us a dog until we had a list of dog walkers and day care centers.

The next place I called was a bit different. I called Anne from Lakeshore Animal Shelter. Although she said some of the same words I had heard before about the lab needing a yard, the conversation didn’t end there. Anne asked me about our home, our lifestyles, jobs. Without hesitation she said, “I have the perfect dog for you. His name is Benny”. We looked at his picture from the ad (see above image of the original ad they composed to advertise Benny) and he looked so cute. His bio listed him as “a little gentleman” and his black and white spots were so unique. We made plans to meet. 

Benny’s Background

Benny had already been through so much and wasn’t doing so well since coming to Chicago. He was found tied to a mail box of an empty house in Southern Illinois, sent to the pound, picked up by Chicago Lakeshore shelter, given tons of shots, neutered, and spent a month in a foster home during his heart worm treatment before we met.
As a consequence he was scared and felt lost without a pack. He became skeptical of new people. Imagine a child being ripped off the arms of his caretaker and changing homes over and over. But despite all that, he was a good boy. Amazing!

Meeting Benny

When Anne introduced us to Benny he didn’t seem very interested in us (it was obvious that he already bonded with Anne quite a bit).
He almost appeared afraid of Thomas. Anne sensed our hesitation and gave us the option of being his foster parents for a couple weeks with no strings attached. We decided to take her up on the offer.

Benny jumped right into our car like he owned it. He put his front paws on the space between us on the front seat and looked excitingly ahead. Tail wagging. A position he would repeat for many years to come. He was on his way to his new home.
That day Benny – without knowing – found his forever pack.