'Win It' Wednesday: 'Mutt Like Me' Collar

My dog Anakin stole my heart and my 7 year old daughters heart. I had promised my daughter for years when we finally bought a house of our own we could get a dog. We were finally able to get a house and as soon as we were settled we went to the animal shelter to look around. There were lots of dogs to choose from but none of them seemed right. A lady volunteering there asked my daughter what she was looking for in a dog and my daughter said "I want a dog that no one else ever loved that can lay on the couch with me and I can make happy." the lady smiled and went in the back. She came out with Anakin and we both fell in love. He is a chiuahuahmanchester terrier mix and the sweetest little guy you could ever meet. While filling out the paper work the volunteer told me the best part Ani had been at the shelter the longest of any dog there and they were sheduled to euthenize him within days. Every time he looks up at me with his lovefilled eyes my heart melts.

Ariel was my mutt she was half black lab and half golden retriever. I first met her when she was about 3 years old. A lady had a few dogs and she was getting rid of ariel. Instantly you could tell Ariel had been abused. When you would go to pet her on the head she would duck her head tuck her tail in and pee on the floor. My parents didn't want me to get her but i had already fallen in love with her and refused to leave without her. Within the first week i discovered many issues she had. She was food aggressive was deathly afraid of frying pans and would attack any man that walked into the house. Making me wonder if it was a man that had been abusing her. My parents wanted to get rid of her told me she was a bad dog but i knew she would only be put down because of her food aggression. It took me about a year of working with her. I would hold her dog food in my hands and have her eat out of my hands to know that i wouldn't take it away. She finally stopped her food aggression problems and frying pans didn't scare her as much. Her fear of men wasn't as bad as it used to be but when a man came into the house she would run and hide. Ariel became my best friend. She was the dog i could tell all my secretes too and i only had 3 years to enjoy with her. Sadly after 3 years she was diagnosed with cancer and it was spreading to fast to stop. January 7th 2006 we had to put her to sleep. I still remember perfectly sitting next to her. I felt it was so unfair. I only got 3 years with her. I still have a really hard time thinking about it but looking back i feel so happy that at least I made her happy those last 3 years of her life. I gave her a life when every body else wanted to turn her away. I didn't give up on her! There will never be another dog like Ariel!

Being a devout Christian I pray for many things. When I decided to adopt a dog therefore I prayed something like this Our dear Heavenly Father I would like to bring a dog into our lives to enrich all three of our lives. If this is your will I will accept the dog you choose to send but I keep getting this picture in my mind as I am requesting this of you a large very furry very black dog with a very long tongue and a confused frightened look on his face. If this is your choice for me please send me to where he is and make the road straight for adoption. In Jesus name Amen. The next day my husband and I were passing the Santa Ana animal shelter which no longer exsists and decided to stop. At first I did not see any large dogs so I was looking at a small black furry dachsund when I heard my husband call "Honey come look at this guy!" There in that cage was a large furry black Border Collie mix with a long tongue and a terrified expression on his face. He and his companion had been brought in to the shelter less than one hour before we arrived. We put our names on the list to adopt him and waited a long 72 hours the wait time for new animals. When I got the call that he was available I rushed down to pay the adoptionneutering fee. The shelter worker told me no one had even called in asking if a dog of that description had been picked up. A day or two later I picked up "Hooch" his shelter name which we changed to Bucka new name for a new life at the vet. As he was being led down the hall he had all the signs of a depressed dog head down tail dragging totally defeateduntil I called out "Hooch! Here boy!" HIs head jerked up and his face literally lit up his tail started wagging and boy did I get a face licking!! Buck has graced our lives 7 years now and we have spoiled him to death with love walks training dog park and beach trips and endless presents. He is truly a God sent blessing.

My dog Riddick stole my heart! My dog Cody died and about a year later the night before I went to the Humane Society to take home a new member of the family I had a dream I would adopt a big dorkball of a dog.. but that dog would only have one eye! Sure enough the next day I went and looked around and the first and last! dog I saw there was a big RottGoldie mix named Riddick and he had only one eye! He had been there since birth and he was very ill. He was only two and he had everything in the WORLD wrong with him and he was "unadoptable" but I adopted him and took him to a wonderful caring home where my puppies Howshe and Daizy and I nursed that big Lunkhead back to healthand now he acts like a horsesized puppy and he loves absolutely everyone he meets. He help me out with teaching kids in my neighborhood to be kind to animals and he is by far the best little "Man" in my life right now.