When Joy Arrives in a Tiny Package

After losing our precious fur-baby, Ruby, it was difficult to fathom making room for another tiny dog. We miss her daily still, and even still shed the occasional tears. She was part of our life for so long, that moving forward with her in our hearts, but not in our arms, has been slow. Even our other sweet dog, a cocker spaniel named Penny, misses Ruby. After talking with everyone, and observing Penny’s sadness, I began to feel deep in my soul that it was time to bring another tiny dog home to be part of our family. I prayed about it lots, and felt the Lord affirming my heart. So, the search began.

We knew we wanted to adopt from a shelter, rather than purchase from a pet store or breeder, so I started following every shelter I could find within a 50 mile radius of our house. I scoured emails, posts, and events daily…who am I kidding… hourly!! Yes, that seems extreme, but the puppy we were looking for was very hard to find! Many animals in shelters are adults, and this time, we were looking for a brand new puppy. Here’s what we had in mind:

• tiny dog (5-9 pounds full grown)
• chihuahua or chihuahua mix
• female
• very young (less than 4 months old)
• healthy
• docile personality
• good with both kids and other dogs

I was starting to get just a bit discouraged, because it seemed that every time I found a pup online that fit most of the criteria on our list, she would either be already adopted, spoken for, or otherwise unavailable. I looked for weeks without finding any puppy that could be ours. Every dog commercial, every glance down the pet aisle at Target, reminded me that our house felt like something was missing…because it was. A tiny dog was missing. We had all of our people, our Penny girl, and our chickens, but no tiny dog.

In a moment of desperation one day last week, I posted on our neighborhood Facebook page asking if anyone had any “insider information” on chihuahua rescue puppies. I know that lots of people who live near me volunteer at shelters and rescues, so I thought it would be worth a try. AND I WAS RIGHT!!!! It was!!!!! There were many kind comments wishing us good luck in finding our new fur-baby, and then there was one lady (someone I have never met, but will be forever grateful for!) who suggested the name of a certain rescue about an hour from our house that she “thought” had just posted a pair of chihuahua puppies on their website. It was so interesting, because this one hadn’t been on my radar. In fact, I had never even heard of this rescue organization before!

I called them without delay, and they verified that they did, in fact, have one female chihuahua mix puppy available! I made a next-day appointment to go and meet her. When we arrived, we found out that her short life story started out a little bit sad. The foster mom who raised her had actually been fostering her mother, who was pregnant when she came to the rescue. She was able to tell us all about her.  She had four puppies to birth, but only two made it. The mama had a catastrophic bleed during birth and sadly died, even thought the vet tried so hard to save her and the two unborn pups. Only two exceedingly small puppies survived: one male and one female. They looked like twins! They had to be bottle fed, and have always lived inside a home, where they were being taken care of 24-7. They grew stronger after awhile, and were even able to be weaned onto puppy food successfully. They learned to interact with other dogs, and the young grandson of the foster mom.  No one would ever imagine today they had such a rough start in life, because they are perfect! We hadn’t known quite what to expect when we arrived to meet this prospective new puppy, and boy were we pleasantly surprised!

Needless to say, we fell in love when we met this teeny, tiny pup. I couldn’t believe it, but she fit ALL of the criteria on our wish list! ALL of it! I knew in my heart she was the one. There was one problem though. Ours was just one of the families that wanted her. Several families had made an appointment the same way we had, and also met her. It was up to the foster mom to decide on who the lucky new owners would be. I felt like I was submitting my college applications all over again…and the waiting…oh the waiting!!!! We only had to wait one day, but it felt like forever! Luckily, our daughter had a babysitting job most of the day, and my husband was working, so they had a slightly easier time. Our son and I sat at home watching the clock tick tock away, playing countless rounds of Mancala, Connect Four, and Scrabble. Finally, at 3:00 exactly, we got THE phone call!!!!

We had been chosen!!!!! I cried with joy. The kids screamed with excitement. I texted my husband in the middle of his meeting to tell him the great news. We got into the car in within five minutes of that call, and were on our way to get her! The hour-long drive felt like a marathon, but we finally arrived. We were told that we were chosen because it was evident that the puppy had chosen US. We were the only family who she went up to, gave kisses to, and crawled into the laps of. I guess she was too shy around the others to do those things, but she felt comfortable with us. Was it that she could tell we knew all about tiny dogs? Could she tell that we needed her? I don’t know the answer, but I do know this: She is just what we needed. And I would like to believe that we are just what she needed, too.

And so, on that day, when she was exactly 10 weeks old to the day, we brought her home. That drive felt like a snap, and before we knew it, she was being introduced to her new fur-sister, Penny. They were both so happy to meet each other! We had already gotten all the supplies we would need ahead of time, as we had been searching for so long. (And besides that, I like to be prepared.) We had also decided on her name before we picked her up.

Her name is Lily. In the Bible, the name Lily means “God is abundance.” Lilies are also a symbol of “100 years of love” in the Chinese culture, and in Greek mythology lilies symbolize “love and motherhood.” Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Just like she is. And our family is complete again. Four humans, six chickens, and TWO fur-babies (Penny and Lily) to love. I know our sweet Ruby is looking down on us, her family, wagging her tail and jumping excitedly in approval. She would have loved Lily. And somehow, I think she might’ve had a hand…or a paw…in helping us find her. And so joy arrived in a tiny package when our Lily trotted into our lives…just in time to bring healing and happiness when we needed it most. I truly believe God puts animals in our lives to give us the example of the tangible, unconditional love we need.

May your day bring you pure sweetness and joy today. And puppy kisses. Lots of puppy kisses.

**If you would like to find out more about the rescue agency we used, or make a donation to help other animals in need, please visit their website at www.HomeFurGood.org. (I am not affiliated with this organization, nor do I receive compensation for any referrals, I just love them!)