July 2014

The Story of Eva Peron

The first Lucky Pup of the Month is my own Eva Peron.  My husband, Regi really wanted a dog.  I am a dog lover but we have three kids ages 18, 14, and 1 and we both work so I was hesitant at first.  At the time, our little one, Ryan, was just barely 1 year old and I just couldn't take on more responsibilities.  But when I saw how much Ryan loved the dogs at his babysitter's house, I couldn't resist.  I wanted a golden retriever but since I already have two cats (that are all mine!), my husband asked if he could choose the type of dog.  He grew up with a black german shepherd in Brazil and said it was the best dog and he wanted another dog like that.  So I looked at thousands of dogs through rescues, shelters, and even breeders.  I have always believed in adoption, there are so many great dogs out there in need of good homes.  I have adopted several pets in my life and have loved every one.  But since we were looking for a specific breed, we did look at breeders.  German shepherds are hard to find!  And some breeders wanted outrageous amounts for them!  Since we were not planning to breed our dog, we just couldn't justify spending so much so we kept on the search.  I was looking one day on Craigslist and came across a listing for a black german shepherd, 9 months old, a little hyper, with a $50 rehoming fee.  The listing was out of Newbern, NC, which is about 3 hours away.  I called the person who told me that his wife worked in a vet's office and someone had surrendered her who couldn't take care of her.  Apparently, the husband was in the military and was due to come home and told the wife to get rid of the dog or else.  The man texted me a dingy picture of a black dog laying in the dirt.  I called my husband and told him about the dog I had found and he said he didn't want a dog that wasn't a little hyper and she sounded good to him.  We jumped in the car after work that very same day with our baby and my then 13 year old son, Justin, and headed to Newbern, NC.  The longer I drove, the crazier I felt.  What if we drove all that way to get her and the dog was terrible!  What if she was aggressive or had health problems.  What if we were heading to a bad part of town only to get robbed from these people luring us in with the promise of a dog that didn't even exist?  You never know what you are going to get from Craigslist!  But we drove on and when we got there, Eva was waiting on the front porch of a beautiful old house with the girl who had saved her.   Although the girl said she had put about 15 pounds on her, she was still very thin.  You could tell right away she was very friendly.  She jumped in the back of our car and back home we went.  She was good on the ride home and she has been soooooooo good ever since.  I don't know what led us to jump in the car and drive all that way for her that day, but I'm so thankful we did.  Eva is so good with Ryan, she listens really well, never messes up the house, and is very protective of us.  We are working on her with our cats (she likes to chase!) and we are working on her with other dogs she doesn't know.  But all in all, she is a wonderful dog and we feel very lucky to have her.  She may have had a rough start to her life, but she is living the life of a queen now!!!!  She is a lucky pup!