My whole life has been a revolving door for dogs.  Some come in while others are getting ready to leave, or they come in after one has gone.

I have done the fostering thing, I have found homes for several that I have rescued, some good results, some tragic.  The only thing for sure that I know is that no two dogs have ever been the same.  They have all taught me something, and have all left with a piece of my heart.

My Sammy is the one of a couple that is my "heart dog".  I have loved them all, and felt grateful for the friendship and the pack.  I do know that every dog is a different journey, and I will always be willing to take that journey if that is what life has in store for me. 

My husband wants to wait a few years after our pack is gone before adopting another dog.  He wants to travel.  I have always told him that a home isn't a home without a dog, so that will be something we will have to agree on whenever that day arrives.

I just know that I count myself to be very fortunate to have been loved by the dogs that have been in my life. All of them have left footprints on my heart.

I wonder when I come to the end of my life what will I see on the other side?  Will it be a pack of furry faces that I have loved and thought about throughout the years, will they be there to greet me?  How lucky will I be, a huge happy tail wagging greeting, joyus barking, me crying because I am so happy to see them all again.

Oh yes, I am always 100% into adopting.  Right now I am learning patience from my sheppard mix, she is slowly entering dementia, or some sort of doggie alzheimers.  Sammy has taught me many things.  Why did it take two years to teach him not to chew on stuff and tear it up?  He has taught me that I will literally give everything I have to try and save his life.  Titan, he has taught me that big dogs won't kill me.  It is kind of an amazing respect I have for him.

If a dog is willing to be in my pack, I am willing to open the door!

Elizabeth and Sammy

I was not a dog person.  Did not have them growing up, did not like the slobber or the dog hair of the piles that are deposited in the back yard.  My husband thought all children should have a dog and we had three boys, therefore in his mind we needed a dog.  We went to a breeder and got the dog of my husband's dreams, a black lab who we named Tristan.  Although overwhelmed at first, Tristan became a very big part of my heart and I could not imagine life without him.  But when Tristan was ten he died and we grieved deeply.  Truthfully, I do't think we would have even gotten another dog but my sister's in-laws were going to Romania for three months and planned on leaving their yellow lab, Charlie, in the back yard the entire time with only the neighbor coming over to feed him.  So Charlie came and lived with us and won my heart immediately and I cried so much when he left that we got a new dog, Bentley, a chocolate lab to console me.  Life was complete again

...but, when Bentley was about nine months old we went to church a one dog family and came back a two dog family.  We went to church in the country and someone had dumped this cute little (I didn't look at the paws) dog off to fend for herself.  It was cold and rainy and she was trying to stay dry under a gas meter.  In about 15 minutes I went from absolutely not, she wasn't coming home with us, to just for the night until the animal shelter opened, to her name is not Freddie Prince Jr. her name is Emily Grace.  (I can't help it, I have an underdeveloped backbone, I guess)  Life was complete

...but then four years later my son's girlfriend asked if she could get him a puppy for Christmas.  We went to look at miniature pinchers and Marley entered our lives.  Now technically he is a grand puppy but he lives with us so you know how that goes...a Mom by another name...

I am so grateful to have brought Marley into our family.  Bentley and Emily were insepertable and I don't think Bentley would have survived losing Emily if the little guy wasn't with us

I am ready to add a third dog.  My husband is not.  Ironic, isn't it?

Even though my post is long I wanted to add the thoughts that comforted me when we lost Emily.  A Dog's Heart.

"It came to me that every time  I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them,  And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart.   If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." Author unknown

Hello!  I'll post because I WANT A DOG SO BADLY but can't have one right now.  My sister and I got Jack when we used to live together.  It was shortly after our grandma died and I had just graduated college, so with a little extra money in our pockets (thanks g-ma!) and some free-time, we decided to spend it with a dog.  I am a dog person, if ever there was a dog person.  I was born into a family with a cocker and a cockapoo (yes, they had "designer breeds" back in 1981) and when they passed away at ages 16 and 17, we got another cocker spaniel.  I was in 6th grade and he was technically my dog.  His name was Nicholas and he was adorable.  Cocker ear problems got the best of him and he turned invisible after his ear tumors kept coming back faster than he could heal from his surgeries to remove the last ones.  He died when I was away at college, and I got Jack the same year.  So, technically, I have never been without a dog.  After Jack's diagnosis and treatments, I moved back in with my parents while I went to school.  So even though I don't have my own dog now, I get to use theirs (a 7 lb havanese).  She's totally not like any dog I would get for myself - she's tiny, she's tiny, and she's small.  And she doesn't like to snuggle.  However, she loves to play, is SO excited when you come home, and at bed time she sleeps right next to my head on her very own blankie.  She fills the dog need for me, but it's not quite the same as picking out and making decisions for your own.  Since I knew how I was, I began researching dogs shortly after moving back to WA, about 4 months after Jack's diagnosis.  After months of thinking I found the perfect dog for me then changing my mind, I have finally come to the conclusion that the perfect dog, for me is...a Mexican Hairless.  A big one, not a small one.  Here's why: you have to dress them up - they will get cold and need to wear sweaters and coats to keep them warm.  They need sun protection so they will always smell like tropical sunscreen.  They won't get fleas.  They like to snuggle and are very warm to touch (I'm a very tactile person). And they are unique.  Having a tripawd made me realize that I actually like the attention a "weird" dog brings and I can broaden people's horizons as to the benefits of a type of dog they may not have considered.  Since I am between dogs right now, my friend and I will often go to the dog park to stalk and play with other people's dogs.  On one such excursion, I actually met a mexican hairless.  He ran over to me and jumped in my lap and gave me kisses.  And he was soft and smelled like coconuts.  I am absolutely certain that I want this dog more than anything.  Hopefully in a couple months or at the beginning of summer I will have a full-time job and be able to take care of a dog of my own.  I've already contacted hairless dog rescues to find out how they work, and I have been buying dog supplies when I find them on sale so that when the time comes, I am READY!!!  I understand when people need time to move on from their last dog, but I am the complete opposite - I always want my own dog in my life...I love taking care of them and showing them how to behave and how to be nice to others and I thrive on watching them learn new things and teach me things about myself that I never even knew (like, hello!  I am strong enough to handle the process of cancer!  who knew!!!?).  I love Jack.  I will ALWAYS love Jack.  But without him and without our experience, I wouldn't be where I am today.  I can't wait until I get my new dog, and I can't wait to tell that new dog all about his awesome invisible brother 🙂

<3 Laura and Invisible Jackers

I found my best friend Zoe in a shelter when she was about 8
months old. She was a Blue Heeler mix and we were inseparable!!! That is until
she died of kidney failure 11-26-2008 at the age of almost 12. Part of me died with her. I didn’t think
I would ever be able to get over her. My sister used to tell me that when Zoe
died they were going to have to bury me with her!!

In the first few months after losing her, I thought of her
everyday many, many times a day. I remember when the day came that I realized a
day had gone by and I hadn’t even thought of her!!!! I felt guilty at first. As
if that meant I didn’t love and miss her. But it didn’t mean that. I know that
now. It just meant that life was going on, and all though she is and will
always be a part of me and will live on in my memories; it’s ok to not always
drag out her memory to mourn over! It’s ok, to be able to think of her and
laugh and simply enjoy the memories of all of the great times we had together and NOT be sad.
No longer mourning her loss didn’t mean I didn’t love her just as much as ever. She lived a fun filled life and slid over the bridge with no regrets!

 I also at this time had
Kody an Aussie Shep/Golden Ret mix to help me through. So I didn’t have an empty
house syndrome to deal with. But Kody was 13 already and was beginning to slow
down. Her and I spent the next 2 years together as she went deaf and her
eyesight weakened. She also had 3 strokes in the course of her last year. I loved
her dearly. But the end was nearing and I could feel it. So at just over 15
years old, and 2 years and 3 days after saying goodbye to Zoe, I said goodbye
to Kody. Thanksgiving weekend 2010. I was as prepared as you can ever be for
the passing of your child.

I rescued Maddie Mae 6 days later. I realized that
withholding all my love and compassion from another furry soul in need, just so I could continue mourning over her, would NOT be honoring Kody, or Zoe’s memory either!
I have love to give. I have a home and lots of hugs and kisses to share. What
good am I doing anyone if I don’t give what I have away? That was my thinking. I
could be miserable if I chose to be, but I choose to live and to give another
furrbaby a shot at the good life!!!!

So Maddie Mae is Momma’s new BEST GIRL EVER!!!! ….( I tell
them all that) 

I am just seeing Cooper's Dad's response to this. (I didn't read other's responses before posting mine yesterday and I'm just getting to it today)

I have a similar calling  to the broken dogs.......

Mine have always since becoming an adult on my own, been rescues.

It's like I can see these perfectly beautiful dogs, and then see this broken needy one, and that's the one I have to take home!

Which is why Maddie came to live with me. HW positive, neglected by her owners with a horribly broken leg. Yep, that's the one for me!!!

As a result of her neglect and as a young dog not really getting lots of love and affection from people, she is somewhat aloof. Certainly aloof for a Heeler. They are generally velcro dogs. So in a way, I was slightly disappointed in her not being as bonded to me as my previous Heeler Zoe. I was comparing her to Zoe....at 1st! I have since realized that she is great in her own way. So she's not up my butt 24/7, that's ok. I know she loves me completely. She just has a different way of showing it. She is still affectionate, but she limits it, and likes to sleep in her own bed in another room. Which is different than any other dog I've ever had. Perhap's my snoring (that my family tells me I do, all though I'm not convinced 🙂 is running her out of the room... She starts out in the room with me, but doesn't stay long.

I believe before too long I will rescue another needy soul from a shelter. Maddie needs a playmate, and I need a lap warmer 

I want to thank everyone for sharing all of these great stories and your hearts. 

ok, they stick to you like glue!!! 

I actually used to call Zoe, My Shadow! You never had to wonder where she was. 

If I was fishing, she was fishing too.....

This was her resting. The rest of the time she was swimming circles around me 

Amazingly, we were still catching trout! This dog is and will always be that once in a lifetime dog!