In 1996 I lost my beloved Shepherd mix dog, Heidi, to a brain stem tumor. It had been a very rough six-month ordeal that left a big hole in my heart. A few weeks passed and I noticed my Miniature Schnauzer was becoming increasingly depressed without a companion, so I decided to start looking for another dog that might, hopefully, help us all to begin healing.

We were living in North Central Texas at the time, so I decided to call Metroport Humane Society, an organization that places dogs in foster homes until a permanent home can be found. They asked questions such as what type of dog I was looking for, whether I wanted a male of female, did I have a fenced yard and various other questions to try to fit our family with the perfect dog. I told them I was looking for a female Shepherd. They offered to bring a dog named Lady out to the house, as was their custom, in order to see if the dog felt comfortable there. Then they said something that surprised me. They “warned” me that Lady was not a very pretty Shepherd. Looks are not what was important to me, so I urged them to bring her. I remember my utter surprise when Lady got out of the Suburban. Instead of being the usual Shepherd black and tan, she was black and silver and although she was quite thin, she was BEAUTIFUL.

Lady came into our house and we let her wander around while the Susie Turner from Metroport and I talked. After several minutes Susie revealed to me that they had been trying to place Lady for about 6 months, but that she just hadn’t been comfortable with anyone. She was very timid and cautious and was slow to trust people. It was estimated that Lady was about 2 years old. Metroport had found her dumped at the side of the road with 9 puppies. They had been able to place the puppies in homes, but Lady would not warm up to any of the families they introduced her to. She seemed to have an especially deep seated fear of men because she would not allow my husband to come anywhere near her. Before leaving Susie admitted that she hadn’t seen Lady this at ease with anyone, but instead of leaving her with us at that point, she wanted us to think it over and call her if we decided to adopt Lady.

The next morning I couldn’t call Susie fast enough. We had decided that Lady belonged with us. Full of excitement, I drove to Susie’s house to pick Lady up. Susie had several other rescues in her care and Lady seemed lost in the crowd. Susie told me that she hadn’t been able to put any weight on Lady. That was understandable since she was a nervous dog to begin with and the fact that Susie was fostering seven other dogs didn’t help either.
Lady settled into our family nicely. She and our Miniature Schnauzer got along well together. She began to put on a little bit of weight, although she would never “fat and sassy”. She was too nervous for that.

I think we all tend to think of our past dogs when we adopt a new one. During one of my trips down memory lane I realized that Heidi had been diagnosed with the brain stem tumor just about the time Lady was rescued. Six months after the diagnosis I had to reach the difficult decision to put Heidi down. It took six months for Metroport to find a home for Lady. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I believe wholeheartedly that God had planned for us to come together.

I am writing this on what is the first anniversary of Ladybug’s passing. Ladybug came to us in November 1996, we moved to New Mexico on June 15, 2003 and she was with us until June 17, 2005. We were blessed to have her for nine years. I’m so thankful God saw the need to bring us both together so long ago.