A Few Holiday Words From My Sponsoring Human

Pish: Thank you for letting me take the spotlight here for one post.

The holiday season has been a very difficult time for my family in the last decade. My Grandmother died on Christmas Eve 2000. My Father was permanently placed in an assisted living facility specializing in dementia on December 26, 2001, and on December 17, 2006 my Husband was diagnosed with a condition that required immediate surgery to save his life. On December 18, 2007 my Mom suffered a massive stroke that left her paralyzed. By 2009 I had come to dread the holiday season.

Starting in the late fall of 2009 I began having dreams. At first I didn’t realize what I was dreaming about. Each dream played out its own theme built around dogs. But in each dream there was one sentence that stood out.

“Rescue me and I will rescue you.”

The sweet voice in my dreams continued unabated. By early February, 2010, I was searching PetFinder.com obsessively. I took a chance and sent an application to Northwest International Pet Rescue (NWIPR). They had a darling dog, Poncho, available for rescue. Could he be the one? Almost.

Christina reviewed our application and invited us to meet Poncho. But first she wanted us to meet a dog that wasn’t getting very much attention at all and they didn’t know why. She had been brought into rescue a few months earlier when her human family decided that they didn’t want her anymore. I read her profile on their site and agreed to meet her before I met Poncho.

The foster family lived over an hour from our house. My husband and I left work early and worked our way north to meet the little red dog with the huge eyes, funny smile and desperate need of a home of her own.

I knew that the interview was for the foster family, NWIPR and the dog to interview me as much, if not more, than I for me to interview all of them. The meeting went well but I was extremely cautious. It was really hard not to make a commitment that night. I wanted to meet Poncho first. I met Poncho a few days later. Oh, sure, he was a great dog, all right. He was awesome in fact. He wasn’t the one.

Something had shifted inside me. I was daydreaming about the little red dog with the raspy bark. I bought yarn and crocheted a small blanket for her to use while sleeping on the sofa - in girlish colors. I read and re-read her profile on the NWIPR site at least a hundred times.

I was home sick for a couple of days the week after meeting both dogs. I wasn’t up to making any decisions. In my dreams the words calling to me had changed.

“You found me. What are you waiting for?”

I called my husband at work and said the little red dog had to come to our house. He was on board with this but he wanted me to be very sure. I was. We went and got her as soon as we could.

In the next few days I plan to log onto the local pet insurance company, http://www.trupanionpetinsurance.com/, and sign Sasha up for insurance because in my family you just never know what will happen during the holidays!

The love and desire to give to another, to protect, care for and love those less fortunate than you, is what the holiday season is all about. The selfless way this tiny little dog, that we nicknamed "PishPosh", lives her life as my friend and companion, has restored my faith in Christmas once again.

Sasha is an amazing dog with a resilient soul and joyful way of approaching her world. Sasha wakes up happy every single day. I find myself wanting to do the same now. Watching her live in her world has inspired me beyond anything I have ever known. Sasha and I are now on the life-long journey of rescuing each other. We are having a grand time. The holiday season is fun again, thanks to the gift of Sasha’s love!