Turning Point

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by Annvi in Barkin' Doggie Bloggie, Rocky

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Who would have known this is what I would be doing? Ha. If you knew me just two years ago, you would have laughed at the idea of me becoming a dog obsessed advocate for rescue dogs. I didn’t grow up with dogs and I definitely did not understand why people humanized their pets. I mean, c’mon, they are just animals.

This all changed when I received an email at work about rescue dogs that needed to be adopted. My then boyfriend (and now, husband), who grew up with dogs, always wanted a yellow lab. I always said, we are NEVER getting a dog. Eew, gross, dog hair everywhere…No thanks. In this email, there was Sunny, a very sad looking yellow lab. I forwarded the email with a jokingly, “hey, tubbs, let’s get Sunny!” He responded with a “YES! Let’s go get him!” O no, I remember thinking. No No No. A dog, what have I gotten myself into?! I was just joking…

We picked up Sunny that weekend. And let me just tell you, I must have been the most awkward person you would have ever seen with a dog. I did not know how to walk it (I was calling the dog an it back then), pet it, or play with it. I remember Sunny’s foster mom was very reluctant to hand over Sunny to us. Tobiah convinced her that he would teach me how to handle him. And I was absolutely terrified of its mouth. I refused to give it anything from my hand.

We decided to name it “Rocky” (I know, not very original, Rocky is one of the most common dog names.) because when we got him, he had been abused by his previous owner and he had a huge scar on his nose. I love all the Sylvester Stallone Rocky movies. We thought Rocky was very suitable for a dog who had faced adversity and came out on top!

Fast forward a few months. I became obsessed with Rocky Roo. Rocky came with me EVERYWHERE. I found dog friendly restaurants and parks. We took him on vacations. We drove 13 hours to Georgia rather than flying to see my parents because I couldn’t bear to leave him in Houston in a kennel. I even took him with me to San Antonio when I had to work there for a summer. The thought of losing Rocky literally did and still does brings tears to my eyes.

And then came puppy mills, shelters, and rescue groups. We felt overwhelmed with frustration and guilt the more we learned about what was going on in the dog world. How had we not known about all these places? There were so many dogs, beautiful creatures that needed homes. So many that needed to be rescued.

Tobiah and I started to brainstorm. What next? I had been considering a career move… did I want to stay in tax law?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I actually really liked tax law, but it definitely did not get me up in the morning. I went to law school because I wanted to be an advocate for something. Until now, I did not know what I wanted to advocate for.  Plus, Tobiah always wanted to own his own business. Now seemed like the right time to start brainstorming.

Tobiah told me about Tom’s Shoes , for every pair of shoes Tom sells, he donates a pair. And then we thought, dog biscuits! And let’s donate! We thought this idea could bring more awareness to rescue groups, shelters, and foster homes so that maybe more people would adopt rather than buy dogs. Like, did you know that about 25% of shelter dogs are purebreds? (In case, you think you can’t find a specific breed of dog.  I am more than certain you can whether it is at a shelter, breed specific rescue group, foster, etc. You can always find an opportunity to save a life!)

And so, an idea was born and an adventure has begun!

Cheers and Happy Barkin’!

Annvi and Tobiah