{"id":1357,"date":"2018-10-27T21:27:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-27T21:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=1357"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:26:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T16:26:45","slug":"an-abandoned-puppys-forever-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2018\/10\/27\/an-abandoned-puppys-forever-home\/","title":{"rendered":"An Abandoned Puppy’s Forever Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"During October, we observe \u201cAdopt a Shelter Dog Month\u201d sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals<\/a>. Like many folks, I have my own tale of a canine creature longing to be loved.<\/p>\n

My story begins more than a decade ago. The alarm clock read exactly 11:52 p.m. when\u00a0the\u00a0automobile’s headlights shone through my bedroom window, instantly waking me from sleep. Before dozing off, I had prayed a childlike prayer simply asking for “help.”\u00a0My need for divine assistance that fall was created by the homesickness relocating can produce. My school administrator husband and I had just rented an old, rural farmhouse in a new school district. Moving can be\u00a0an\u00a0exciting adventure; but meeting new people, and packing and unpacking countless boxes can leave one anxious and tired. Missing family and friends left behind is even more heartrending.<\/p>\n

I soon discovered the lonely nights in\u00a0the\u00a0country can be eerily silent. That\u2019s why, after being awakened, my mind became suddenly alert at\u00a0the\u00a0sound\u00a0of\u00a0stones grinding beneath unfamiliar tires. Creeping from my bed, I crouched under\u00a0the\u00a0windowsill to look out at\u00a0the\u00a0stranger’s car. Mysteriously,\u00a0the\u00a0driver turned\u00a0the\u00a0aging sedan’s headlights off, and then quickly backed out onto the\u00a0road again. My husband slept through it all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWoof, woof, woof!\u201d It was not until about 7 a.m., when we both heard barking. The car\u2019s owner had dropped off an adorable, but mangy poodle, who\u00a0was hiding on our front porch. I tried to comfort\u00a0the neglected-looking\u00a0pup, but his body shook spasmodically as he cowered beneath our outdoor white wicker sofa.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s okay, little buddy. Nobody\u2019s going to hurt you,\u201d my husband said soothingly. Hearing Larry\u2019s male voice,\u00a0the\u00a0approximately six-month-old canine shook harder and growled threateningly. We instinctively realized he had probably been abused.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Adorable Sammy – a friend’s pet<\/p><\/div>\n

A few hours later, I sat on the farmhouse porch sympathizing with the\u00a0abandoned animal who refused to eat the dog food I had purchased for him. Finally,\u00a0after a lot of coaxing, the\u00a0poodle came out from beneath the couch and greedily devoured his food. By the next morning, he wouldn’t leave my side. Soon, he warmed up to my hubby, too.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, a few days later, our elderly landlords came to our door and said the puppy couldn\u2019t stay. In fairness to this wonderful couple, we had promised we were a family without pets, but that was before\u00a0the\u00a0pintsized poodle showed up.I was heartbroken, but I have to admit I was overwhelmed\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0constant care\u00a0and attention the\u00a0pooch required. Larry and I both worked lots of hours and while we were away, the puppy would chew things up and bark incessantly.<\/p>\n

Later, our landlord\u2019s forty-something son offered his advice, \u201cWhatever you do, don\u2019t name him.\u201d<\/p>\n

My husband and I looked at each other guiltily.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou already have, haven\u2019t you? What\u2019s his name?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlessing,\u201d we chimed in unison.<\/p>\n

The wise middle-aged farmer didn\u2019t speak, but his concerned look did. He knew that a blessing is a God-given present. He also knew his elderly mother was serious, we couldn\u2019t keep our \u201cBlessing.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was devastated, but determined to find my canine charge\u00a0the\u00a0best possible home. Thankfully, I quickly located some caring folks at a nearby county’s Humane Society. They promised to find\u00a0Blessing\u00a0a wonderful home, and allowed me to monitor his progress. That night, I tearfully surrendered Blessing into the\u00a0arms\u00a0of\u00a0a compassionate female employee, understanding it was the right thing to do. A week later, I called\u00a0the\u00a0shelter and found out Blessing\u00a0was immensely enjoying the company of\u00a0the\u00a0other dogs there. The\u00a0following week, I phoned again. This time, a rescue worker excitedly informed me, at that very moment \u201cmy\u201d puppy was being adopted\u00a0by an\u00a0older couple with a good reputation. The husband was disabled and needed companionship. My heart leapt for joy, because Blessing had found his forever home.\"\"<\/p>\n

My husband believes Blessing wouldn\u2019t have been adoptable, if we hadn’t fostered him and helped him to trust again. As for me, Blessing reminded me our prayers for \u201chelp\u201d are always answered, as the puppy\u2019s temporary presence gave me renewed purpose.<\/p>\n

Remember the ASPCA<\/a> estimates that 3.3 million dogs enter a shelter every year. Although, October’s awareness month is coming to a close, like Blessing, each one of this precious animals needs a forever home. Please don’t forget them!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Christina Ryan Claypool is a national Amy award-winning freelance journalist and Inspirational speaker. She has been featured on Joyce Meyer Ministries Enjoying Everyday Life and CBN’s 700 Club. Her website is <\/em>www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/em><\/a>. Her book, “Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel”<\/a> was released fall 2018 and is available at all major online outlets.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During October, we observe \u201cAdopt a Shelter Dog Month\u201d sponsored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Like many folks, I have my own tale of a canine creature longing to be loved. My story begins … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[991,985,990,986,989,96,987,988],"class_list":["post-1357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-adopt-a-shelter-dog-month","tag-american-society-for-the-prevention-of-cruelty-to-animals","tag-aspca","tag-dogs","tag-forever-home","tag-october","tag-pets","tag-puppies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1357"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1366,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1357\/revisions\/1366"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}