Category: Happily Ever After Stories

Once upon a time, Nancy Slade had a fondness for a particular breed of dog, leading her friends to alert her whenever there was one up for adoption in the area.

“I’ve always had a fondness for Chihuahuas, even though I’ve never had one,” Slade says. “A lot of my friends know I like them, and whenever they see one up for adoption, they post [the photos] on my Facebook wall.”

A friend of Slade’s who fosters for different rescue organizations posted a photo on her wall of a Chihuahua named Romeo from 4 Paws 4 Rescue. At the time, the Slades had a couple of other older dogs, but “this little face just stuck.”

“I showed him to my husband and said, ‘If you had a dog like this, what would you name him?’ He looked at the photo and said, ‘That looks like a Nigel to me,’” Slade says.

Nigel had a name before the Slades even contacted the rescue organization. When she called about him, his foster mom said the pup had been found in Nashville as a stray and was recovering from canine parvovirus, a highly contagious virus that can be life-threatening. She brought him to the Slade house, where the plan was to tell Slade’s children Nigel was a foster. But they all loved him from the moment they met him and knew they’d never be able to part with him.

Slade calls Nigel a “very happy guy” who loves to snuggle and burrow under blankets, where he’ll sleep all the way under the covers.

“He’s kind of like a cat,” Slade says. “He’ll sit on the sofa and look out the window.”

Though he’s a smaller dog, Slade says Nigel’s not very vocal unless there’s a squirrel.

“He hates them,” she says. “You can’t even say the word ‘squirrel’ without him freaking out.”

Despite his distaste for squirrels, Nigel is fearless – with one exception. Slade says the only time she saw him afraid was an incident where he got out of the yard. He didn’t go far, and the Slades went on foot to retrieve him since they knew where he’d be. At the top of the street, they saw him running toward them.

“There was a huge hawk flying above him chasing him,” Slade says. “He was running toward us like, ‘Save me!’”

Other than the hawk incident, the 5-year-old pup has an adventurous spirit.

“He’s been on lots of trips and loves to go boating,” she says. “He’ll stand on the chair in front so he can catch the wind and waves. He’s pretty fearless for a little guy. He rules the roost.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.

Once upon a time, Sky, a beautiful border collie, refused to eat. She wouldn’t relieve herself outside, stand up or play like a one-year-old pup should. She was depressed.

Tammy Gottschalk had been volunteering for the Animal Protective Association of Missouri (APA) for years. She often fostered animals, but usually took home kittens. One day, in an APA foster Facebook group, Gottschalk saw Sky.

“It sounded like she was shutting down,” Gottschalk says.

She stopped by on a Friday in January 2016 and inquired about the border collie she’d seen online. The dog was still at the APA, and desperately needed more attention than the rescue group was able to give her.

“The staff does so much great work, but they really needed [foster parents] for this one,” she says.

So Gottschalk took Sky home. She tried to get the sad pup to eat “basically everything in the fridge,” but Sky wouldn’t eat. Finally, Gottschalk scrambled some eggs for Sky. The dog ate a few tiny bites, and that was the beginning of her recovery.

“Days went by, and I could get her to eat the tiniest bite of chicken or a little bit of cheese,” Gottschalk says. “On day four, I came into the living room, and she was standing up and wagging in her kennel.”

After that, Sky continued to improve. Two months into the fostering process, Gottschalk knew she wouldn’t be able to part with Sky and decided to adopt her officially. In the nearly two years Gottschalk has had Sky, the pup has completely come out of her shell.

“We take her on long walks,” Gottschalk says. “Even after five, 10 miles, she still has energy. I’ve tried taking her along when I bike or skate, and she still has loads of energy.”

Sky expends her energy going on long walks, playing Frisbee and romping with her golden retriever sibling and the neighbor dogs. She’s been swimming, paddleboarding and canoeing. Gottschalk taught her how to go down the slide at the park and has also been trying to teach her to smile.

“When you put the time and energy into pets, it all comes back to you,” Gottschalk says. “We are just so in love with her. She’s come a long way.”

This story was originally published at laduenews.com. Read it on LN’s website here.