Welcome to Gratitude Gems, where I show a little appreciation for the good things in my life!

I am so happy to have puppy love in my life… just look at that sweet face!

When we decided to adopt a puppy from a rescue organization, we knew we were taking a bit of a risk; a dog coming from a rescue situation usually implies the existence of a disturbed background which might take extra work for everyone involved to overcome.  And hearing that Harlowe’s background consisted of coming from a wild and/or feral situation outside of the city did give us reason to pause.  But she was just a 6-month-old puppy, and she was so cute, so we had to go meet her.

We got to spend quite a bit of time at the foster home with Harlowe, much more than I ever expected we would.  This was beneficial for obvious reasons, as she was quite nervous around us at first, but by the end was more comfortable as we’d given her treats and taken her for a little walk.  And it gave us enough time to see glimpses of her personality: her absolute trust of her foster family whom she’d only lived with for less than a week at that point, and her playful and inquisitive nature as she played with their other dogs.  We decided then and there that she was the pup for us.

One of the best things Tavis and I did this year was adopt Harlowe.  She has turned out to be a great fit for us.  She is the playful and energetic puppy willing to go anywhere and do anything, but she’s also the best little cuddler who loves attention and affection of any kind.

She’s super smart and has taken very quickly to our commands and cues, so much so that she knows exactly how to be a brat when she wants extra attention.  She’s also the perfect companion animal – she’s happy to laze around when we’re vegging out, but she’s also one to coax us off the couch when she’s feeling particularly rambunctious.  Her sweet personality has us wrapped around her paw.

We’re so lucky that we ended up with such a perfect addition to our family, and we can’t imagine our lives without her now.

S