I celebrate my beautiful dogs every single day but today is a little different. Unintentionally, today is both Lylee and Enzo’s “Gotcha Day.” We brought Ly home December 7th, 2012 and adopted Enzo on the same day (unknowingly) in 2013. That’s not coincidence, folks. That’s fate.
Lylee & Enzo are rescue dogs and mutts (which just happen to be my two favorite kinds of dogs). They’re quirky and fun and full of personality. They cuddle and tussle and bark and “talk” and demand food and have favorite toys and treats. With the exception of marrying one another, Lylee and Enzo are the two best decisions K and I have ever made.
I’ve told the story before, but Lylee came to us from friends (who adopted her from a shelter). They were at a tough point in life where they couldn’t keep her and I was JUST finishing up college. K and I made the decision together because we were planning to get married in April the following year and we knew Ly would be our dog, even though I was currently living with my parents.
Things were rough at first. Lylee had been moved around a lot in the month leading up to December and she was already an anxious dog. She was a year and a half old when K and I traveled an hour north in the rain to collect her and her things/dog house from her former owners. Lylee fell asleep 10 minutes into the drive and I fell in love with her right around the same time.
After we’d been married for 7 months and in our house for over 2 I started sending K PetFinder profiles. Lylee was starting to get more anxious and dog aggressive so we decided that a sibling might be good for reversing this behavior. We knew we needed a male who wanted nothing to do with “alpha” status. We set out looking for a little guy that resembled Lylee or a tough boxer/pit puppy. But then we met Enzo.
When we walked into the rescue Enzo (then named “Stripe”) and his brother Tanner greeted us. I liked Tanner best, but K was in love with little Stripe/Enzo. We visited with the pups but left to attend another adoption event a few towns over. We couldn’t stop thinking about Enzo so after cuddling a few more puppies we headed back to Paws and Prayers and signed the papers for Enz, officially making him ours. (Tanner/Zedd was also adopted that day by another couple.)
After settling on a name (which started out as “Nitro” but soon changed to the Ferrari model), I spent the rest of the car ride praying that Lylee would accept Enzo. Going into the process we decided that if Lylee was unhappy we would take him back. When we got home K brought her out to the driveway and we set Enz down for her to investigate. He stood very still while she gave him a few sniffs. It took 15 seconds for her to accept him.
And today I am so grateful for the love and life these two bring into our home. I love watching them learn and interact and play. Someday they will be incredible companions for our future kids. Right now they are our kids and I couldn’t love two little fluff balls more. Happy Gotcha Day, babies!
-Mom
*If you have the opportunity/means/desire to adopt a rescue dog please do. You will change their life. Dogs are intelligent, complex, emotion animals and they deserve so much love- please don’t hesitate to welcome one into your family. If you have any questions about dog/pet ownership or adoption please ask me!
Life as Louise 
Ahh, the sweetest!
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Thanks, Chelsea 🙂 They are awesome dogs!
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They are precious. I love our sweet mutt and even though we didn’t adopt from a shelter his mom had been abandoned while pregnant and we found him through friends. I have never really been a dog person but he has my heart completely.
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You most definitely rescued him!! How luck he is to be loved by you (and you by him)!! I’m a firm believe in *clicking* with your dog(s)! I’m so glad he’s converted you a little into a dog lover!
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They are so cute!! I love them so much. I can’t imagine life without a dog – we’ve had dogs since I was born. Nothing makes me happier than Hawkeye!
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Thanks, Stephanie! My family has always had dogs, too. My brother is getting married this summer and he and his fiancee talk more about how many dogs they want than they do kids 😉 Hawkeye is the cutest!! How could you not love that little fluffy teddy bear???
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I love that you celebrate “Gotcha Day” with your pups! We’re planning to do that with Gatsby this year, too!!
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Yesssss! Do it! We celebrate birthdays, too, but only because we know when they are. If we didn’t we’d only celebrate “Gotcha Day”, lol. (More celebrations, more treats!! Ha!)
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awwww i love this! i like the “gotcha day” terminology too. what sweet pups that add so much to your life (and you to theirs)!
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Thanks, Chelsea! (I’m so glad you’re back to +0 degree civilization!) They certainly add to our lives… messes, expenses, 2am potty breaks 😉 But also love and kisses and snuggles. Haha!
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I absolutely loved reading your Gotcha Day story on your two sweet, precious pups!!! It is so special to be able to adopt dogs. I volunteer for our local shelter and every time a cat or dog is adopted, it just warms my heart!
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Thanks, Nadine! I think it’s SO awesome that you volunteer at your local shelter! I used to spend time at the county humane society when I was in college but I haven’t been to volunteer here in a while. (Maybe that’s something I can change in 2016!) Those dogs and cats are so lucky to have you!
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This whole thing makes me happy… I love dogs – I love rescuing dogs!
We are wanting another puppy so badly – our house feels empty with just 3 dogs 🙂 haha
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Dogs are the absolute best 😀 I’d really, really like to open a shelter/sanctuary some day. You guys should totally add a puppy! (I wish my husband felt that way! Haha!)
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Super sweet and they’re beautiful!!
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Thank you so much, Elena!
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Love this! How cool that they have the same Gotcha Day! We adopted Pip from our local shelter in August of 2013 and my husband recently informed me that we can adopt another one in January after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season dies down. I’ve been begging him for at least a year! Yay!!!
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Ahh!! That’s so exciting!!!! Pip is going to LOVE a new brother or sister!!! Yay!!
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Rescues/mutts are my favorite too! Happy (super late) gotcha day to you and the pups!
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Thanks, Mattie! (I came to the conclusion when I was really little that rescue dogs are the best because they know that you “saved” them and, in return, their love is magnified toward you!)
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