I'd like you all to meet our new baby!
We adopted her from the Wichita Falls Humane Society on April 23, 2013. That also happened to be the two year anniversary of the passing of my step-dad, J. Malcolm Hefley. As a nod to him, we named her Jaye.
We were actually looking at a couple other dogs at the shelter that day. Jaye was in an end kennel and when we started to walk away, she started 'screaming' at us to come back. That's the only way I can describe the noises that dog was making! We decided to give her a look. We took her out into the play area and we knew immediately that this was the girl for us! As soon as I looked at Danny and said 'this is the one' she leaped into my arms! We were hooked!
This is a picture of her and Danny in the office of the humane society. We were waiting on the paperwork to get filed. She wanted to make sure we were not going to go home without her!
I'd like to address something that some folks have voiced out loud and I'm sure many of you are thinking. "Why did you adopt a dog when you just gave two away?"
We don't owe ANYONE an explanation but I'm willing to give you one anyway.
We have been planning on me going on the road with Danny for quite some time now.
The biggest obstacle to making that happen was, first and foremost, me resigning my position at Chickasha Chiropractic Clinic. The second was what to do with our three dogs. My 13 year old rat terrier, Tai, was supposed to come along with us in the camper because she is small. Very unexpectedly, she died in November.
At that point, we were left with Val and Shilo. Val weighs almost 100 lbs. and Shilo weighs around 60 lbs. That's a lot of dog folks! In the three years these girls have lived with us in Chickasha, they have become very, very close. I took Val to the vet one day and left Shilo at home. She cried and cried at the fence when we left! They prefer to be together and we knew that. We happened to luck into a very fortunate situation where the girls could go to a very loving home on 300 plus acres with a lady who loves her dogs very much!
We had decided that if we could not find excellent homes for Val and Shilo we would take them with us. I feel so blessed that we were able to find such a great place for them to go TOGETHER! After living in this camper for six weeks now I know we made the right decision. Every time you go outside, you have to put your dog on a leash. Some people around here let theirs run loose but not us. I don't want to run the risk of her getting hit by a car or attacked by another dog. Val and Shilo are big dogs who need to run in big spaces! I really don't think they would have cared for being stuck inside a 37' camper most of the time. It's just not a good situation for dogs of that size.
Judith and her family keep us updated on the girls! They are doing great and loving their new home and their playmates Smokey and Sammie! They get to come inside the house a lot and I'm sure they love that! They very rarely came into our house. We would let them into the laundry room during severe weather but that was about it.
Now tell me these two aren't happy TOGETHER in their new home on the range!
People can think what they want, but I know we made the best decision for VAL and SHILO! Their well-being was our top priority.
Now that the nay-sayers have been addressed, back to Jaye ;-)
She is just the sweetest dog ever! She adores Danny and I and does not like to be separated from us. We got her a wire kennel and she sleeps in it every night like a champ! She makes me laugh every day and I'm so happy to have the company while Danny is working. She most definitely picked us out and she is so happy to be ours!
We can't wait for you all to meet her!
Until then, I think we'll go take a nap. :)
Cheers!
