Sundance's Happy EndingWe brought Sundance (AKA-Sunny) home on July 19, 2015 to join his sister Holly (formerly Pooky, another CSAC alum who we adopted on December 23, 2012), and he has been a wonderful addition to our family.
Our journey to Sunny began when we lost our much loved cocker spaniel (Grace) after a wonderful 15 years. Sometimes its hard to know when it’s the right time to bring another dog into your life after losing one that was so special, so it was important that we find the right fit for our family, including big sister Holly and our 21 year old kitty Monday. I originally emailed CSAC about a different dog—Shadow—who was a puppy mill rescue. When the CSAC volunteer called me back to talk about adopting Shadow (so happy to see that she was adopted recently!), she skillfully asked me questions about what we wanted in a new addition and how they would best fit into our family. And then she suggested that Sunny might be a better fit, and he was available immediately. And when she told us his story, we were hooked almost immediately.
Sunny’s journey to us began on May 2, 2015 when he was brought to a shelter in North Carolina as un-neutered stray, so matted that he had to be shaved. Here, he was labeled a cocker mix (despite the docked tail!) and marked with the label “Bites!” and “Aggressive with Males.” Seriously. These were stickers in his paperwork from the original shelter. He also tested positive for heartworm. Needless to say, things did not look good for “Louie” as he was named at the shelter.
I’m not sure what chain of events happened next, but a very nice person named Janni Cone (I only have her name from the paperwork, but we owe her our eternal gratitude!) picked him up from the shelter on behalf of CSAC and transported him to a vet where he was treated for heartworm and boarded until a foster family could be found. And somehow that perfect foster family (Kathy Carl) was located just about an hour and a half away from us. Kathy and her husband did a wonderful job caring for Sunny and testing his temperament and were able to give us great advice on how to ensure a smooth transition. And as soon as we met him, we fell in love. He is the perfect dog for us!
Was he nervous at first? Of course. Did he act tentative around us? Absolutely. Was he afraid of our cat for the 1st week? Petrified. Were we a little nervous the first time we left him alone? You bet. But you know what? It made every “first” success even sweeter: the first time he jumped up on the couch to cuddle, the first time he rolled over for a belly rub, the first time he and his sister Holly chased birds together in the yard, and especially the first time he crawled into bed and laid his head on my shoulder and sighed the contented sigh of a dog who knows when he is home. Who knows what he experienced in his first home, on the streets and in a scary shelter? But he was so trusting of us and within a few days, he knew he was home.
There are too many wonderful moments to pick just a few—he is adorable, photogenic, unintentionally funny, crazy smart, obsessed with squeaker toys, loves belly and ear rubs, sleeps with his head on the pillow like a person, figured out how to let himself out of the back door (no doggie door needed!), is fascinated with everything during neighborhood walks, likes to crawl and dig under the deck, is a great car traveler, and if butt-wiggling is a sign, he absolutely loves his new home as much as we love him.
I can’t say enough good things about the volunteers at CSAC. So many concerned dog lovers had a hand in bringing Sunny to us-- it’s like all of the planets aligned to make sure that this dog was ours.
Sincerely,
Tricia Fonzi and Scott Simonds
