*Update: My internet was down yesterday, including my email, so I was unable to access the linky which includes all the participants in this blog event. It has now been added to the bottom of this post. Please visit some of the other participants. Thanks!
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When I was first asked to participate in this blog hop I knew immediately what my topic would be. And I’ll bet you can guess. Yep, Shiloh. Rescuing him has been one of the best decisions we could have made. I knew I wanted a Great Pyrenees but I really didn’t want to buy one from a breeder. There are too many unwanted pets needing homes.
We knew we were taking on quite a responsibility in terms of his injury. Quick recap for those who are new to this blog: Shiloh’s leg had been shattered by a bullet and he was found wandering around nearly a week after the injury. A good Samaritan took him to our vet who just happens to be a young woman we’ve known since she was a toddler. She knew I wanted a Pyrenees so she offered him to us. First, though, he required a nearly $2,000 surgery to repair his leg. Fortunately a number of people donated to the cause before we got him so we didn’t have to pay that whole amount. There was a lengthy recovery period but he is completely healed and you’d never know what a rough time he went through.
Shiloh is now a totally integrated part of our family. I never planned to have a house dog and in fact, that was part of the reason I wanted a big dog. However, things don’t always go according to plan and while I can’t really recall how it happened, Shiloh now spends most of his time indoors – usually a short distance from wherever I happen to be. Other than occasionally checking to see if we are really serious about him not getting on the sofa, he is nearly perfectly behaved inside. He loves the cats and they absolutely adore him. He rarely barks although he did demonstrate once that he is protective of me. All in all, we couldn’t be happier with our sweet Shiloh.
If you are in the market for a pet, please consider a rescue animal. There are too many people breeding animals while unwanted pets need homes and I find that irresponsible. Not only will you have saved an animal that might otherwise be destroyed but I think rescued pets often turn out to be the best. It’s like they sense that you’ve saved their lives and they repay your kindness with devotion.
Have you ever had a rescued pet? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
*My internet is down today and so is the email I used for this blog event. I will have to finish the linking process sometime tomorrow but in the meantime you can click on the graphic in the right sidebar to take you to the host of this event and other participant links.
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Stopping by the from the World Animal Day Blog Hop. What a beautiful dog! It's so great you adopted, part of my post was about adopting also.
I have always had rescued pets. I have two rescued cats now.
Please pet Shiloh for me! 🙂
Jean
Thank you so much for sharing this – it's such a lovely post. I love the picture of Shiloh. He's beautiful!
My favourite cats have always been strays. The little kitten that appears in one of my portrait photos ran in front of the car in the middle of the forest. How she knew there were cat lovers in the car I do not know
I apologize for taking so long to respond. Thank you all for your nice comments. Shiloh thanks you, too. 🙂