My husband and I got married in 1996, in 1997 we adopted a dog from a puppy rescue here in CO. His name was Riley. Riley lived with us and our 4 kids until 2008, when he crossed the rainbow bridge. When we lost Riley, my husband and kids were crushed. We vowed we'd never get another dog, because when they pass, it's just too hard.
And we didn't.
But fast-forward to Oct 2011, and puppy fever hit us hard. The Humane Society of Boulder Valley(HSBV) had some puppies come in on the PetSmart Rescue Wagon(PSRW) and they were at a PetSmart nearby. It was Grandma's idea, but we all piled into the car to go check them out. That's when we saw Kenzie. We met with her for about 5mins and knew we wouldn't be leaving without her. Kenzie brought something to our family that we had been missing for a long time. She was also very active and rambunctious, and only ever having one dog, something inside me said having 2 might be double the fun.
This time we we checked HSBV's web site and saw the rescue wagon had just brought in some great dane mix puppies. We checked them all out online and something about Tucker, just pulled at our hearts. We called this time to have him put on hold, and went the next day to meet him. He was sitting all alone in his stall, confused and flop-eared. We knew, he was coming home. It just happened to be Christmas Eve too... Tucker got a forever home that Christmas.
A few months pass by and my rescue fever was in full swing. Every week or so I'd check the HSBV web site again and one day in Feb 2012, I spotted a little tiny 5lb TaterTot online. She had also come in on the PSRW. We called and put her on hold and went to meet her the next day. This time my kids(all 4 of them) pooled their money together and paid for Tater's adoption fee. Our 3 dogs fit us perfect. We took turns holding the leashes, feeding them, snuggling them, cleaning the yard. Adopting felt good. Our dogs also became one of the family. They sit on the couches, sleep on my bed....we wanted to give them the best loving life we could.
I started up my Instagram lifewithtucker that year. The 3 dogs were just so much fun. As I got more into IG, I also started following other rescue pages. Also on Facebook. One day, a picture of a pit bull game up on my feed and I about died. She had been attacked and the rescue was reaching out for help. They also had some info for anyone interested in adopting once she was ready and healed up.
I knew nothing about pit bulls. I didn't even know anyone with one. But I wanted to help this dog. I started posting and asking about her, got more info and a couple email contacts. Eventually I met up with Hailie from Hope Defined Animal Rescue(HDAR). She was in New Mexico, not too far from Denver. I didn't think I'd ever be able to adopt her, but I kept trying. And eventually, we did. Hailie herself drove her up to Denver(Broomfield, a suburb of Denver, where BSL was not an issue) and we brought Jewel home Easter weekend of 2013. Hailie made sure I learned all about pit bulls and BSL. She sent me links and books and I read and read. It amazes me the hatred for these dogs. After rescuing one for myself, I would never ever support pit bull hate. Jewel has really been the most kindest and gentlest dog I have ever met. Even after what she'd been through. So now our family are huge pit bull supporters. And rescue supporters, and adoption, spay/neuter, and foster! We've fostered 4 puppies now through Canine Candor here in CO. And hope to foster more.