How Dexter joined our family
The day we adopted Dexter, December 14th, 2002.
I had promised the wife that once we bought our own home, we would get her the little house-dog that she always wanted.
I'm a firm believer in things happen for a reason, random events is just not something I really believe in. The story of how Dexter came into our lives is one that proves it.
We started looking shortly after we bought our new home. We were constantly online (petfinder, petharbor, and other sites like that) looking at the puppies, looking for 'that one puppy'. Yes, we thought a few of them were what we wanted, and would contact this shelter or that one, only to learn the pup in question was adopted the day before.
After several weeks of this, I promised the wife we would go and find her the puppy she so desperately wanted. And we set out for what would be an emotional roller coaster day.
Our first stop was the local AC shelter/pound. It was the first time we had been there, and were immediately disgusted by the sign posted at the doorway. "NOTICE until further notice, all animal adoptions are suspended due to rabies outbreak in the county. Surrendered animals may be turned in daily 9 am to 5pm or left in the drop cage in front of the building." I couldn't believe it, it was like some kind of weird 'Hotel California' kind of thing. Needless to say, we didn't have any luck trying to adopt from the AC.
Next, we called the local humane society. The nice lady there was very helpful, but wasn't interested in anything the wife was saying, she was just trying to get the wife to adopt an adult German Shepard Dog. Not that there is anything wrong with adopting an adult GSD, but it just wasn't what we were looking for. The wife wanted a small house dog.
Well, this type of thing went on for the majority of the day. We visited a total of four AC shelter/pounds, none with any luck. They were either closed on the weekend, or not allowing adoptions, or there just wasn't any small dogs there.
I had resigned to the fact that this promise I made earlier in the day was not panning out like I had planned. The wife was slowly becoming rather depressed about the whole ordeal. After spending all day it was now a bit after 4pm, and we had been trying to find a dog since 9am. We decided to give up, and head for home.
We were actually in another state and saw the sign that would point us in the direction of our new home, so we took the exit and quietly headed home.
I was the first to see the sign. A pet store! Hey, I bet we could get a puppy there! So I quickly pulled in and with smiles on our faces we went inside.
When we told him we were looking for a puppy, you could have heard a pin drop in the store
An elderly gentleman who talked with a heavy German accent greeted us almost at the door. When we told him we were looking for a puppy, you could have heard a pin drop in the store. For a few seconds I thought he was thinking which puppy he thought we would be interested in oh, was I so surprised when he finally bellowed out in his unique German accent "We don't sell any puppies in December!", "People always want puppies for Christmas, then by February they don't want them any more and just drop them off at the pound". "Come back in March and I will have one for you! "NO PUPPIES FOR CHRISTMAS" he exclaimed.
The wife and I were almost speechless; I didn't know what to think. Heck, I just wanted to get a puppy for the wife. I explained to the pet store guy, while the wife started to tear up, the events of the day and how we had been to so many shelters and pounds. I swear you could see his face light up when he started talking about a local shelter, the Spartanburg Humane Society. He said if we really wanted a puppy, this would be the place to find one, if we could get there before they close at 5pm.
He took a piece of paper, and explained each turn as he drew the map for us. It was hard at times to understand his accent, but he was patient and we finally understood his directions.
The next stop was almost magical, we walked into the shelter and there he was; the cutest little ball of fur ever put on this planet. The wife immediately said, "There he is, that one!" and I 'tried' to tell her, "Honey, this is not going to be a small dog." I have been married long enough to know when I'm wasting my breath, so I resolved to the fact that we were adopting this one, and went to fill the paperwork out. It was then that I learned this dog was the only one out of the litter of nine that was ready for adoption; the others hadn't been spayed or neutered yet.
We made one more stop that day on the way home. We stopped by that pet store to show a kindly old man the wonderful puppy we found at the shelter. Since we were there, we would also need a few item - bowls, food, shampoo, treats, toys - you get the idea. When we were paying for all this stuff, that old man stopped and gave us that same look like we received when we first met and he turned and walked away; only to return in a few seconds with a rawhide basket full of chewies for our new baby!
On the way home, we were trying to decide on a name for our new bundle of joy. Several names were discussed, yet none were 'right'. Until, that hand drawn map on an old scrap piece of paper fell out from all the papers we had. Both the wife and I glanced down at it and realized for the first time, that wonderful map had only one word on it "Dexter".
How could we resist fate?
Dexter
Dexter was adopted as a young puppy from an Upstate South Carolina Shelter.
We were blessed to have Dexter in our home for almost six years - until his body failed him. The saddest day, was when we realized there simply wasn't anything that could be done to give Dexter the quality of life he so richly deserved.
Dogs are wonderful creatures, and we as a race are blessed to have been given the chance to spend time with such a humble creature. People could do well to learn a lesson or two on friendship from a dog.
Dexter Dog Designs was created in his honor, as a way to help people find those special animals - like Dexter - who are waiting in shelters throughout the country.
He was a very special pup, and a dear friend. He is sorely missed. Through Dexter Dog Designs, our good friend continues to thrive.