The previous July another of our pups, New Years, lost her battle with IBD and Diabetes. As with any beloved companion who passes away, it was devastating on so many levels. However, she had been sick for a long time and her poor little physical body couldn't hold on any longer. She had a great life with us and was truly our angel.I was working during motorcycle riding season at Mile-High Harley Davidson in Aurora, CO which is right down the street from the City of Aurora Animal Shelter. It was there where I found Tellie. When I first saw her she was a little sprout and didn't seem to be overly concerned about being in a cage. I had gone to the shelter during a lunch break with no desire or inclination to get another dog. It had only been a few months since New Years passed and we were still processing all that happened with her over the past couple of years. I was only thinking I would go to visit the homeless, shelter dogs.
Tellie was in the second enclosure I came upon. She emerged through the opening which connected both sides of her cage and looked up at me. She looked at me with an open, friendly face. She seemed to be saying "Oh, there you are! I've been waiting for you to get here." I opend the gate gate and steppend into the cage and sat down on the cement floor. She climbed into my lap and put her paws onto my shoulders. She looked me directly in the eyes almost as if she was checking me out to make sure I was the one the one she had been expecting. She licked my nose and settled into my lap. She was very calm and confident that she had found her new Papa.
Since I only had a half hour break, I soon had to leave and ge back to work. I lifted her off my lap and put her back on the floor. I turned around as I walked away to see if she had any reaction to me leaving. Her tail wagged contedly waving back and forth as she said "Goodbye. See you later."
The next day I brought Alexa with me to meet this puppy. The little white dog looked to be young since she was pretty small and her fur wasn't grown in all the way. She recognized me and matter of factly indicated she had expecting me to come back to say hello. I again went into the cage and sat with her as Alexa visited with some other pooches. After a couple of minutes I scooped her up and took her to meet Alexa. It turned out Alexa had also found a little Yorkie friend and was bringing her to meet me. We brought both of them outside to the fenced in "Meet and Greet area." In the few mintues we had, we wanted to try and get a feel for their personalities and try to see which one was interested in possibly coming home with us. Tellie followed me, then did an about face to visit with Alexa. The Yorkie puppy was excitedly bouncing around running back and forth between the two of us. She wasn't sure what was happening but was excited that someone was playing with her and had given her a chance to stretch her legs and run a little bit. Unbeknownst to us, it was Telluride who stole our hearts. That night, I had a dream about her. She was lying down looking up at me. The expectant look she was giving me was full of of a "Alright, I like you, you like me, when are you coming back to take me home with you?" I woke up in the morning with the very real feeling that she was going to be ours.
I had the day off from the dealer and was going to spend the late morning taking a motorcycle ride. It was my intention to head off to the foothills to the west of Denver and take the twists and turns leading up, up, up and back down the other side and ride into the mountains. I had only gotten less than two miles from home when I heard, clearer than a clear summer day, that Tellie was indeed our dog and that we had to go and get her. We had to go get her NOW.
I turned around and headed back home to tell Alexa what had happened. She didn't look at me like I was crazy as I told her about my dream and the strong feeling I had that we were supposed to adopt this little puppy with the deep brown eyes and waggy tail. She simply gathered her purse and said "let's go."
Long story short, Tellie was ours that day. When we went to pick her up, we took Jersey with us. We hadn't been allowed to bring Jersey in to meet her and we weren't allowed to bring Tellie out to see how she would get along with Jersey. The first time the two met was when we walked Tellie out to the car. Jersey knew what was happening and didn't have a problem with the new addition to our family. We were relieved. Jersey was a one family dog and had gotten used to the idea that New Year's wasn't around anymore. She had gotten very close to both Alexa and I. We weren't sure how she would react. Thankfully, Jersey took it all in stride.
Tellie made herself at home very quickly. She developed a very close bond with Jersey and loved having another dog to show her the ropes, how things worked in our house.Today, Tellie is the big sister. Skylar came to us a floppy, silly, puppy all pin teeth and floppy legs. Tellie was a little unsure at first but eventually accepted Skylar as someone to play with, someone to pal around with, someone to be a dog with.
She had been a little confused when Jersey passed away. She knew something was a different and that her big sister wasn't around anymore. It was obvious she was sad and missed her big companion and friend.
Now, Tellie has become the teacher. Not only is she teaching Skylar how to be a dog, she taught me to listen to some of the voices in my head and heart and follow my instincts. She knew before I did that she was to find a home with us. She told me and for the first time, I listened.
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