Got Faith? Yes and No

I have been meaning to update you all about Faith for some time and since it was requested, I guess now is the time.

Faith was our very small puppy that we worried about from the F litter. Instead of placing her, we kept her to make sure she was okay and Galen (my son) took her on as his. Well, Galen started college and was very busy, Faith just really loved me and soon I had seven dogs, which was not working for me or for the dogs!

It became clear that Faith was a perfectly normal puppy, and so last May I decided that if a perfect home came along for Faith -- one in which her love and devotion for a person would not have to be shared very much -- that I would let her go. This made Galen and I very sad to even think about but seven dogs -- including three puppies -- was too much, even for me.

Soon after the perfect home appeared -- I guess Faith stayed with us only until Julie was ready for her. Many tears were cried and we still miss Faith, but we also know that her path was not to be with us forever and so we let her go -- and she has brought great joy to her new life.

Faith lives in Park City, Utah with Julie. I asked Julie to write an update about Faith for you and she was happy to do so -- so here it is:

"Faith is fabulous. . . she's so beautiful that she literally stops traffic when we walk. A few weeks ago she and her big (little) brother, Booker T. Washington (2-1/2 year-old cock-a-poo) visited the groomer. The groomer called me the minute they were finished because they really needed me to pick up Faith -- they couldn't work on the other dogs because people kept stopping to ask about Faith.

So far, knock on wood, Faith hasn't swallowed anything. However, when school started up, each day I'd come home and pause before opening the door wondering what I'd find on the other side. . . somedays it was just a seam ripped on the leather couch . . . others, whole cushions were scattered about the living room and stuffing strewn.

My very sweet dog walker left a Dr. Foster/Smith catalog and suggested the diffuser with calming natural oils. When that didn't work, I bought the biggest crate Petco had . . . Faith seems very content in her crate with stuffed Kong toys.

At night, Faith prefers the cool slate floor in my master bath to the bed. She settles into a long stretch and starts to snore. That's my favorite sound in the world. I love to listen to her dream.

When Faith's ready to get up (usually just before my 5:00 am alarm), she comes over and pushes her cold nose on mine and says, "Mom, I'm here. Love me, please." Then, after a few scratches behind the ears, she jumps up onto the pillows, walks in a few circles and collapses with a sigh for a few extra minutes in bed.

Faith is filled with unconditional love.

She's still a big floppy puppy that doesn't have any idea about her size. She sees Booker in my lap and thinks that's the appropriate place for her, too. (And, of course, she's right.) The minute I sit, she's there with her brown eyes and smile asking, "is there room for me?" She puts her front paws on my lap and climbs up . . .in fact, I had to stop typing just now because she was between the computer and me. Now, she's chewing on Booker under the table."

Julie sent these pictures to share:




So Faith has her very own person and a canine brother and a wonderful human grandma that we got to meet, and she has lots of friends. We miss her still and I know Galen feels badly, but I believe we did what we were supposed to do to get Faith to her forever person.

And so that is Faith's story -- I know it shouldn't, but it still makes me sad...