Rhody's Story

Our last dogs were adopted as adults, already settled and relatively calm, small and easy-care, so when it was time to consider getting a new dog, I was thinking along those lines. As older retirees, we lead a fairly slow-paced life and should probably have a slow-paced pooch. As an HSNT volunteer, I was on the lookout for just the right dog. Then, along came Rhody. I was photographing dogs at the Keller locations while also scouting for a new family member. None of the dogs I considered seemed quite right: fluffy and medium sized, but a male when I wanted a female; fluffy and medium-sized, but young with potential to become too large. I had almost convinced myself to adopt a small, fluffy terrier mix male (in the dating world, this would be called "settling" I guess) but then I went around the corner  to take a second/third look at a friendly red fluff-ball Chow mix. She was simply irresistible, so home she came. The first few days were very difficult: she was teething and biting EVERYTHING, especially my arms. Her energy was over the top. She wriggled out of every collar and harness we tried.  I seriously thought we would have to return her to HSNT and it broke my heart. Then I took her for a private lesson with a trainer and got some tips which got us over the hump. Rhody is growing up to be a very friendly, happy, lively girl, losing puppy fluff, gaining adult teeth, learning to be a pleasant family member. She LOVES to play ball, gnaw sticks, dig holes, and go for long walks. Fortunately, I love to play ball and my husband enjoys long walks; we leave the stick gnawing and hole digging to her. Sometimes, the dog that isn't really the right fit turns out to be exactly the right fit with love and support. We love her.  

-The K Family