It all started when I seen a 4 month old puppy with huge ears and an even bigger heart at the local Humane Society. I fell in love with her happy, playful personality and of course her gigantic ears. Have I mentioned her ears???!!!!
(the picture below was from the day I first laid eyes on her. How can you say no to those cute, puppy eyes and HUGE ears!)
If her puppy face doesn’t win you over, her story will. She was born in Texas when hurricane “Harvey” hit. She was stranded without her mom, without an owner, and without hope when she was found. Scabies left her body missing patches of hair to the point that those who found her called her “Possum” since she looked like a drowned rat.
The Humane Societies in Texas were either destroyed or filled to the brim so she was sent to St. Joseph, Michigan to be cared for. After many baths and plenty of care, she was back to being a happy pup.
She loved attention from the beginning. The volunteers at her new temporary home said she would spill her water and dump her food on purpose just because she knew that meant someone would come for her. When she was ignored, they would hear her cry. As soon as she saw a human, her ears would pop forward and she gave the biggest doggy smile that would light up any kennel.
I walked along looking behind every bar but stopped in front of “Possum’s” cement cell. She was the happiest puppy there. It was like the world came alive to her for the first time. I asked about her as soon as I seen a volunteer. She didn’t have a bio on her door so they gave me all the info about her that they knew. They said a bunch of people looked at her, but no adoption papers were set in stone.
They let me play with her in a special room. That’s when I got hooked…
“Possum” had the same personality as me! She was hilarious, goofy, energetic, playful, people-loving, and happy despite everything that she went through in her 4 month old life. Our time was limited with her and I knew we had to come back for her so we filled out a form claiming we were interested in her.
A couple days later, we came back with our other dog in order to introduce them. It is required that dogs go through the process of meeting before adopting. I came prepared bringing my sister’s purple rabbit harness she got for her bunnies. It slid right on her and was a perfect fit! The introduction went well! “Cooper”, our other dog, seemed fine with “Possum” so we finalized the adoption. She was coming home with us!
We loaded her up in the car, which was difficult with her jumbo ears. Just kidding! She sat in the back seat with me as we drove to Tractor Supply for her first round of spoiling. Everyone who seen her experienced “cute puppy syndrome” where their voices projected a few steps higher in pitch.
We let her choose which puppy food she wanted by laying them on the floor of the store and seeing which package she started licking the most. When she got to the Salmon flavor 4Health brand puppy food, she started licking like crazy, so that’s the one we got her. To this day, she eats 4Health dog food.
I knew the name “Possum” had to go. She was way too cute to be called by the name of a rodent. I’m an outdoorsy person and I knew her future would consist of coming along with me on hikes. That’s when I landed on her new name:
HUNTLIE.
Huntlie means “meadow of a hunter”. With her big ears, powerful nose, and happy personality, it suited her. Hunters are tough and resourceful to survive while meadows are happy and welcoming. Just like her! Her nickname is “HUNBUNS” which is what I normally call her.
Of course, we had to take a selfie after giving her the grand tour of her new home! She has been my best friend ever since and best friends take endless selfies!
More stories like this happen daily because dogs are given second chances and hope through the Humane Societies. I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO ADOPT YOUR NEXT BEST FRIEND! I also thank every single person who has ever volunteered pet shelters. It’s because of people like you that I found my precious pooch!
For more info about the Humane Societies in America, check out the link below:
https://www.humanesociety.org/
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