Happy Tail written by Amelia Fisher.
As a foster for Gateway Pet Guardians, I have had many puppies come and go through my front door. It was sad when they left of course, but the sadness was outweighed by how comforting it was to see them be adopted into loving new homes. Then this little spunky freckle-faced puppy showed up named Ziti. I fostered her and her brother, Mac. They were from the litter of puppies dubbed ‘the pasta puppies;’ each named after a different type of Italian carbohydrate goodness. Her pregnant mom was rescued by Gateway Pet Guardians and gave birth to four puppies—three boys and one girl—just two days after she was rescued.
Although Mac was such a sweet puppy, Ziti was something special. She was a smart, affectionate little girl who loved to sleep in my lap. Even if I was standing, she would come and fall asleep on tops of my feet, and she followed me around everywhere. My resident dog, Roscoe, normally a grumpy old man with the puppies, didn’t seem to mind her cuddling up to him. A few weeks after I started fostering them, Mac was adopted by a family with a little girl and he was as happy as can be. For some reason, Ziti kept being passed up, even though the puppies at Gateway Pet Guardians usually get adopted quickly.
I kept getting more attached to Ziti, however I was not in the best place in my life to adopt a second dog; I was in graduate school without any steady income and the possibility of moving after graduation was just around the corner. I couldn’t imagine my life without her. I kept going back and forth, because although my heart was saying adopt her, my wallet and head were saying that it wasn’t a good idea. So I took her to an adoption event, reasoning with myself that if she went to a loving family like Mac it would make parting with her easier.
As soon as a man came up and started petting her and showed interest in adopting her, I picked her up and declared she was no longer up for adoption. I paid Gateway Pet Guardians the adoption fee on the spot, and took my puppy home.
Ziti is now named Finley, and she is almost three years old, but to me she is still the same freckled face spunky puppy I fell in love with. She still loves to sit on my lap, showering me and Roscoe with kisses with her wet tongue. She makes me laugh everyday with her silly antics, whether we are swimming, or hiking, or just chilling on the couch. In the past three years, we have moved from Missouri to North Carolina and now to Texas, and she has been my copilot along every step of the way. I can’t imagine my life without her. Adopting Ziti was the best decision I have ever made.