Meet Sayde.

I'm a goner. A complete goner. I'm having a hard time even typing this post, as I'm basically a puddle of mush on the floor right now. 

If I thought that I knew what unconditional love was before, I was wrong. I am smitten. I am ruled by this little creature. She is my now my life and I'll do anything for her. Now I understand dog people ;) 

While I recompose myself, lets take a look at some pics of Sayde's journey to us...

When we found Sayde online, she was living in Arkansas (her full story is below). After a couple of days of back-and-forth with her rescuers, we were approved for adoption and she was on her way to us. 

On Friday afternoon she packed up her little doggie suitcase and boarded a bus from Arkansas to New England (pictured in her crate on the bus, below). As she rode on the bus, we prepared for her arrival...

Sunday afternoon, we drove 2.5 hours to her pick-up spot, and waited...and waited...and waited (the bus was late and yes, we were losing our minds!!!)...

...And then she arrived! As the bus driver handed her to me, she was shaking uncontrollably. She was so scared and nervous, but we knew that she would calm down once she realized she was home. 

Within about 15 minutes of being in the car, she ruled the place. Within 30 minutes of being in the car, she was asleep on my lap with her head in my hand. When we stopped to get gas, she was up at the window, watching Ben's every move and whining when he wasn't visible.

When we got home, she was even more excited. So much to see! So much to do! Where to even begin?  She did not want to calm down to go to sleep...

But she was home. She slept in bed with us last night, woke up with excitement and energy this morning, and has forever changed our lives. She's cuddled up on a blanket in my lap right now--as I awkwardly type this post over her body--and I am overcome with joy. 

Sayde's story:

The vet thinks that Sayde is about 17 or 18 months old, and that she is a Daschund-Chihuahua mix (called a Chiweenie!). When she was rescued, she was living outside of a trailer and was pregnant. The rescuer, Sandy, was alerted to her situation by the postman, who would see her walking around in the ice and snow, with her pregnant belly hanging to the ground (and covered in icicles!), whenever he came by to drop off the mail.

One day, Sandy went to the trailer and knocked on the door. Although we cannot say for sure, our understanding of the story is that she had been owned by an old lady who was in the hospital and hadn't been able to take care of her for a while. Some [rough, addicted?] family members had taken over the trailer and were not taking care of Sayde.

The rescuer inquired about who was taking care of the dog, and long story short, she ended up leaving with Sayde. Sayde had 3 pups once she was rescued (all have since been adopted!) and was living with a sweet foster mom when we found her online. 

Since she was located in Arkansas, we had a pet transport service bring her up to us on a bus (they brought 84 rescues to New England from AR!) and we picked her up last night. 

The rest, as they say, is history. We're a little family now.

Thank you for all of your encouragement towards making this happen! You're right--adopting a dog is the BEST thing that has ever happened to us. I can already tell. 

Happy holidays!!!!