1 year ago I was working in filling in for a recruiter in our Marietta branch when Kyle called me to tell me about this dog that showed up in his IT Manager’s neighborhood. 1 year ago I called Kyle after my Blast900 class and asked where he was, only to be told that he was on his way to Kennesaw to pick up the dog. 1 year ago Kennesaw (unnamed at that point) came to my house, scared, covered in fleas, thirsty and super hungry. And oh how things have changed in just 1 year.
If you have not heard the story of Kennesaw, you can do some quick reading and catch up HERE and HERE and HERE!
When I first saw Kennesaw I said “ugh” and thought she was so ugly. I loved on Mulligan WAY more than normal and let him know that he would always be my #1 and not to worry about that weird dog in our house. I now call her my Pretty Pretty Princess and I have to admit her wild hair makes her so super cute and Mulligan isn’t my #1, but neither is my Kens – they’re both my favorite in different ways.
When I first saw her/heard about her – I said no way, no how. I was focused on the wedding and getting me married and another dog just meant more money to spend when boarding the pups while on the honeymoon. I was ready to foster her and adopt her out to a woman in Aiken, SC who had a farm and could give her a great life. I went to 1 adoption event and cried the whole time. I sent her off to Aiken and cried all day. And when I got the call that “it wasn’t working out” and had to pick her up I was more than happy to go get her and take her home home. To her forever home. Kennesaw taught Kyle and I that we could never foster a dog. If we tried, we would end up with so many dogs. But, we both now have a HUGE respect for those who foster dogs.
Kennesaw went fro
m no roof over her head for a few days in the hot summer sun with no real food or water to being able to sleep on the couch with a pillow under her head in a nice cool house with a constant supply of water and steady meals. It does make us sad that she scarfs her meals down every.single.time as if it may be her last meal and that she eats sticks and pinecones when out back since we assume that is how she ate when she was flying solo in the neighborhood. We wish she would understand that she is home for good and will never go hungry again.
She has a big comfy bed (a replacement bed since Mulligan destroyed hers at daycare one night) right by my side of the bed that she sleeps in every night because she loves to be close to her Momma. She has another bed in our “family room” even though she opts for the couch every time.
She spent her 1st Christmas at our house getting spoiled with new toys from her parents and grandparents! She met Santa and got her picture taken with him {and I am pretty sure she got EVERYTHING she asked for and more}!!
She has more toys (most are supposed to be shared, but she doesn’t share) than the average dog and she likes to pile them up and chew on as many as she can at one time.
Kennesaw has been a breath of fresh air and it has been great to have a dog that listens and is quick to learn. She is a dog who wants to please and is so much easier to train than our big boy. Granted, we just stated REALLY training her a few months ago. I know. I know. We’re not stellar dog owners. (Another reason why we could never legit foster).
Even though the beginning was tough and Kennesaw spent a lot of time hiding under our bed from the big mean dog who would just growl at her and was very unwelcoming … Kennesaw and Mulligan have become the best of friends and it is so nice that they have each other. Ken Ken loves her big brother (wayyy more than he loves her) and she misses him when he goes to the vet and she has to stay home. She follows him around at daycare even though she has dozens of other dogs to play with. I love when I find them cuddling in bed or on the couch together or when they chase each other around and wrestle {except for when they wrestle at midnight or 7 AM on a Saturday morning}. We think it is cute how she likes to “cry wolf” and yelp even though we know Mully is the gentle one out of the two of them.
Over the past year, we learned that even though Kennesaw is a girl – she is actually a total Tom-Boy who loves to hunt for possums, crawl under our deck to see what she can find, and just hang out outside. We often find her with scrapes under her eyes or on her elbows and tufts of hair missing because she was out exploring our backyard. And if we’re ever wondering where one of her favorite toys are, 9 out of 10 times it is out back! We have been SO lucky that she hasn’t killed anything and then brought it through the doggie door. And she always seems to bring pine straw in the house since it is weaved in her fur.
One of the cutest things is that she has perfected the hand flip which consists of her placing her nose under your palm and then flipping your hand onto her head. It is her cute way of demanding to be rubbed. Yes. It gets old, especially when you want to sleep or read a book – but you cannot help put give her a little loving!
In the past year, I gained another total cuddle bug who just wants to hang out in bed with me at night while I watch TV or read. And she likes to lounge with her body on mine. KenKen is my little girl and it is no secret that she really does love me way more than Kyle J.
We of course will never know why her original owners decided to dump her in a random neighborhood. We wonder and ask each other all the time if they ever think of her and wonder what happened to her and we wish we could tell them “don’t worry. she is okay – actually she is better than okay”. But we thank them for the unplanned and unexpected blessing that is now in our life and we thank them for taking the time to drive far back into a neighborhood and dump her rather than taking her to a shelter – because since she would have been an owner surrender, the odds would have been stacked against her. We love our little furbaby and she really got lucky by landing us as parents.
And. For the record. I am not here to preach, but there are so many beautiful, amazing dogs at your local shelter or local rescue organization. So, if you’re ever in the market for a new dog – or your first dog – please think about rescuing a dog rather than buying one from a breeder or pet store! Every time you adopt from a shelter you save a life and every time you adopt from a rescue you’re making room for one more dog in their group – so one more dog gets pulled from a shelter. Either way, you’re saving a little furry friend’s life! And don’t be scared of the black dogs in shelters – Google black dog syndrome and you’ll learn they need the most attention and love.
I am a firm believer that a dog knows when he/she has been saved! Don’t get me wrong – we still have our struggles with her and even though we think she knows she is HOME she still cowers if we raise our voice and puts her tail between her legs. And she still treats every meal as if it was her last. But all in all, I am so glad that Kyle was told about her and that Kyle went and got her and brought her home. Because even though I didn’t realize it that night, Kyle knew that she wasn’t going anywhere and she has been such a great addition to our family!
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