Let's Talk: Questions from Readers
This is the section where we post a question or two from readers of the book or website that we feel has relevance to a larger audience.
The question for this week is: "How did you happen to adopt Max and was he a rescue dog?"
Answer from Janet: Max came into my life when my friends, Maureen and Steve, called to ask if I could take care of him for a few days. They had heard about him being abandoned by his owners and were trying to find him a new home. Since they already had two black Labs, they knew how great Labs are and wanted to help find him a good home.
Max was almost three years old when he came to stay with me, and not in good shape. He is considered a "rescue" dog because he was abandoned by his previous owners, probably because of his size. Max is a very large, 100 lb yellow Labrador Retriever, and he was never trained. A big untrained dog is not much fun to be around and I believe that his previous owners just didn't know what to do with him. Unfortunately, that meant that he was left in a crate for most of the day and he ended up about twenty pounds over-weight and with other health issues.
But, as I explained in the book, Max rescued me as much as I rescued him. It only took him being with me for three days before I knew that I had to keep him--even though it meant moving (which I really wasn't looking forward to) since the apartment complex where I was living at the time wouldn't allow dogs over 25 lbs. And he was clearly way over that weight limit.
I believe that Max came into my life at exactly the right time--I was stuck in some negative patterns and he got me out walking twice a day, got me motivated to start training him seriously--including Max becoming a therapy dog, and started our adventures in the motorhome.
The whole story is in the book, but the point is that I now believe that pets--including Max--are wonderful teachers of unconditional love, and that they bring great blessings into our lives.
Linda and Allen Anderson have written a lot about the role of pets as angels in our lives and I recommend you check out their website at www.angelanimals.net.
I believe that Max is an angel in my life and I thank God everyday that he "rescued" me when he did.
I hope you have pets who give you unconditional love everyday as well and that you appreciate the wonderful role that they play in your life.
Here's to our pets!
Janet
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