How it started…

Georgia’s story begins with the ending of another story.  The first dog I owned as an adult was a black lab named Gia.  I got her when I was probably too young and too irresponsible to own a dog.  She put up with a lot of crap while I was trying to find myself.  As I grew older and wiser I spent the rest of her life pampering and spoiling her to try to make up for those first few years.  To this day I still hold a lot of regret for that time.  She passed away in December of 2012 after a battle with cancer.  She lived to be about 13 years old.

After her passing I knew I wanted to help.  I wanted to do better.  The hunt began for my next companion.  I began looking for dogs with special needs or dogs having a hard time being adopted.  The dog would also have to be able to integrate with our other dog, Caswell.   I probably looked for a week at various pups before stumbling onto Georgia’s profile.  I have always had a soft spot for black dogs and was up for the challenge.

Our biggest concern was if she would get along with Caswell.  We contacted the shelter to get some general information about her.  We found that she had been in the shelter for over a year and she got along with the other dogs at the shelter.  We decided to make the trip.

The shelter was a rural shelter about 2 hours away.  We had had a snowstorm a few days prior so everything had a nice sheen on it.  A majority of the trip was on the freeway, but once we got off the freeway I was white knuckled all the way to the shelter.  The shelter was how you might picture a rural shelter.  They were doing the best they could with what they had.

When they brought Georgia out she greeted us very warmly.  I had never seen a Tripawd in real life before.  All the emotions I had for her in that moment were overwhelming.  I was most likely hallucinating, but I even saw a little bit of Gia in her.  We introduced her to Caswell and they met with indifference.

The shelter told us Georgia’s story as they knew it.  Georgia was dumped at the shelter as a pup.  She had endured some sort of extreme trauma that was left unattended for an unreasonable amount of time.  When she was dumped at the shelter the appendage was wrapped in a sort of bandage made out of duct tape.  The whole leg had to be amputated immediately.  She adapted and recovered very well due to her age, but would spend the next year plus at the shelter waiting to be adopted.  They estimated she was probably 2 years old when we adopted her.  They named her Georgia because she looked like George Washington.  This confused us, but we kept it because she was a peach.

We had intended to see Georgia, go home, take some time, and make a decision.  Knowing what she had been through and what she had been waiting for, we loaded her in the car.  Side note, I also wasn’t interested in another car trip in the winter through the windy roads of rural Ohio to pick her up later.  The car ride home was just as white knuckled.

This is the first picture of the day she into the house.  The other dog is Caswell.  Caswell passed away this year and Georgia has been adjusting to that loss.  Fortunately we introduced a street beagle named Shiloh to our pack in 2019.  Shiloh and Georgia formed a strong bond quickly and Shiloh keeps her moving.  I swear he is why Georgia stays at her target weight.

So that is how it started.  It has been an awesome ride so far.  It hasn’t all been roses, but that’s with anything.  Sometimes I think that Gia would be proud and approve of Georgia.

Wow this is long winded.  If you made it this far, thank you.  I am so grateful to have this resource and to have other people interested in my princess.