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He Chose Us

The pup we never knew we needed.

By Kelsey NiemannPublished 4 years ago 7 min read
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In early 2012, our beloved black labrador, Libby, passed unexpectedly. She developed an aggressive form of cancer and we were left in a state of heartbreak, awe, and impending sadness. There was nothing that could be done to reverse her condition and before we could wrap our minds around the situation at hand, we had to say our goodbyes. My entire family was taken aback and despite our love for dogs, we decided we just didn’t feel right about adopting a new one. Months went on, though, and we felt like a piece was missing in our home.

It was a typical summer day in 2013 when my mom, brother, and I made the decision to visit our local animal shelter in search of a potential new furry friend to add to our family. In the months leading up to that day, we had decided we were going to either wait a while before adopting or hold off completely, but out of the whim, deciding we could at least go have a look. We had already made up our minds that we were ultimately looking for a female, black labrador, or something close. I’ll let you in on a little secret; we ended up with nearly the opposite of that.

One of our neighbors works at the local shelter, called Pet Project and she just so happened to be on duty the day we visited. She had known us for years and helped us adopt our previous rescue, a female black labrador. When we arrived, we told her our preferences, but she was persistent in showing us a few different dogs first. We weren’t opposed to another type of dog, but we certainly weren’t expecting the one that came running out.

My brother and I sat on the floor of the lobby awaiting the pooch our neighbor had gone back to get. The door whipped open and a white dog with brown splotches all over came charging at us. His excitement was through the roof. Once he calmed, he went over to my brother and sat down right in his lap and began kissing us all over. That was it. He had chosen us and we wanted him.

We weren’t, however, expecting the story we would soon discover about this sweet boy. A shelter employee found him one afternoon while out driving in the country. He was tied to a tree at a house that had been abandoned by its previous owners, who left him there, all alone. When he was found, he had cuts and scratches all over his face and body and was extremely underweight. The shelter freed him from his restraints and got him to the vet as soon as possible. Luckily, none of the wounds were severe and would heal without issues. The veterinarian did, though, discover that he was blind in one eye, mostly likely an injury sustained during the period he was left on his own to survive. He was estimated to be between 2 and 3 years old and a mixture of several different breeds, not all of them known. We do know that he is at least part St. Bernard and part Blue Heeler.

Once we had everything settled with the adoption papers, we drove our new friend home. I remember he stood on top of me for the entire ride home and licked my brother, mom, and I continuously. My brother decided to name him Silas, Si for short. He was a very sweet boy, but it was obvious that he was not accustomed to humans being gentle and kind with him and was not at all trustworthy of people. He hated when anyone got near his face or approached him quickly, especially on the side where he was blind. He growled often and made it clear that he needed his space to feel at peace. Who could blame him, though, considering that not long before he became ours that he was left outside to fend for himself?

As time went on, we noticed he seemed to struggle with some of his joints, despite still being quite young. Upon a trip to the vet, an x-ray revealed even more horror about our new pup than we could imagine. At some point in his young life, someone, most likely his previous owner, had used him as a target for shooting practice. Tissues all over his body were embedded with BB’s and the vet was then able to determine that one of the BB’s had gone right behind his eye and was the cause of his blindness. It’s hard to fathom even the idea of someone doing that to any being, especially this sweet and adorable boy.

For a long time he was not keen on close contact and being touched, but slowly and surely, he began to relax and become more comfortable in our house. Our once timid and untrustworthy pup was starting to come to us for attention and wanting more love. He grew healthy and filled out, but his size didn’t stop him from thinking he was a lap dog. The more we earned his trust, the more loving and affectionate he developed. Everyday when he sees us, he begins jumping and prancing, kissing us up and down, and begging for a belly rub. At the least, he always wants to be in the room with us.

When Silas was four, we got a kitten, unexpectedly. We were initially concerned with how he would react, given how he was with us at first. From the second he met Sparty, the kitten, they were best friends. Our sixty pound dog was enamoured with the 2.5 pound ball of fluff. Sparty began copying Silas’ behaviour and Si loved to show him the ropes. He even helped Sparty get upstairs the litter box when the stairs were too big for him by gently picking him up in his mouth and carrying him the rest of the way up. To this very day, they are still like two peas in a pod. They lay together, go outside together, and often can be found sleeping by one another.

The most amazing traits of Silas are the ways he loves, despite everything he has endured during his lifetime, as well as his protectiveness. Once we broke down the walls he had built to protect himself, we discovered just how much love he had in his heart. There is never a day that goes by where he doesn’t excitedly greet you any time of the day, kiss you over and over again, or come sit by you. Wherever the family is, you can find Silas nearby. If someone is sick, he stays close at all times. He also loves to hang out by the pool!

In addition, he is the ultimate protector. A few years ago, I had major foot surgery and Silas made a barrier with his body between my foot and everyone else. He could sense that something was wrong and that I was in pain and he was not going to let anyone near it without his approval first. I couldn’t move around at all, so he laid by my side for weeks. No garbage truck or delivery man comes within the perimeter of our yard with Si letting us know and standing guard by the door. If someone comes up to the door that he doesn’t recognize, he stands between us and the other person and won’t let them come in the house or any closer to us unless we assure him that it is okay for that person to be around.

When you adopt from a shelter, you really don’t know exactly what you might get. It might be a smooth, “easy sailing” addition to your family or it may be a little like Silas and there will be many adjustments that take place before it’s the perfect fit. Regardless of which way it goes, though, adopting a pet from a shelter is one of the best decisions you may make. You have the ability to change the life of an animal who has not always had the “good life”, but if you’re really lucky, you’ll get a furry friend who will also change your life. Sometimes the unexpected is exactly what you needed. Our Silas was the unexpected and is, in more ways than we could ever comprehend, exactly what we needed. It’s hard to truly say who rescued who.

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