"I'll Take Them All"

The bright Carolina sun caused Maria to squint as she looked out the car window. What was that mess on the side of the road? Was it really a dog crate full of puppies or was she crazy? Maria couldn't believe it, she wasn't crazy. "For Sale $50 each," the sign on the dog crate read. The dog crate that had one mama and five puppies crowded into it. Maria's heart sank. She pulled over and shut off her car. She instinctively picked up her phone and dialed Heidi.

The voice answered, "Hello, for the Love of Dogs Rescue, how may I help you?"

Her heart pounding and not believing her own words, Maria said, "Hi Heidi, it's Maria. I'm about to bring you five puppies and their mama. I'm buying them off the side of the road right now." She held her breath in anticipation. Would the rescue where she volunteered say no? This was so last minute, how would the rescue find room for these puppies? This was absolutely crazy, but it was happening. "Alright, Maria, let us know when you're on your way and we'll have a space ready for the mama and the puppies." Maria exhaled her relief, "Thank you, Heidi, I'll text you soon." Maria put her phone away and stepped out of her car. She took a deep breath and put on a smile as she approached the man on the front porch. "Afternoon, sir," she offered. He smiled back, "afternoon ma'am."

"I see you have some puppies and a mama for sale..." and before she knew it, she had five puppies in the backseat of her car and an agreement to spay the mama free of charge. An "On the way," text was quickly sent and Maria drove off before the man could ask for more money. Her heart pounded and time seemed like to drag on with the puppies wiggling around the back of her car.

She finally arrived at For the Love of Dogs Rescue. The front door opened and a smiling brunette stepped into the driveway, waving to her friend, "Hey there, Maria." It was Heidi, the director of the rescue and her long time friend. She was followed by three volunteers who went to the car to carry the puppies in one-by-one. "Heidi, thank you so much for helping me make this happen." Maria stepped out of the car, and the two friends embraced. "Well done, my friend," Heidi replied as they walked arm-in-arm into the building.

"Hello, Maria," the volunteer receptionist, Charelle, greeted her with a glowing smile. Puppies always make everyone smile. "Hey, Charelle, how are the wedding plans coming along?" Charelle grinned even bigger, which was hardly possible. "They're coming along well, thank you for asking."

Turning to Heidi, Charelle continued, "Friday's Rescue in Connecticut is on the line; they agreed to take three of the puppies and we already have local interest in the other two. Dr. Steve said he can come by to examine the puppies at 3:00pm." Maria's heart fluttered. Her high school sweetheart had moved back to town...and they were both single. As if reading her thoughts, Heidi nudged her in the side and gave her a knowing look. "What are you doing at 3 o'clock, Maria?" she asked slyly, as she reached for the extended phone. "Hello?" The voice on the other end came back with, "Friday's Rescue, this is Susie. Actually, I do have room. We've been having a large number of families completing the adoption process and we can take all three of the puppies."

The puppies were fed, bathed, and given a clean bill of health to travel out of state. Charelle coordinated the travel plans with the northern rescue. The puppies would be ready to go by van in the morning.

Maria arrived at For the Love of Dogs Rescue to say goodbye to the puppies that she had purchased off the side of the road. She gave each puppy one last snuggle and a wish for a good home and said goodbye. Through the efforts of at least five people so far, the puppies were on their way from North Carolina to Friday's Rescue in Groton, Connecticut.

Hours later, the van driver pulled into the dark parking lot of Friday's Rescue. Susie saw the headlights through the window, and got up with a long stretch. She was looking forward to her yoga class later, but for now she had three puppies to meet and greet. Their pictures and information had already been posted on petfinder.com and phone calls were sure to follow during business hours. But for now, to get the puppies settled in.

"Hello, thanks so much for driving these guys up here, I appreciate it," Susie shook hands with the driver. "No problem, glad to help save our canine friends. Let's hope for happy lifetime homes for them all." The puppies were soon playing in their new space and Susie went home to catch a nap and a shower before the sun could rise.

Meanwhile...

The Banks, family of four, had been in their own home for a few months now and had begun the long-awaited search for a dog of their own. When they were renters, they had asked their landlord multiple times for permission to have a dog, but were always told no. Now that they were the homeowners with their own half-acre lot complete with brook - they couldn't wait to add a dog to the family. Faith and Preston spent hours combing through dog descriptions on petfinder.com. They were determined to try to adopt an older dog first. Challenge number one was finding a rescue who didn't have rules against young children being in the home, as Faith and Preston's daughters were 3 and 6. Challenge number two, a cat had already been a part of the family for 6 years so the dog had to be cat-friendly. Faith drove to a couple of local animal control shelters first. She saw a dog named Max on petfinder.com but he failed a cat safety test. (He wanted to eat the cat.) Feeling defeated, Faith and Preston decided to go with a puppy so that the cat would be able to establish dominance if needed.

"Honey, look at this cutie. Can we go see him this weekend?" Faith showed Preston the yellow lab mix with the fluffy ears. "Sure," was the reply. Faith completed the online application and submitted her references. The next day, the rescue called and set up an appointment for the Banks to come and meet the puppy.

The Banks family arrived at Friday's Rescue for their appointment to meet Cornbread, and were informed that he had already been adopted by another family...BUT these three brothers had just come up from North Carolina and would the Banks family be interested in meeting the puppies? Disappointed at their missed chance to meet Cornbread, the Banks went to go meet the Bailey puppies (as they were known.)

The Banks were brought outside to a fenced in play area while the volunteers brought out the Bailey puppies. They were gorgeous brindled Plott Hounds, the state dog of North Carolina. The Banks were instantly in love with all three puppies and knew that one of them had to be chosen, but which would it be? The choice was clear when one of the top contenders jumped into Preston's lap, curled up, and went to sleep. The adoption fee was paid and the date to pick up the puppy was chosen. His new name would be Prince Westerly.

Prince Westerly is now four and a half years old and still living with the Banks in the house on a half-acre lot with a brook...and the cat is still the boss.