Twins Reunited Under a Gemini New Moon

Once upon a time, in a land far far away…well more like 3 hours away off a highway in Delano California, there lived twin Doberman-Greyhound puppies named Hansel and Gretel who were left abandoned on the side of the road. Their rescuers cleverly named them Hansel and Gretel after the classic fairy tale of the famous lost twins. I was lost myself (more emotionally than physically) and found myself at the Dobies and Little Paws Rescue in hopes of volunteering to help man’s best friend and forget my troubles. The same day I went to volunteer was the same day Hansel and Gretel arrived at the rescue. The moment I saw them, I knew we would all be a family. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how this could possibly unfold. I had currently moved back in with my dad and had quit my job to help him take care of stepmom who had had two strokes. Not exactly the ideal situation to have one giant dog let alone two. Yet, I had a very strong feeling I couldn’t shake that we would be together.

Hansel was already spoken for, but Gretel wasn’t. When they brought her to greet me, she immediately curled up on my lap. My heart dropped. This is how I got my childhood dog many years ago. The memory came flooding back… I went to a dog rescue to do research for a paper I was working on. The volunteers let the dogs interact with me and my mom then one of them went straight up to me and curled up on my lap. We brought him home that same day and he lived a long happy dog life of 12 years. Just like I knew then that my childhood dog would come home with me, I knew the same would happen with Gretel. I also realized, I couldn’t go into an animal rescue and not come home with a dog. I signed the papers. Gretel was now Henley. She came home with me that night.

Time passed as it does, and Henley and I grew more and more bonded. If I went to the bathroom, she stood right outside. If I went to the kitchen to get a snack, she was my shadow behind me. If I played a game and hid, she would find me. We enjoyed hiking in the hills and running around open fields. She especially loved chasing squirls and playing with anything she deemed was a toy such as sticks or leaves. Life was wonderful together, but occasionally, random thoughts of Hansel would pop up in my mind and I would wonder how he was doing. Did he and Henley miss each other? Then one day, I had urge to check the rescue’s website. I was shocked to see Hansel’s face staring back at me. He was available for adoption. If he was anything like Henley, he was a lot of energy, and it would take a lot of patience to train him, which seemed to be the reason he was returned. I still wasn’t in the best situation to take him, so I hesitated. The next day I shook off my uncertainty and I decided I would go see him, only to find out someone else had already adopted him. I was happy he found a new home, but sad I wouldn’t be able to reunite him with Henley. I started to doubt my intuition that we were meant to be a family.

More time passed and Henley and I did everything together. We went on road trips, dog park adventures, walks in the city, and hiked new trails. Then Serendipity made a grand appearance. I was offered a chance to live out my childhood dream to live/work at a horse sanctuary! A beautiful 10-acre property, Henley would have a chance to live out her doggy dream to roam around in nature all day. It was an absolute yes. As I prepped for our life changing move, I had that same strange feeling to check the Dobies and Little Paws rescue website I had a few months prior. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Hansel’s face was once again staring back at me. He had been returned a second time and was available for adoption. City life didn’t suit him, and he would need to live somewhere rural where he could run around all day, the rescue explained. It just so happened I was moving to the exact place the rescue described as the ideal situation for Hansel. Plus, I could finally reunite brother and sister! Tears of joy ran down my face. This time I didn’t hesitate. I drove straight to the rescue. Hansel and Henley recognized each other instantly and Hansel came back to life. He had been depressed at the rescue being returned a second time, but once he saw Henley and saw she was with me, he knew he would have a permanent home with us. He gave me a giant lick on the face in gratitude. I signed the papers. My intuition was right. We all became a family. Right after the reunion, I received an interesting text from a friend, Happy New Moon in Gemini, it said. I laughed. Gemini is the twin sign in Astrology and new moons represent new beginnings. What were the odds of reuniting my twin dogs during a twin new beginning in the cosmos? It felt destined. A few weeks later we moved to the Ranch. Hansel and Henley ran laps around me in excitement. As the full moon peeked her head up over the mountain tops, Hansel and Henley stilled then howled a deep hound howl. I howled with them. It felt like freedom for us all.