Sadie's Adoption Story

It is SO hard to believe that our fur baby is 1 year old today!!!

Every day Ethan and I comment on how much this little dog brightens our day and makes our lives so much better. We can’t remember what life was like before her!

Today I’m going to share with you the backstory on how little miss Sadie came into our lives… it was all so serendipitous and we believe in our hearts she was meant to be ours!

In September of 2019 I had a devastating miscarriage that rocked our world. We had been wanting a dog for quite some time, but when we had found out I was pregnant, we put that on hold. However after my miscarriage, I knew my heart needed a little furry companion to help with the healing process.

We went back and forth on whether we wanted to get a puppy from a breeder or adopting from one of the local shelters/rescues. I had always dreamed of having a golden retriever puppy (and Ethan a black lab), but we knew the chances of finding one that needed adoption was very slim. However after lots of research and conversation, we felt rescuing a dog that needed a home was the best decision for us and our situation.

We started the process by visiting our local shelter here in Raleigh and every time we went was so discouraging. When you go to a shelter, the decision needs to be made pretty immediately and most of the animals go quickly. We lost out on quite a few dogs we were interested in, so we decided to check out the rescues instead.

The first dog we met was about 2 years old and had lived most of her life in a shelter. She was in foster care and was very sweet, but she required a lot of training and was a big dog for us (80lbs!) given the fact we were still living in an apartment. We both so desperately wanted to click with her, but that feeling just wasn’t there. I remember leaving that meet and greet trying to convince myself (and Ethan) that we could make it work. I remember him telling me that we shouldn’t have to convince ourselves, and when we met the right dog we would know.

That night, I stayed up late searching “dogs for adoption in Raleigh” and came across the picture of the cutest little puppy on google. I clicked on it and it redirected me to Cause for Paw’s NC rescue. Her name was Sadie and she was 8 weeks old. Immediately it felt like a sign to me - Ethan and I had already picked out the name we wanted for our dog, and you guessed it - the name we had picked was Sadie!

With Ethan already in bed, I filled out the application. I knew deep down we needed THIS DOG.

I think we all know how this story ends, but everything literally fell into place so perfectly. I woke up that next morning to an email from Cause for Paws saying my application was approved, and they were available to have us meet Sadie that night at an adoption event they were hosting if we were free. I was previously signed up for a paint and sip class with my friend Hannah, but as fate would have it, the class was cancelled due to low attendance last minute. Ethan and I went to the adoption event and the moment we laid our eyes on Sadie, we knew. She was in a little pen with her siblings who were barking and jumping trying to get attention and she was just sitting there observing everything. She was so calm and cute and we both felt immediate love for this tiny little creature we had just met. We had “the feeling”

Just 3 days later, as we were driving to pick her up from her foster mom’s house, I had tears in my eyes. The last month had been so challenging for me after my miscarriage, but this felt like a huge turning point. We may have lost one life, but we were saving another. I am not a big believer in “everything happens for a reason” because there are a lot of terrible things that happen in this world for no good reason. But I do believe that we can find meaning in the shitty things that happen to us. And for me - this was the meaning. I was MEANT to rescue this little pup. She needed us, and we needed her.

And the last 10 months with her have proven just that. We didn’t rescue her - she rescued us.

So happy first birthday my Sadie girl. I am thankful every single day that you are in my life (no matter how many times you pull on the leash or eat grass and throw up on the floor). The amount of pure joy and happiness you have brought into our lives is priceless, and we don’t want to know a life without you!!