The night I first met Zainey – here we are in her foster mom’s backyard.
The first night at home. Copper wasn’t sure what to think about this new lab chewing on his bones.
I had been wanting to add a member to our little family (consisting of myself and Copper) for a while. After things didn’t work out with my little Golden doodle puppy I was so hesitant to continue searching for the right dog. Copper does not like puppies and we learned that the hard way when he absolutely hated Bella and I had to keep them separated 100% of the time. I knew Copper liked labs because every time we’d see a lab ANYWHERE he would be okay with sniffing him/her, playing with him/her and of course, Andrew’s lab Sawyer was Copper’s BFF. I reached out to Safe Harbor Lab Rescue, filled out an application, med all of the requirements and after a virtual home visit (where I sent plenty of pictures of my apartment) and approval from my complex manager we were approved to adopt (We = me and Copper). I searched their website often trying to read details about various labs – their backgrounds, their temperaments, the reason for them being re-homed. Rescued dogs through Safe Harbor are kept in foster homes. If you’re interested, you bring any dogs you already have for a meet & greet. If the dogs get a long and you like the lab, you can take the dog home right then!
We visited Zainey on July 28th. Copper was being a grump in the first few minutes and actually snapped at her once but then sniffed her and then mostly ignored her the rest of the time and they seemed totally fine around each other. The foster mom was so friendly and Zainey, while standoffish, was filled with love. You could tell how friendly she was. The foster mom was heading out of town and Zainey was going to stay in a kennel for a few days so the foster mom asked if I would be interested in taking her home for a trial to see if the dogs got along in home as well as outside. I decided that yes, I could take her home.
The following Monday (6 days later) I let them know that we’d love to have Zainey join our family! She and Copper were getting along so well, she was doing great in the apartment and I had fallen in love.
It’s been an exciting and sometimes challenging 2.5 months. Zainey has already road tripped to California with me, has already met my whole family and has climbed five 14er’s with me. She is my best friend, just like her older brother. I’m absolutely smitten with this dog.
There have been moments where I can’t believe I’m a total dog mom – putting my dogs first most of the time – but I’m so thankful to have them by my side. It’s been a couple months since the “official” breakup and Zainey and Copper have been by my side every day, every step of the way. Dogs truly are amazing blessings, especially when you are flying through this life solo.
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