Rescue Dog Is All Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

   I’d often heard if you want a dog who will adore and appreciate you, adopt one from a rescue because that dog will be grateful for giving it a better life.

  Now I believe it.

   In November, an Arcadia friend, Edie Ramirez, showed me a picture of a Maltese Mix she was about to adopt. I said, “That’s the kind of dog I’ve always wanted.”

    My wife and I had two Cockapoo dogs for many years, then a stray cat that showed up at our house on a rainy night in 1988. We named her Katie and had her for 16 years, but had no pets after Katie.

     Edie called about five days after showing me the picture of the Maltese Mix.

     “Were you serious about wanting that kind of dog?” she asked. “She’s adorable but is not getting along well with my dog Molly.”

     I told Edie I would love to have the dog but would first have to get approval from my wife.

     That was no problem. All it took was for my wife to meet the dog.

      It was quite easy after that. A nice young lady named Mandy O'Brien from Save a Bow Wow Rescue in Whittier mailed the paper work, which took little time to fill out. We mailed the paperwork and a $250 donation to the rescue.

     Mandy needed to verify we lived in a house with an enclosed back yard, and that was that.

    We’ve had “Sugar” for more than four months, and she has been great. She asks to go out to do her business, or takes care of it during her daily walks. We have an ample supply of plastic bags we bought at Pet Smart. Sugar is a people lover and is often curled up on a lap. We have a 15-month-old grandson and the two of them get along fine.

     Sugar barks at times, but I’m sure she thinks she is just “protecting” our home.

    Mandy told us the original owner of Sugar did not take care of her, left her outside all the time and wanted to get rid of her rather than pay for a dog license. Sugar would have ended up in a shelter had the owner not mistakenly called Save a Bow Wow Rescue.

     Mandy told the owner to just bring the dog in. 

     If you happen to read Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks, you’ve probably seen she recently was pretty harsh on a particular rescue after it didn’t return a lost dog to a mother and young child and instead found a new home for the pet.

    Banks’ columns touched on a number of negatives after adopting a dog and may have left the impression that it can be a difficult and trying experience.

     That wasn’t the case for us. I’m just glad Edie showed me that picture and then called. And I’m thankful for Mandy at Save a Bow Wow Rescue for making it easy to add some sweetness to our lives.