Heidi

We have some news that may not be a surprise to you who have followed Heidi’s story.   She’s decided her foster home is going to be her forever home with her foster parents, the Broady family.  

Here’s a story about Heidi that is a bit long, but worth the read.  From her new mom, Amy:
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“The moment I saw Heidi’s photo on the local shelter’s website I knew that I wanted to meet her. The moment I met her the next day at the shelter, I knew that she was an extraordinary dog. Incredibly striking with her sleek coat and muscular presence; at 72 lbs., Heidi would have been overwhelmingly intimidating if I hadn’t also sensed her gentle, sweet temperament. Wow. It was obvious that this was one very special dog. I knew that I wanted to get to know her better; I knew I wanted to help her leave the shelter behind; she didn’t belong there. (Not that any of the dogs there do.) I knew that I wanted my husband to meet her, which was problematic because he was thousands of miles away and would not be home from Alaska for another month. I knew that I wanted to be a part of Heidi’s story . . . to be a helping hand in getting Heidi to a safe future in a loving home with her forever family. If I could help this dog, that would make me very happy. I spent an hour walking her around the shelter grounds despite her relentless pulling. I was enchanted with this dog. Yet I was not in a position to take her home with me that day.  I was not going to adopt a dog without my husband; we were looking forward to starting the find-our-next-dog quest this fall, once he had returned… He is the runner in the family, and I knew that Heidi or any GSP would need strenuous exercise to help harness her GSP energy. So, if I couldn’t offer her a home that day, what could I do? I did the only thing that I was confident would give Heidi the best chance of landing in an ideal situation: I called Mandy White, SEGSP’s TN state coordinator.  I left a voicemail, followed up with an email with Heidi’s listing as well as some photos I had taken, and begged her to look into Heidi’s situation and see if she could bring Heidi into the SEGSP Rescue network. 

Sure enough, Mandy worked her magic and lined up a temp foster to get Heidi out of the shelter. But this situation could only be short-term; a longer-term foster home would need to be lined up to evaluate Heidi before she could be listed for adoption, of course. I asked Mandy to keep me posted so I could follow Heidi’s story.  As in all good stories, there was a plot twist. There weren’t any longer-term fosters stepping up at the time when Heidi needed one. I ended up filling out the foster application, “just in case.” I was sure there’d be a foster home out there for her. When one didn’t volunteer, knowing I’d have the support of the SEGSP Rescue volunteers in the area, I accepted the privilege of caring for Heidi until she was adopted. I did have one week when I would be traveling… But Heidi’s temporary foster very graciously agreed to keep her again during that time. Thank you, Gigi! 

Leaving Heidi for a week nearly broke my heart, even though I knew she was in excellent hands. I had a great time but couldn’t wait to get home to Heidi. But once I was home with her again, I had to be very patient for him to return... He hastened his return with long driving days and arrived late on a Sat night. The moment I’d been waiting for since I met Heidi a month earlier was finally at hand. I knew the first time I saw Heidi and him interacting that this was going to work. Yet I needed to give both of them time to get used to each other.  I never had the heart to promote Heidi as a foster dog because I knew I wanted her to be OUR Great Foster Fail. So many others in the GSP community have their fabulous foster fail stories; there is such a tender sweetness to each of them. And I had a feeling that our story was going that way. 

This summary glosses over so many beautiful details of my time with Heidi... I never meant to find our next dog on my own, while my husband was away. But it happened. You can’t stop kismet! Heidi settled into our home and hearts so quickly and easily. She has adjusted to our eclectic schedule and offers us such great love in the cutest ways. She greets us with her adorable wiggle-butt prancey-dance and a toy (or dirty sock if that’s what’s convenient). Nose boops are a thing; I’m so happy to have a dog that boops her velvety nose to mine multiple times a day! Heidi uses her power stare though the window to keep us safe from lizards in our courtyard and on our deck. She has different voices for different situations: a low growl and deep bark, a singing howl that she uses to rally us into play, a high-pitched plea when she is out and wants in or is in and needs out to chase a lizard. A gentle lead leash is all that it took to tame her from her pulling habit, and now she walks beside me on our walks. (She’d love to take the lead, I can tell but respects the short leash with minimal effort on my part.) She runs with my husband and hikes with both of us. She will jump in the car with great enthusiasm any chance she gets to go on an adventure. Our grown-and-flown adult children have both had the chance to meet her and are thrilled that she is now one of us. I could not be any happier to announce that it’s official. Heidi has her forever family.”

And we couldn’t be happier that Heidi found her home with the Broady family!   What a beautiful story.  Congratulations!