We found Wallace in a Petfinder search. He was so cute, I didn’t want anyone else to have him. So we went down to the ASPCA shelter as soon as we could. When we walked down the row of cages, all the dogs were barking and jumping up and down. But not Wallace, he was just sitting there quietly with a sad look on his face face, like why am I here? Wallace’s previous owner was stationed at the local Air Force base. At two years old, Wallace ended up at the shelter when his owner was relocated and couldn’t take Wallace with him.

In the shelter’s meet and greet room, Wallace was so happy and excited to play. The shelter volunteer sat with us while we played with him. And then we adopted him and gave him his forever home!

Like many animals who are “abandoned” at the shelter, Wallace had separation anxiety. We lost countless shoes and remotes to Wallace’s nervous energy while we were gone at work. But we still loved him. I don’t believe in returning adopted pets. When you adopt an animal, you have to be committed to providing everything that they need. And this is more than just shelter and food. They need love, patience and training. Adopting an animal is a great gift, especially since there are so many wonderful animals out there just waiting for their forever home. 

It has been nine years since we adopted Wallace and our family has grown with the addition of 3 year old twins. As our family has grown, so has the love for our Wallace. We couldn’t have asked for a better dog to be a part of our family. The twins can jump on him, give him bear hugs, or pull his tail and he is only gentle and patient in return.

This is Wallace and my story. What’s yours?

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