This letter came to WHLR from Kelley Cook, who adopted Hannah, my very first foster, back in March 2008.
The day that heaven blessed us with Miss Hannah
It all began with an email. It was email about a young, yellow lab that needed to find a home before the end of the day, or else he would be put down. My heart hurt. I called your daddy crying and trying to explain to him why we needed to adopt this dog. Your daddy, I'm sure, was taken off guard. It was the middle of a work day and here I was crying like a baby for this dog. He said, 'honey, let me call you back.' Well, I immediately called the shelter only to discover that someone else had just adopted the dog. I sank in my chair and somehow composed myself enough to say, 'Well, I'm just glad that he will have a good home.' Inside, I was dying. I had my heart set once I read the email. It had been almost 2 months since Hagen had passed away. Meantime, I had probably heard you say, 'Doggie' 5,679,432 times! I knew I wanted you to grow up with a dog. Well, the lord works in mysterious ways. The email got my wheels turning. I now knew, that I had to rescue a dog. So I got online while you slept. For hours, I researched dogs...yellow labs. I had come across two dogs that really stood out. One was named Gus, who was about 7 months old. And the other was Hannah, who was around 1 year old. I truly wanted to save them both, but Gus had an adoption pending over the weekend and from the sound of it Hannah seemed like she would be the better pick anyways. Her little caption said:
Hannah is a little gorgeous, active doll! Another castoff of our disposable society, this lovely lady is 1 year old and ready for her fun, responsible, Lab loving forever family to come along and rescue her from rescue! Her foster dad is teaching her how to be a well behaved lady-she's learning house manners, leash skills and basic obeidience commands. She's very food oriented so learning tricks will be a snap. Hannah is a people, cat, kid and dog lover who enjoys her toys, rides in the car and hanging our with her dog buddies.
She was with the Wild Heir Labrador Rescue. I sat down with your daddy that night that I found her profile and tried to talk him into letting us adopt Miss Hannah. I finally asked him, 'what is holding you back?' He said, 'I'm just not over Hagen yet.' I said, 'Honey, adopting a new dog isn't meant to replace Hagen...It's just another animal to love.' He finally said that I could email the rescue and see if she was still available. Well, you would have thought I had won the lottery. I was like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't email the rescue fast enough. The email that I sent said,
Hi! I was wondering if Hannah is still available. We recently lost our yellow lab of 14 years. My husband had him for just about 1/2 his life and I became his mama about 9 years ago. We have a 15 month old little girl, named Gabbey. Her first word was 'doggie.' We know that we will want another lab, but we wanted to perhaps rescue one this round. I am looking to get a lab that is a little passed the puppy age, but not too old where it would be a huge adjustment. My heart yearns for another dog. We have 2 cats right now and we are on about 1.50 acreas and is fenced in. We have a pool too, (our lab use to love to swim). We also have wonderful neighbors with a lab on one side and a golden retriever on the other. Anyhoo- sorry to ramble...just wanted you to know a little about us. I have grown up with dogs my entire life and life just doesn't seem the same without a dog to love. Sincerely,
Kelley CookWell, I got an email back from a lady named, Linda Coke, the very next day and she called me. The next step was for me to fill out an application and then they were to do a background check on me. So after emailing with Linda back and forth and her doing my background check....I called Ross to see if she was willing to do a road trip with me to Charleston, SC to adopt miss Hannah. Oh, I forgot, your daddy agreed to let me fill out the application and then agreed to let me get her. :) I was so excited! Ross and I went by ourselves to Charleston. I left you with your daddy and he took you to Nana's and Ross left Keiran with Bev. We got to Charleston about 1pm, but we weren't able to meet the foster dad and Linda until 6pm. However, we knew that going in...we just parked our car in downtown Charleston and went and had lunch on the waterway and then went to the market and some of the shops around town. Later that afternoon we went to the pier and swang and just laughed and talked. We had such a fun day! I couldn't have picked a better person to go with me! Anyhoo- we got to the foster dad's house around 5:45pm and he let us in. He had Miss Hannah and two of his own, English black labs. Miss Hannah, was by far, the most well behaved. She would sit in front of us and let us hug her. She had a look in her eyes as if to say...She would be the best dog she could be. I believed her sincerety. She was such a sweet dog and I had no doubt that Hagen had picked her out for us. Everything worked out just like it was suppose to. I signed my papers, wrote them a check, put her new collar on, and we let the foster dad say, 'goodbye' to her in his own way. We stepped outside and a few minutes later he brought her outside to get in our truck. She curled up in the bed I had brought for her. Ross and I set the navigation for home and off we went. Ross took pictures of her in the back and loved all over her. I couldn't stop smiling. I felt like we were meant to have her and that I knew that I would be the best mama she had ever had. I couldn't wait for her to meet you, Miss Gabbey. I knew you would become fast friends and she will bring you lots of love! I dropped Ross off arond 10pm and then Hannah and I headed for our house. Your daddy, Will and Jennifer (next door) were waiting for me in the driveway. I couldn't wait to show Hannah off. She was so good all the way home! I think your daddy was pleasantly surprised...although it was probably hard for him to show. Hannah slept in her new bed on the floor, on my side of the bed. She was such a good little girl. In the morning, I couldn't sleep....you were at Nana's and I knew I couldn't wait for you to meet Miss Hannah. So, after laying in bed from 5-6am staring at the ceiling, I decided to get up and get in the shower. I was at Nana's early. I had Miss Hannah in the truck with me. I put you in the truck with us and Miss Hannah gave you a few kisses which you weren't too sure about at first. I knew it wouldn't be long before you were saying, 'doggie' over and over again. We stopped by Grandpa's and Bertie's before going home. They have 5 dogs and I knew would be excited for us.
A few days later....these are the things that just melt your heart.
- Gabbey bringing Miss Hannah all of her bones, toys, balls to her and Miss Hannah sitting in front of her waiting to be given them.
- Miss Hannah following us from room to room. Waiting for us to get out of the shower or sitting under the kitchen table until we are done eating.
- Gabbey getting in Hannah's bed with her already in it.
- Gabbey offering her food to Miss Hannah.
- Miss Hannah waiting at the foot of the stairs for me to bring Gabbey down in the morning.
- Throwing the ball for Hannah in the backyard, with Gabbey pointing and saying, 'Doggie'
So far, Miss Hannah, is a blessing from above. She is a gentle soul who I trust with my child and family. She is my cuddle buddy and I know will be one of my little girl's bestest friends! She has already brought more joy than we could have ever imagined. I am so thankful for our new addition to our already precious family.
I am Hannah's mama who adopted her back in March. She is by far one of the sweetest dogs I've ever had. She has brought so much joy to our growing family. We are so blessed to have gotten her from you guys. Thank you for taking good care of her until we adopted her.
Sincerely,
Kelley Cook