Anyway, I remember very clearly still, even after all these years, the first time I came to Friends for Life. My girl scout troop was volunteering for the day, helping to earn some badges or something. I had been silly, and forgotten to wear closed-toed shoes, so as punishment I was told to stay in the office and help out there while everyone else helped out with the kennels and everything else. Well, to this day I am so grateful I was absentminded that day, because that's when I got to play with this absolutely sweet little puppy that had arrived a few days before.
I had been expressly ordered, by my mother, that I was not allowed to get a puppy. We had the room for one, but she didn't think my siblings and I could handle the responsibility of having a dog. She gave me an entire list, in fact, of what the ideal puppy would be if, and only if, we did consider getting a dog in the future. The dog had to be female, had to be short haired, couldn't weigh more than a certain weight when she was full grown, so on and so forth.
Well...God had a hand in this, because that little tiny puppy in the office fit every single one of those things on my mom's list, which I'm sure was made to make sure I did not get a puppy that day. Ginny was everything I could ever want in a dog, and by the time my dad came to pick me up from the shelter, I knew she was going to come home with us, no matter what.
15 years later, and Ginny is still the best friend she was to me when I was little. She's much bigger than the vet thought she would be, hehe (the only thing on the list that she didn't meet,) But I don't think I could have ever asked for a better dog. She has been faithful through it all, playing like a six month old puppy even to this day, though she has arthritis and a torn muscle in her hind leg that makes walking difficult. She has gone almost completely grey, losing those classic facial markings that had us convinced for so long that she had beagle in her. (Now we're not so sure, hehe. Definitely has Jack Russel, and possibly some other kind of hound, even some pit in her if her jaw strength is any indication, hehe)
Even though she's old, and probably nearing the end of her time with us here on Earth, she still loves following me around the house, and hates to be left alone. She'll still chase after her stuffed animals, her balls, and chew off the top layer of golf balls if we aren't careful. She loves her brother Rosco, a four year old Corgi-chihuahua-dachshund mix, and her other species brother Elliot, a seven year old Ragamuffin cat who thinks he's a dog. And of course she loves us, her humans.
I don't even think I can believe my life without this dog in my life. I'm 25 years old right now, and Ginny's been a part of our family since I was in fifth grade, so for a huge part of my life she's been here. To think that she is nearing the end is heartbreaking, but I know that she'll always live on in my heart, and I'm proud and happy to share her story with everyone, because I can't even begin to imagine my life without my baby girl!!
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