Sandy

Chip came to me as a foster Wheaten on May 3, 2003 as my first foster dog. I was looking for a Wheaten after my precious Lucas lost his life in February. I began looking for a rescue Wheaten in late March.

He was brought to Longmeadow, MA by his previous owners, who felt forced to release him to WIN for some nipping behavior with their niece. Chip is a 5 year old, fifty pound Wheaten with a big black nose big, sweet brown eyes. He was a previous WIN adoption, so my house was his third ‘home.’

He is a love who likes to cuddle. I loved him instantly…but he and my boyfriends, Wheaten, who he would have spent a lot of time with, were not friends at first site, both being alpha dogs.

So I began to look for the perfect home for Chip – my mission: to find him his FOREVER home, which I felt could only be done by placing him with the right family. I knew I would foster him as long as it took to find the perfect home. I began going through all of the WIN applications looking for his new home. It was a challenge at first to find homes without children and without other dogs, but there were several so I began calling and leaving messages. I had a lot of calls back, but nothing felt just right for Chip until Leonor Sheedy returned my call.

She told me about losing her own Wheaten (a previous WIN adoptee), in December. They were still mourning his loss, but had begun to look for their next Wheaten – they had applied to WIN and then after a few months of not hearing back from WIN they began to look for a reputable breeder with the thought of getting a puppy, although they really wanted to rescue another one.

Leonor called me about Chip and she was SO excited about him – sight unseen! She was calling from work and after I told her Chip’s story, she said she wanted to talk to her husband and teenager daughter to get their approval before agreeing. I had a few other calls that night but I felt really good about Leonor and wanted to wait for her response. I gave her only until the next morning to decide. She didn’t even wait that long – calling me that night saying they definitely wanted to adopt him – still sight unseen! Later that night I was finally able to email her a photo of Chip and they wrote back that they had been out getting him “two new beds, lots of toys and treats, and also a tag with his name, our address and phone number.” They said they LOVED his picture and reminded them of their last Wheaten, Shamus.

We agreed to meet on Saturday, May 10th – each driving about half way – I live in Massachusetts and they live in Pennsylvania. The Sheedy’s and I met at a Starbucks – they were waiting for me as I pulled up. They loved him instantly, saying he reminded them so much of Shamus. Chip loved them right away, too. They had treats, water, and lots of love ready for him. Leonor sat in the back seat with him all the way back to Pennsylvania so he wouldn’t be scared or alone.

I’ve received several emails since from the Sheedy’s and they say Chip has been a perfect addition to their family. They love him and he is doing well.