I mentioned before that we adopted a puppy named Angel. She's almost 5 months now and I just wanted to share a little bit about what I love about her…
1. She plays hard.
When we were bringing her home in the car, we talked about how Charley might just dislike her. He might not take well to a puppy. We were completely wrong and I'm so glad. Angel plays hard and she loves to play with Charley!
2. She sleeps hard
I don't think I could be that comfortable with a foot in my face. Okay, I definitely know I couldn't be comfortable with a foot in my face! (My friends reading this who know me very well know how much I HATE feet.)
3. She has a big smile
This girl has so much spunk and has lit up all of our lives. She makes Curtis smiles so much and he just adores her. Charley backs her up & loves to play with her. While no dog would ever ever replace another dog, 聽we lost our Cinder almost 4 years ago and we have been wanting for a little girl dog once again. I love the new dynamic she brings to our lives and I love that both Curtis and Charley are so much happier with her in our lives now.
4. She loves Charley so much.
She completely looks up to him like a big brother and it's amazing how well they get along. She does get upset when he steals her puppy bone or her rawhide stick. She jumps up and down as if to say, hey…look, umm, he just stole my bone!
5. She belongs in our family.
I can't tell you that I was completely sure the moment we met her at the adoption site at Petsmart an hour away from where we live. I can tell you about the big smile she brought to Curtis' face when he first held her. With all our craziness and ridiculousness, she completely belongs in our family.
This is the collar she had on when we met her. The name that she came with. I have to admit I was against keeping the name Angel. Why? Because we had a puppy before, his name was Charley. 馃檪 And he was no angel. Puppies are NOT angels. Curtis persisted and so I gave in…so she's Charley's Angel. Awww, I know. But it wasn't planned that way.
A little about Angel – she was pulled out of a kill shelter in Tennessee along with her brothers and sisters. She has no tail, our vet said her tail was docked (cut off). Why I wonder…and why dropped off a shelter after going through the trouble of having her tail professionally removed? I still think about her brother at the rescue and I hope he got a good home too. We adopted her from this wonderful group, Save a Life Pet Rescue.
If you're able to, I highly recommend you adopt a dog or a cat from a shelter or a rescue group. You're saving a life. And in some cases, saving many lives because you make room for more animals to be saved when you adopt.
Today is…Curtis' birthday! Happy Birthday, honey! The other day I asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he answered, “a puppy.” Well, you got one honey.
We have drawings made by Larry Merrill of Charley when he was a pup and other drawings of Cinder and Charley that hang in our family room…so I thought it was fitting to have him once again draw for us…for Curtis' birthday present. I hope he likes it. 馃檪 I'll give it to him when he comes home from work tonight. I might not be able to wait and make him open it up before he leaves for work!
Today is also our 9th wedding anniversary. Nine years ago, we got married in a surprise wedding ceremony in front of our friends and family – it was originally a surprise birthday party for Curtis but he found out…haha long story. Cinder was at our wedding and it was such a special day for us. We still miss her terribly.
I love you, Curtis, more than I can ever express. You're a huge supporter of The Little Kitchen, you ground me and you love me for me. To many more years! I hope we finally get to go on our honeymoon next year! 馃檪
Any ideas on where we should go for our 10 year wedding anniversary next year? Do you have dogs and cats? I would love to hear about them. Are they rescues?
Sandi graham says
Love this! We have a 6 month old that looks like he could be Angel’s brother. He is Rhodesian ridgeback and Australian cattle dog. The coloring is amazingly similar. He was born from a pup that was rescued last thanksgiving
TerriAnn @ Cookies & Clogs says
Congratulations on your 9th anniversary! As I was reading I kept forgetting if Curtis was your husband or your child, but you don’t have kids. Hehe, I guess most husbands are like kids anyway 馃槢 Love that Angel has become such a major part of the family. She makes a happy, smiley face when she’s happy…just like Speckles. Dogs are such wonderful pets!
Lori says
Love this post! Happy Birthday to Charley and Happy Anniversary to you! We adopted a second pug about a year ago and we love her so much. It took a while for big sister to warm up to her, but they are buds now. I love that picture with the toy bin!
Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch says
Oh my gracious, I love this! So many happy things happening in just this post! Love it, Julie!
Mommynamedapril says
We just celebrated our 9th as well. Congratulations! And surprise wedding??? Do tell! Please!!!
Julie Deily says
Oh congrats to you too, April!!! It’s a long story, I’ll have to do a big post next year! 馃檪
Monica says
Happy Anniversary J! And like you guys we have a rescue too, we also have a BIG DOG.. and 2 cats (also rescued)…
Honeymoon… I’m looking for a place too for next year after our wedding.. but Thailand is in the works.. as well as this place: http://treehouseshotelcostarica.com/costa-rica-hotel.html
Julie Deily says
Thank you, Monica!
Paula- bell'alimento says
xoxo so sweet Happy Happy Anniversary (and happy birthday Curtis!)
Julie Deily says
Thank you, Paula!! xo
Sommer@ASpicyPerspective says
There’s nothing like a dog smile! 馃檪 馃檪
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
Happy Anniversary! After 9 years, you certain deserve a honeymoon–better make it a big one next year! 馃榾
Angel is absolutely adorable and I’m so glad you were able to give her a good home. It’s funny how the older pet always seems to take the younger one under his wing. 馃檪 We have 4(!) cats and 3 of them are special needs. I’m a soft touch, so I wanted to adopt them because I knew no one else would!
Julie Deily says
Thank you!! 馃檪 we have kitties too!
Cooks_Books says
The portrait is beautiful! Seems to have captured her essence (from what I can tell via the photos). Was Curtis surprised by the present?
Love the photos of Angel and Charley playing together and am thrilled that Charley loves her as much as you two do. 馃檪
We didn’t go on our honeymoon until our 10th anniversary: Paris and the south of France, in the middle of February. Wonderful trip.
As for dogs over here, still holding out on getting another. I know we’ll rescue one, at the right time. In the meantime, thanks for the inspiration!
Julie Deily says
Not sure if he was surprised but he loved it!! Thank you!! Hugs to you! Hope you’re one day to bring another dog ino your lives.
Karly says
Aw! Happy anniversary!
And I hate feet too. Blech!
Julie Deily says
Thank you, Karly!! Haha we’re kindred spirits. 馃檪
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious says
You guys are so amazing to adopt Angel! Jason and I have been planning to get a dog and we’re definitely going to get a rescue and give him a great home!
Julie Deily says
Thank you & you should adopt one now! 馃檪
Cassie says
Angel is so sweet, thank you for sharing her with us! And happy anniversary, cheers to another love-filled year!
Julie Deily says
Thank you, Cassie!! You’re in my thoughts.
Aggie says
Oh and our Amber is a rescue dog, wouldn’t have it any other way!! 馃檪
Aggie says
Love this post Julie!! Angel fit right into your family, I love all the pics, especially the one of her smiling & pulling all her toys out!
Happy anniversary & happy birthday Curtis!
Julie Deily says
Thank you, Aggie!! 馃榾
Ali @ Gimme Some Oven says
Oh my goodness — so cute!!! I love her smile. 馃檪
Jessica @ How Sweet says
surprise ceremony?! i just got chills. happy anniversary!
Julie Deily says
Thank you! We had a nice dinner out. 馃檪
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says
Awww — what a great “wedding” story! I love it — Happy Anniversary!!
We do have a dog — another rescue for us; with the exception of one dog, we have always adopted from rescue organizations. The “one dog” was a Blue Lacy, which is the State Dog of Texas and a breed developed by my husband’s ancestors… we purchased a Lacy from the president of the Blue Lacy Association … she was a very careful breeder who handled all of the registries for the breed…. we trusted her.
Julie Deily says
Thank you so much, Rachel! Very cool that you rescue too…I don’t have a problem with people going to breeders, as long as they are reputable!