Your Pet's Rescue Story
Anberlin's mom came into the clinic of the shelter I worked at with a life threatening complication with her labor. She had one puppy and the second one was stuck. She went into emergency surgery and miraculously pulled through, but could not nurse her pup due to all of the medications she was on and a raging infection.
Anberlin was 2 days old at the time and the clinic opted for euthanasia because her mother could not nurse her. I stepped in and offered to foster with minimal hope that she would make it after having nursed on a mother with a terrible infection. I took her home and she not only made it, but thrived. She was 1 lb when I brought her home and within a week she was drinking almost an entire can of formula a day. By three weeks old, she was trying to steal my dogs food. At 5 weeks she was bullying my brother's Chihuahua and trying to play with anything she could. She turned 8 weeks the week of Christmas and I had her spayed and had every intention of giving her back to the shelter to go up for adoption. After her spay, someone mentioned what a cute "Christmas puppy" she was going to be and I just about had a panic attack.
In that moment, I realized I could not stand the thought of her being loved for the Christmas season and then abandoned after the holidays charm wore off. I suddenly knew she was meant for my life and adopted her on the spot, despite not wanting a puppy AT ALL.
We spent the first year learning the ups and downs of puppyhood together. She was literally one of the worst puppies, terrible chewer, sensitive stomach, too smart for her own good; but she excelled at learning. She flew through basic and advanced obedience and would do practically anything for a tennis ball. Eventually, she outgrew her bad habits and became a stellar dog.
Today, Anberlin is almost 8 years old. We have moved from Arizona to North Carolina and back and now reside in Florida. She continues to be a rock star in every way (after all, she is named after some), including coming to kids camp and temperament testing other dogs. I refer to her as my soul mate in dog form and she truly is. There is not a day that goes by that I am not thankful that I decided to give her a shot and in turn she captured my heart a million times over.