In my life I have had the honor and priviledge of caring for many of God's furry little creatures. I have developed such a love for each of them, so much so that they have become like members of the family to me. If you are someone who thinks of your pets in this manner, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
My husband and I got engaged after about 3 years of his attempts to convince me of how cute he was (yep, he was right). We had a long engagement with plans of a huge wedding. Unbeknownst to us, what would ultimately end up happening would change the course of our lives forever. On a hot Summer's evening we received a phone call that there was a Boxer puppy in need of a home after his brother almost died. Since I was not allowed to have pets in the apartment I was living in, this posed a problem for us. We had been researching Boxers for awhile and knew that we really wanted to adopt one. Our plans were to get married, eventually buy a home and then look into Boxer rescue. We had not even considered buying a home yet and were not really sure that we would even be able to. Almost all of the rentals we looked at would not allow us to bring a puppy, especially one that would grow to be so big! Now that I am a homeowner and a real estate agent, I can completely understand this mentality. All too often we have seen our clients devasted after a tenant with a large pet destroyed their home. 
So began our adventure...we decided to elope, thinking that we would have an easier time renting from someone who may allow us tohave a puppy. This gave Gunner is nickname, "Wedding Puppy". For years I teased him for being responsible for my lack of the luxurious wedding of my dreams. Of course, I wouldn't trade all of our memories for a wedding in Paris or the gown of a princess! Shortly after we were able to purchase our first home, taking advantage of an awesome interest rate and some great benefits. It was such an awesome feeling to be free from the worry of wondering if our landlord would show up and yell at us because Gunner had yet again dug a trench in the backyard in his attemtps to fight off the evil, Nazi terrorist cats of the neighborhood. How else would he execute a sneak attack on them to protect the famiy he loved so much, right? So after signing paperwork until our hands gave way to cramping and we were certain we had taken down a rain forest somewhere, we moved Gunner into his new fenced-in backyard where he could come and go through his doggie door as he pleased. To this day we still live in that home and have raised three beautiful kids as well as many other little critters.
Early this year after losing a long battle with Lymphatic cancer, we said goodbye to our Wedding Puppy as a family. I think we all think about him every single day with fond memories, but my husband and I will always remember how he was the reason we got married when we did and bought a house here in Jacksonville at the time that we did. If he had not been put in our lives at that very time, we would have most likely been tenants for a few more years and missed out on some great benefits as homeowners, not to mention some pretty incredible memories as a family.
Today we are the parents of Jovi, a 3 year old mini schnauzer and Brian, a 3 month old yellow lab puppy. We are so thankful that we own our home and have the ability to adopt and welcome animals into our home as family without having to worry about asking permission of a landlord. If you are ready for this kind of freedom and want to look into your home-buying options, register here on my website to find more information about the process of purchasing a home. You can search homes for sale in Jacksonville, Wilmington or anywhere in Onslow, Pender & New Hanover Counties.
I truly hope that those people who are entrusted to take care of God's furry little creatures would be fully equipped with all of the resourses needed, including a good home to raise them in.
If you would like more information on becoming the owner of a Boxer, please visit Carolina Boxer Rescue.
If you would like more information on adopting any pet in Jacksonville, NC, please visit Onslow County Animal Services.
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