Thanks to 11-year-old Matteo Balentine for sharing his story about his beloved rescue dog, Sierra.

Thanks to 11-year-old Matteo Balentine for sharing his story about his beloved rescue dog, Sierra. We hope other young owners of rescue dogs will be inspired to spread the word about how great it is to rescue and what wonderful family dogs rescues make.

 

In Matteo’s words…

On July 29, 2012, at the age of 5 months, Sierra, a Catahoula Leopard dog (a Louisiana hunting dog mix) entered the lives of her new family and helped us get over the loss of our old dog.  

The first week or two she was shy, but before we knew it she became the happy, loving, tail-wagging, troublemaker that I know and love and she’s never stopped.

When we got Sierra she didn’t know how to bark, so we taught her (the worst mistake we could make). After a few months, Sierra needed to have surgery on her leg. It was sad for the whole family and we all wish that is her last surgery. After a month or two of recovery, she was back to her ecstatic self — chasing every squirrel she could find and every ball, especially golf balls, and never missing a chance to bark at the mailman.  

Every time I come home from school or camp she jumps up and sprints towards me wagging her tail like I’d been gone for a month. All I have to do is look at her and her tail starts to wag! She has a habit of trapping you in a corner, so you can pet her leg, which is her favorite spot to be petted (her second favorite spot is behind her shaggy ears).  

The day we adopted Sierra from the Elmsford Shelter may be the best day of my life and it may also be the best day of Sierra’s life.

If you have a pet adoption story to share, email RyeRescues@ gmail.com. And remember, “ADOPT DON’T SHOP” and save a life!

— Photo courtesy of Geoff Tischman  (tischmanpets.com)