“Yes she is here,” the receptionist said. “Do you want to go back and have a look at her and see what you think?” I knew either way, I was leaving there with Sloan, whether she liked it or not. As I walked down the lonely hallways of the shelter seeing all the little faces looking up at me, I began to wonder why I had chosen this one dog to rescue? What made Sloan so much better than all these other dogs? They were just as deserving as she was. Unlike the movies, the dogs weren’t barking at all and most didn’t even try to get my attention; it was as if they each knew their own destiny. I kept walking, trying not to make eye contact with them. I didn’t want to give them a false sense of hope that they were being rescued. 

Finally, I came to Sloan’s kennel number and looked inside, wondering if she would look the same as she did in the picture or if I would pet her and she would bite my hand off. Suddenly, I realized that what I was doing could have some huge consequences. What if she needed thousands of dollars worth of medical attention, or what if she was going to tear up the foster lady’s house or bite her children? I bent down slowly and looked into the kennel. 

Sitting in the back was a shy, white-and-black Border Collie mix with black speckles on her nose and face. I motioned her to come to me and she nervously stepped forward and allowed me to pet her. She was adorable: sweet, shy, loving and scared. I walked back to the receptionist, but this time made sure to smile and pet all the dogs on my way back. They deserved the little ounce of love and affection that I could give them before I left. 

While filling out paperwork at the front desk, I discovered that Sloan was already spayed so there would be no fee to adopt her.  She was a free dog, literally. Right then, I heard them bringing her down the hallway and I bent down with arms open to greet her. 

“Are you keeping her or just fostering her?” the receptionist asked. “I’m just transporting her to a foster home,” I replied, although I didn’t really believe my own words as I spoke them. 

Sloan and I turned to leave, but as soon as we stepped out into the parking lot, Sloan stopped dead in her tracks. Was she scared or refusing to walk on the leash? Suddenly, I felt two paws lightly touch each of my hips and she was standing there, hugging me. I truly believe this was her way of thanking me for saving her. 

If you do not believe that animals have feelings, you are wrong. Sloan understood completely what I had done for her. We got in the car and within five minutes I called the foster lady and explained that I had fallen in love. Sloan and I had created an unbreakable bond. I decided then and there that I was keeping her. Someone was physically going to tear this dog out of my death grip to take her from me. She needed me and I needed her. 

Sloan has turned out to be the world’s greatest dog and I take her with me to work every Friday on our designated Four-Legged Fridays. She is the sweetest dog ever, already house-broken, crate trained, leash trained, obeys commands, gets along with my other dogs, is great with people, has no major health issues, and is not food-aggressive. She does have an extremely mild case of heartworms that will clear up simply from taking her monthly heartworm medicine. 

The fact that Sloan is so perfect makes me believe that there was a reason I found her and she found me. You could say it was meant to be. I just want to say sorry to my mom and sorry to my boyfriend. I love you both, as does Sloan!