“In September of 2017, I saw a post that a Heeler and her babies were coming from Texas after Hurricane Harvey displaced them from their homes. I was excited since we lost our Red Heeler to cancer the spring before, and our Blue Heeler had been depressed ever since. A blue female pup really caught my interest, until I saw the mamma who was full of fear and looked so broken. I sent photos of her to my daughter and she said, ‘You HAVE to take the mama. SHE NEEDS YOU!’.
I knew my daughter was right and decided to give the mama a chance. My granddaughter said her name should be Hope, and I agreed. I went to Hope’s foster home to get to know her; she never really warmed up to me and I admit that I questioned my judgement. But after a month of visiting, I decided to take her.
The day we brought her home, she ran away and was missing for two nights. On the second morning, I went to feed my horses and saw Hope under a tree up the hill by the barn. With the help of ground beef and one of her pups who we were able to bring over, we eventually got Hope back home.
Hope was very fearful of her new surroundings at first. But soon, we saw an improvement. She started playing with our other dog on the third day. After 9 days, I took Hope on an overnight trip and that’s when I felt like we finally connected. That night, she jumped in bed with me and she hasn’t missed a night of sleeping with me since.
Nowadays, Hope and Blue are best friends. Hope is so loyal to me, is good with my husband, and she also loves her kitty, Bobbi. We live in a rural area and take long walks. Other than to chase rabbits or rock chucks, she sticks close, even without a leash. I have heard so many times ‘you have really changed that dog’s life.’ That is true, but I have gotten so much more from Hope than she ever has from me. She has changed our lives in such a positive way.” – Mama Hope’s mom
