Introducing X.

A whole year of healing. A whole year of trust. A whole year of watching him realize he was finally safe. A whole year of work, constant reassurance. Training. Stability. A whole year. Sometimes all it takes is one person willing to look past what a dog is in the moment and see what they can become.

X was never part of the plan. Honestly, he wasn’t even on my radar. I was at a dog show with my friend, and we were talking about Mocha. She kept saying how special she was, and I told her,

“Mochas only ever had one other dog that reminded me of her, and I placed her.”

I said, “Matter of fact, I think I’m gonna message that lady and see if she still has her… maybe she’d sell her back” I knew it was unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

Around that same time, I had planned a breeding with Hollis using an outside guy. We had the semen shipped in, everything looked good… and then Hollis backtracked on progesterone.

Complete bust.

So while messaging the lady about Mocha’s daughter, I came across an old photo she had sent me about a year prior. This dog laying on the ground. Nothing flashy. Nothing that screamed “special.” Truthfully, he wasn’t even phantom, which is crazy looking back considering how obsessed I was with phantom at the time

But something about him, Wouldn’t leave me alone. So I asked, Would you be interested in letting me use that dog for Hollis?

And let me tell you how insane this sounds now…

No Embark.

No OFAs.

No updated photos.

No pedigree.

Nothing. Just a feeling in my gut that there was something about this dog I needed. She agreed to the service. But during the conversation, I finally said, “Honestly… would you just sell him to me?”

And she agreed. At that point, I still had no clue what I was walking into. She warned me he was “a little” matted and hadn’t been groomed because she had been sick. And me being a groomer, I brushed it off you know, “Oh that’s okay, I can fix that.” No. I was not prepared. When she opened the door, X was hunkered down in the backseat absolutely terrified. She pulled him out… And he immediately had bloody diarrhea right in front of us. The friend I brought with me and I just looked at each other like, “What the hell did we just get ourselves into?”

But at that point… I already knew. This dog needed me. My friend walked away because she couldn’t even handle talking to the woman anymore. But I stayed. Because this had become bigger than just buying a dog. We loaded him into my van, and my ONLY thought was “This dog cannot come near mine.” He looked like a walking disease.

So immediately, I called my vet and asked if they would quarantine him until we could run everything.. Shots. Heartworm test. Fecal. Everything. There was no way I was risking my dogs. Before taking him there, we stopped at the grooming shop. And that’s where reality hit.

Hours… Literal hours of shaving off pelted matting with surgical blades. His coat was so impacted it was traumatic for him to even remove. But underneath all of that… Was HIM

And the second that hair came off? This dog melted into me. Like he knew.And I knew too. That’s why he had been pulling at me so hard. I truly believe God took him out of her hands and placed him into mine, Because this wasn’t just about “rehabbing” a dog. This was purpose.

This is exactly why I’ve taken in so many dogs that needed saving and rebuilding over the years. Because I can see what they could be. Not just what’s in front of me. The whole potential. And if you met X now? You would never know the fear. The neglect. The horror sitting behind those eyes. Looking at him now makes every second worth it.

X went from a 42-pound bag of bones… To a healthy, thriving 76-pound boy. Happy. Loved. Safe. And his love for me? Endless.

We truly do not deserve dogs. But I’m forever grateful this one found his way to me.