Shelter Pet Story: Atticus Found Me

In honor of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, we've asked our bloggers to share their stories of shelter animal adoption.

After finally transitioning into a career that would give me the opportunity to own a dog (without having to depend on doggy day care or dog walkers), I knew exactly what I was looking for: a medium-sized, playful dog who was already housebroken and in need of a loving, caring owner.

But when Wilma of Wilma's Orphans in Hempstead, New York introduced me to Cindy, the lab mix I'd found via Petfinder, I was surprised to find that the dog was absolutely terrified of me. It took literally half an hour before she would let me go anywhere near her, and I took it as an obvious sign that she wasn't meant to be mine. On a whim, Wilma figured she might as well introduce me to some of the other dogs she had rescued. She began to let them come barreling out of her house, two at a time. One after another, each dog was equally adorable, but none felt like he was mine.

And then out of the house came little Atticus, a 4-year-old, 16-pound Schnauzer mix with saucer eyes and surprisingly nimble little legs that leaped directly into my lap. He lay on his back, looked up at me, and he's been begging for belly scratches for more than a year now.

Tags: adopting dog, AdoptingDog, adoption, dogs, pets