On May 14th 2016, I drove down to the humane society facility to see a female black lab mix and two other dogs. When viewing the dogs that were looking for a home at their web site, I didn’t notice that the other two dogs were located at their other facility. I got my position in the wait queue as the humane society was very busy and proceeded to go and walk their facility looking at each furry face in their kennel runs.

One of the first things I noticed about this female black lab was that she was not barking like the other dogs. She was happy and excited to see me at her kennel stall. I started talking to her and giving her kibble that was available. They have these tube chutes for you to dispense kibble at each kennel run that you are suppose to use. She was was happy to get the pieces I was dropping in the tube to her. Not following the rules I decided to sit on the floor in front of her kennel and give her a pice of kibble through the wire mesh. She took each piece very gently and would crush it up with great enthusiasm and this funny expression on her face. At that point I decided that I wasn’t going to go see their other facility to see the other two dogs.

I think I spent an hour with her at the front of her kennel run before staff was available to let me meet her in one of their private “meet and greet” rooms. She was happy, tail wagging, interested in being petted and touched. As I worked my hands over her, I could see she had a sturdy build, didn’t mind being touched and already knew the sit command. I talked with the staff person and learned that this dogs’ human had passed away and the rest of the family didn’t want her. She had been with them about 3 months.

I made my decision to adopt her and was sent up front to do the adoption paper work. I was provided with her veterinary history while at the humane society, a bag of kibble, and a pile of papers that included things like coupons for the big box pet stores. I was also told her name which I immediately decided didn’t fit her and needed to be changed.

I keep a list of names for dogs Bothe male and female. One of the names that had been added to the list was Cady. That name comes from the Longmire novels written by Craig A. Johnson. Cady is Walt Longmire’s adult daughter. You can learn about the books by doing a search and there is also a great Longmire TV series that started on A&E and moved to Netflix. I recommend reading the books. Don’t get turned off by the idea that Walt Longmire is a sheriff in Wyoming. The story setting is in modern times. The TV series has some of the most beautiful scenery in it.

So with all of that being said, here are Cady’s Gotcha Day photos –

She hopped right in the front seat for me. Age 6 and ready to roll.

This is her "lets get the heck outta here" face.

Cady's happy face that I get to see each day.