Lucy & Stella

Lucy Chai & Stella Spice

-An Adoption Story-

Lucy Chai and Stella Spice joined our home this week and have completely taken over our hearts. These two were made for each other, made for us and we feel truly honored to be their adoptive family. 

Both times I visited the SPCA, I had my eye on other dogs. I thought I was looking for that picture perfect, extra fluffy, magazine-cute dog. What we found instead has been so much more and a daily reminder that what we want is not always what we need.

Originally, we were planning on waiting until after some summer travels to find a new dog (or 500) to join our family. But, after a chance encounter with a neighbor's pup who wandered by and spent a few hours in our backyard, we knew that we were really missing the presence of dogs in our home. We talked about how special it felt to have a dog in the yard, even if only for a few hours and how much we both really wanted one. Troy, in the sweet way he always finds the perfect way to voice what’s on my heart said, “I know we were going to wait but, they can’t wait.”

How right he was. 

I began looking online and saw so many sweet faces waiting. So many good dogs who needed a home, who deserved a family to snuggle and kiss and take for long walks. As I looked, part of me was definitely looking for a little replica of our sweet Angel. I missed her teddy bear face and soft curly hair and I just wanted to hold her again. But dogs aren’t meant to be replaced. Angel will always hold her own uniquely precious spot in our hearts and family history. 

I knew this but I was still looking for her. I applied to adopt the dogs who caught my eye at all the nice shelters in town and trusted the right one would work out. I sent emails and made calls. I wanted to and did trust the process but I also had my heart set on holding a dog in my arms and I wanted one NOW. 

I took my first walk through the SPCA one Wednesday after work. I wanted to meet Charlie, a long-haired collie mix. We had discussed wanting a bigger dog this time around and he looked like a big bucket of fluffy joy. I took him around the courtyard and while he was very sweet and okay to manage, I just didn’t feel that spark of connection. 

When Angel died, my brother Dominik told me that we would find her spirit again, “You just have to look for the signs.” Following the signs, I decided I had to take the little terrier mix named “Angel Baby” for a walk. Part of me wasn’t super interested because she was named Angel and I didn’t want our next dog to have the same name. Part of me wasn’t in love with her look. Her hair was a little more wiry than I had envisioned and her recent litter left her with saggy boobs that didn’t look like they’d be recovering any time soon (I mean, same girl). She walked around the courtyard with me so calmly, stopping to sit beside me near the bench and looking at me with such kind eyes. I left, thinking we could come back as a family over the weekend to meet Charlie and see how that might go.

By Wednesday afternoon, Charlie was gone and I was disappointed. I frantically searched Petfinder and sent off more applications. 

On Thursday, I reached out about a mother and son black lab/pit bull mix. We met them Saturday morning and quickly realized they were a bit much for us to handle. The son was not a fan of Tony and the mom just didn’t give us that connection feeling. Disappointed again, we tried to visit the Madera SPCA to see a few new poodles that really reminded me of our Angel but they don’t accept walk-ins and we set off for home. I got back on my most visited site, the Central California SPCA and searched for any new additions. Just my luck! Not only were the fluffy little light brown pups still there, two new black and brown terrier mixes were on the site and I just knew one of them would be the one! 

Troy told me we could go on Sunday if we wanted and I did but I also wasn’t sure. “Am I doing too much?” I asked him. “Is it too soon? Am I being too obsessed with finding a dog?” Maybe I was but again, in his loving way, Troy related to the intensity of my search and reassured me.

“We can go and look. We don’t have to bring anyone home today. We’re just going to look and see what we see.”

I’m so grateful to have a partner who knows my heart and sees my intentions. We arrived and the boys went out to the courtyard to wait. I made my way through the kennels, seeing so many adorable dogs who I wanted to meet but knowing I had my eyes on the prize, those cute little black and brown babies. I figured they might be in the very last kennel, where there were a variety of smaller dogs and where I had met “Angel Baby” a few days prior. I came upon their kennel and sure enough, there they were. All of the dogs in the kennel came up to the door but the one I really had my eye on wasn’t wagging her tail like the rest. That wasn’t the sign I was looking for and I debated taking out the other one. “Angel Baby”, on the other hand, got up quickly as I approached, looked at me with eyes that seemed to remember our stroll and eagerly wagged her tail. 

Boom! Sparks! That was the moment I had been waiting for.

“I need to see that one again.” I told the handler. 

Eric, SPCA employee extraordinaire, brought her out on a little leash and she immediately snuggled up to Troy, burying her head against his legs for some pets before looking up to kiss his face.

“She’s so sweet.” Troy said. As Tony walked around and even leaned up against her, she remained seated beside us, one of the most calm dogs I had ever seen. “Wow, and she’s the perfect size too.”

We walked around with her for a bit but it was instantly clear that she would be a great fit for our family. Being the generous spouse that I am, I asked Troy if he wanted to go inside to the kennels and see the other dogs. I figured it was only fair that he had the chance to look around.
A few minutes later, Troy returns and says “There’s one I’d like to see.” The “one” he comes back with is a puppy. Although I had initially really wanted a puppy, we had decided a puppy probably wasn’t the best idea right now for various reasons and when he brought her out, my first response was a great big “Ummm…”

Stella was sweet from the get go, as most puppies are, but I wasn’t quite sold. She had a lot of energy but stopped to give smooches and seemed great with Tony. She was awful cute but maybe not in the way I had envisioned a potential puppy and what about gentle, super chill “Angel Baby”?

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“Could we see how they do together?” Troy asked.

“Sure, you want me to bring the other one out?” Eric replied.

Two?! My beloved husband, who had played off my (only partially) joking requests for 10,000 dogs was now the one going for two?! Well okie dokie then! Eric brought “Angel Baby” back out. The puppy sniffed her and wanted to play. I knew they had a fenced in space in the back and asked if we could see how they did together off leash and with Tony around.

“There was just something about her. The way she looked at me.” Troy told me as walked over. I still wasn’t completely sure about this whole puppy thing now that it was an honest possibility but I was open to it. Inside the enclosure, everything went swimmingly and it wasn’t long before Troy asked “So, are we taking two doggies home today?”

While we weren’t able to take the puppy home that day, “Angel Baby” went home in my arms and was quickly renamed Lucy Chai as she slept in my lap with her head on my shoulder. 

Stella Spice came home the day after and it’s been heaven ever since. The two girls get along beautifully and have immediately taken to all three of their humans. They play with each other and share their toys. They both follow me around from room to room and show all of us the sweetest love. 

Over the past few days, Troy and I have found ourselves constantly amazed at how perfectly these two girls seem to complete our little family. Adopting them was meant to be. As a Unitarian Universalist, my understanding of the divine fluctuates. I do, however, know that some things are “God things”. Finding these two perfect pups was truly a God thing and I can feel it whenever I see the two of them cuddled together on one of their beds, frolicking in the yard or patiently waiting for Tony to drop a treat.

Neither of them really look like Angel (Lucy maybe a little bit) but just as I still feel her comforting presence in the wind, I know her spirit is within them. Dominik told me to look for the signs and all the signs are there. Lucy was originally named Angel and when I found out that she was brought in on 4/21, our anniversary date, I knew it was another sign. She came in with a litter of puppies and one by one, they were all adopted, leaving her at the shelter alone. We don’t know much about Stella’s story and she didn’t grab my heart immediately but when I picked her up the next day and she rode in the car with me, popping her curious puppy face up to kiss me, the signs were present again. 

In many ways, Angel was gone from us long before she passed. The day she left us, we had decided to move forward with an intense surgery that would hopefully have kept her around for a few years but would have been a lot for our family and definitely wouldn’t have left room to welcome in new members. In her passing, she blessed us by taking that heavy burden with her. It still breaks my heart but I am so grateful for her final acts of love. As we reflected on missing her amongst the joys of new life this week, Troy hit me with one more dose of wisdom and reflection.

“It’s almost as if she gave her life so that she could save two others. And isn’t that what Angels do?”​

Both Lucy and Stella were brought to the SPCA as stray dogs and both left as cherished members of our family. We gave them a home and they are giving us so much more. Rescuing these girls has brought a new energy to our house that we know is the start of a beautiful thing. 

If you are looking to add a furry friend to your family, please consider adoption or rescue. There are so many worthy animals in need and trust me, you never know who you might find waiting for you! If you have questions about our adoption journey or anything else, pretty much all I want to talk about is our dogs so please reach out!

Central California SPCA

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