THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE COMPANY:

In October 2008 my sister was visiting from New York. It was almost Halloween so we decided to go to Petco to buy costumes for my two dogs. As we drove up to the store front, I noticed it was pet adoption day.  I told my sister we’d have to wait until the next day because it’s always hard for me to walk by the dogs that need homes.

Before the words finished tumbling out of my mouth, she shouted there was a dog that looked like Bo, the chow/retriever we had recently lost. She jumped out of the moving car and ran towards the dog cages. By the time I parked and got over to where my sister was, she had Bo’s look-a-like on a leash and was telling the shelter volunteer, “We’ll take him!”

Keep in mind, she lives in NY, I live in Georgia.

Although it’s usually not a good idea to “help” someone adopt a dog in this manner, the fact was my husband and I had already been thinking about getting another dog. We thought it might help our emotionally damaged puppy mill dog, Logan, become more social.

I called my husband to tell him I was at the store and it was pet adoption day. Before I could say another word, he asked matter-of-factly, “OK, what are we getting?”

In speaking with the shelter worker, I learned that the dog had been pulled from death row. The girl told me they only had room to save a few dogs but when she looked into his eyes she couldn’t leave him. I came to find out that he had been adopted out the week prior but was returned because he had ‘worms.’  He didn’t. Strangely, his profile on Petfinder kept disappearing as well, making one think that maybe a cat hacker had it out for him, or more likely destiny playing her game.

Who were we to get in the way of that? We adopted the furry chow/golden retriever mix and named him Kensington Frank, or as he’s known to his dog park buddies, Kensy.

Some people would say it’s fate, others coincidence, but I believe its karma : Kensy’s Karma.

Kensy does have a mischievous side, but he also has the most gentle, loving soul.  It was because of this that I knew he was made for pet therapy.  We took steps to become a pet therapy team and now work with Happy Tails Pet Therapy.  Kensy and I visit nursing homes, a preschool for children with disabilities, as well as participating in special events.  Everywhere Kensy goes he brings joy and smiles to those who meet him.  The fact that he looks like a stuffed toy probably helps.

Kensy went from death row to therapy dog.  He believes in giving back to others. His goal in life is to inspire others to go out and make a difference by sharing his Woofisms: Woofs of Wisdom © to all who will listen. Kensy is my inspiration.

ABOUT US:

When I was about 13-years-old I got my first dog. My sister and I had wanted one for years and spent a lot of time scheming, trying to figure out how to convince our parents we needed one. I remember one time we found a lost St. Bernard and sneaking him into my sister’s bedroom without telling anyone. I’m not sure why we thought this was a good idea, or how our parents wouldn’t notice there was a huge dog in her bedroom. Eventually they did and he was returned to his rightful owner.

It wasn’t until a few years later when my sister was working at a sub shop that I received ‘the call’. There was a woman who had a puppy and she needed to find her a home. I took the bus to where my sister worked and carried the puppy home in a potato nugget box. The puppy’s new name, Nugget. We hid the dog all day until our dad got home, we figured he would be easier to convince than mom, and then sprung it on him. Eventually dad gave in and we had our first dog. Nugget lived to be about 12-years-old and I still miss her to this day.

As much as I loved Nugget it was the dog that I adopted shortly after getting married that would change my life. My husband and I adopted him right before we celebrated our first married Christmas together. The dog was a chow/retriever mix who the shelter called Bo, we decided the name was fitting. He was a rather mischievous fellow and we had many wonderful adventures together. It’s a rather long story, but Bo does have a nationally published book, Bad To The Bone: Memoir Of A Rebel Doggie, and you can read all about it if you like. After we had Bo for about 8 years we adopted a puppy who had been found abandoned on Copper Mountain. You guessed it,  she was called Copper.

We lost our beloved boy, Bo, at around the age of 17. After losing him we adopted a Bernese Mountain Dog who had been a breeder dog at a puppy mill. He had been put up for auction and was rescued by a wonderful rescue group, Bernese Auction Rescue Coalition. I didn’t even know there were dog auctions until we adopted him.  Although we had two rescues by the time we adopted Logan we had never seen a dog so damaged. After having him for a few months we thought perhaps adopting another dog might help bring him out of his shell. This is when we adopted Kensy, you’ve read his story. Having Kensy really did make a difference for Logan. Eventually we broke thorough and he learned people could be good and he turned into an amazing dog. Sadly after 14 short months we lost him to cancer.

Losing Logan was devastating but we decided the best way to honor him was to adopt another Bernese Mountain dog in need. We went back to the Bernese Rescue Auction Coalition and adopted a 5-year-old girl that had recently been rescued from a puppy mill. Her name was Patience. At this point we had Copper, Kensy, and Patience. It was a full house, or so we thought.

A few months after adopting Patience we were contacted by the rescue to see if we could pick-up and foster a 13-month-old Berner that was being given up by his owner. It turns out we’re not very good fosters, 0 for 1, and he soon became part of our family. His name is Goliath and he’s a bit of a menace in a fur suit, but we love him and all his crazy antics. Now it really is a full house.

My husband and I love having dogs in our life and can’t imagine it any other way. Our goal is to make a difference in the lives of homeless dogs by donating a portion of every sale from The Good Dogma Company to dog rescue.–Lisa