The Dogmom Diary: Dogmom’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day everyone – or in my world, Happy Dogmom’s Day!
My name is Jenn Hatch and I’m the mom to two beautiful dogs – Bruiser, 11, and Drifter, 2 (we think).
I’ve always been an animal lover. I believe I somehow inherited that gene from my Aunt Dottie Pottie. She couldn’t pass a dog without petting it and was known for pulling over to the side of the road to rescue abandoned animals. Needless to say her home was always full of furbabies.
Growing up, we never had our own family dog, so I frequently visited her home and snuck over to my dog-owning neighbors houses whenever I could! Now, I’m a dogmom of two and will never forget the days I was blessed with both of them!
Bruiser was my first dog. My Aunt Dot had recently passed away of breast cancer and it shook my family to the core. I guess this was my way to honor her somehow.
You see, my aunt and I loved the movie Legally Blonde and I always said I would name my first dog Bruiser for her. I was in a mall in New Orleans and stopped in the petshop (hold your gasp please…more on this below). I was going in with my eye on another puppy and then they introduced me to Bruiser. He was just perfect!!! We were both so excited to meet each other!! He slept on my shoulder the whole way home to Baton Rouge!
Yes, I purchased him from a petshop. You have to understand, the only form of rescuing I knew before moving to Austin was my aunt’s personal efforts. I didn’t know about adoptions, animal shelters, really anything. I thought at the time this was my only resource for a puppy.
Fast forward to August of 2014. I was in the oilfield at our office in East Texas. You see in that area it’s common for employees to arrive to the office and find dogs that have been thrown out. So to find Drifter under the building, we were all surprised that he was still alive.
He had been living under the building for a few weeks and the employees were sharing their lunches with him. As I got out of the car, he poked his head out from under the building and put his paw up to me.
I immediately fell in love…just like I had when I met Bruiser for the first time.
One of my co-workers said, “We were waiting for the Austin girl to come and take him home.”
They knew me pretty well!!! I definitely pulled an Aunt Dottie Pottie and brought him home to Austin. Of course I checked around first, he didn’t have a chip and no one was looking for him.
My boyfriend was very excited to welcome him to the family. He had been longing for a dog of his own and Drifter was just perfect for him.
To this day, I’m so happy I inherited that doggy gene from my aunt. Animals fill your home with so much joy (and chewed up shoes…) and I can’t imagine life without animals in it! I feel so blessed.
Until next time, hug your fur babies, take them for a walk and be as excited to see them as they are to see you.