Ariel

Lori is 13 and the second of our three children. Lori's favorite movie growing up was The Little Mermaid, but in real life, Lori was afraid of animals, especially dogs. The problem was serious enough for us to seek counseling for her when she was 7 years old, but even that didn't help. We adopted a cat in hopes that Lori would slowly overcome her fears and grow comfortable around animals.

Last September, we saw a picture of the Homeward Bound reunion and picnic in the newspaper. The thought of adopting a golden retriever, considering their good nature and the need for loving homes for rescued dogs, struck a chord, and shortly thereafter we applied to adopt one. This was followed with a visit to our home by Andrea Grenier of Homeward Bound to fill us in on the Homeward Bound program. Once the idea of a new addition to the family took hold, it was hard to be patient during the several week waiting period. However, we were willing to wait and pray for a younger dog with a gentle disposition, and one that Lori would feel comfortable with. 

After a while, Andrea suggested we foster an older dog for a couple of weeks to see if everything would work out with Lori and the rest of the family. Andrea suggested Brilla, and we made arrangements to pick her up on a Saturday showing in Roseville. When we arrived expecting to see Brilla, we learned there was a change; Brilla was still recovering from surgery, but they had another dog named Ariel they wanted us to foster. Ariel came trotting across the parking lot, and excitedly greeted us by nuzzling up to members of the family. We learned that she was a 10-year old female, recovering from heartworm treatment, and had an ear infection and skin allergies, but her affection and enthusiasm overshadowed those conditions. More importantly, Lori immediately felt at ease around Ariel.

After a couple of weeks, and in spite of a scare when she had seizures one evening, it was obvious that our relationship with Ariel was meant to be more than fostering. Ariel is a gentle, good-natured dog with a puppy-dog face who loves people and slumber parties with the girls. Her only fault, if you could call it that, is that she is incessantly persistent at chasing tennis balls; we can tell that years of practice have made her a pro ball player. It is hard to believe that someone could have given up such a wonderful dog.

After a few more weeks Ariel recovered completely from the heartworm treatment and ear problems, and we were able to give her a bath that revealed her beautiful coat.  A few weeks ago we signed the adoption papers that made her an official member of our family.  Ariel's story of becoming part of our family is like the Disney movie from which she got her name, and for Lori and the rest of our family, it has been "happily ever after.