One afternoon, while my husband and I were out running errands, we were passing the Islip Animal Shelter on our way home, and decided to visit. Having never been there or to any shelter, I was curious to see the dogs they were caring for. We weren't particularly looking to adopt another dog then, we had adopted a dog the year prior. As we walked through the kennels, we fell in love with the beautiful faces we saw behind the bars and our hearts bled for them that they didn't have a family to call their own. We couldn't understand how all of these beautiful and sweet dogs were there. We came across a sweet little brindle pitbull, and I instantly knew, she was meant to be ours. She licked my hand through the bars, and whined when I went to walk away. My husband was a bit resistant at first to adopt another dog, so despite my protests we left. I thought about that sweet little pitbull the rest of the day and into the evening. The next day, I went back to visit her, and spent time with her in the viewing room at the shelter. She ran to me, jumped into my lap, curled up and smothered me with kisses. Somehow, some way, I knew I was meant to find her and she me, and I couldn't live without her. I spent time that evening talking with my husband, and after seeing how in love I was with this little darling, he agreed we could adopt her, and make her the newest member of our family. Ecstatic, I took my older daughter with me the next day to visit our soon to be pitbull, and put in my adoption application. My daughter fell for her instantly too, and the little pitbull, who we named Cleo, even lost a baby tooth while my daughter was holding her. One week later, Cleo came home with us, and now, we can't imagine our lives without her. She is one of the greatest dogs ever! She has a heart of gold, a spunky personality and gives us more love and joy than we can describe. Some say Cleo was lucky we found her, but I say we were the lucky ones.
There are so many wonderful dogs and cats at the Islip Animal Shelter, and you could have a love story like ours if you choose to adopt a shelter animal. After adopting Cleo, and seeing all the beautiful faces in the cages, I decided to volunteer there. From one visit, on a whim, came so many rewarding experiences for myself and my family. Now I get to go to the shelter and give love to the faces behind the bars, and what I receive in return is immeasurable. If I am having a bad day or feeling down, the dogs take it all away. You can't help but feel happy and loved when you are there with them. Sometimes, I feel like my heart is bursting at the seams from the love I get from the shelter dogs. All these animals ask for are food, water, shelter and love, and what you get in return, is so much more than you can imagine. I am proud to say I adopted a shelter dog and made a difference, and am continuing to do so through my volunteer work there.
So consider visiting the Islip Animal Shelter and meeting our dogs and cats. Maybe you'll just fall in love like we did.
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