We lost our lab three days before. It was quiet and lonely in our house. So we stopped by the ARL just to "look". There was this large black lab that had been there approx. a month that had been transferred to the ARL from a smaller county. He had been looked at and bypassed several times. He sat to the back of the kennel.
We asked to meet and greet him. In the small room he was disconnected walking in circles. We asked to take him out to see if he walks on a leash. We walked back and forth a few times. I stopped, cupped his face in my hands and asked him "do you need us as much as we need you".
My husband wasn't convinced he was ready so we left to think about it. The dog wouldn't go back into his kennel, dug his feet in as not to move so the associate coerced him with hotdogs. We headed to the University for an event and went to the campus book store where my husband approached me with a dog collar. It was decided, we would pick him up.
Upon our return to the ARL, the lab was in a room with a family with three young boys. "Steele" spotted us and ran to the window hysterically barking. We walked away from the window so the family can have their moment. An associate approached us and asked if we needed help. We told her we came back to pick up the large black lab but it was in a room with a family. The tag was still on the kennel door so she grabbed the tag and ran it to the front office. He had chosen us.
We trained and he and I became a certified therapy team. He passed 10 years later leaving another hole in our hearts.
CLIVE, IA
