Last summer, 2 dogs showed up on our 80 acre property. They were an odd match...a large Boxer mix and a scruffy little wirehair terrier mix. They just hung out around here. Sadly, we live in a rural area where people dump off dogs. We didn't actually know if they were strays or just getting out of their yard. So we watched them for a while. They seemed friendly and ate up the food and water set out for them. We then decided they must be strays. We tried finding them homes with no luck. In the meantime, I am barely getting any sleep at night because I am so worried about these dogs. We have a huge coyote problem here and I slept with one ear open listening for anything. At the same time something was killing our chickens. Literally ripping them through their cage. It was horrible and scary for the 2 dogs outside. My Dad decided he was going to adopt the little guy, who he named Charlie. That meant the big guy would be alone out there or have to be take to a shelter! So in the end, my husband and 2 girls convinced me to adopt him. I named him Ben and, once I allowed myself, I fell in love with him. He is MY big sweet baby now! So sometimes we choose our dogs and other times....they choose us!

Stacey Wooley
Taft, CA