Who
is Hodge the dog?
Well, the pictures at the right and bottom should help.
Born sometime around
the beginning of May 2000, Hodge came from P.A.W.S
Chicago (Pets Are Worth Saving) and the City of Chicago's Animal
Control. No one was sure what type of mix he was, although there
are many different opinions. He was named for this reason since he was a hodge podge of dogs.
The story of how
Hodge came to be our dog is rather sweet. In late 1999 we bought a bungalow with a fenced yard on the Northwest side of Chicago. As a birthday present the following Fall, I told
my fiancee (now wife), Nicole, she could now have a dog. We traveled
to various animal shelters all over looking for the perfect dog. The last place we stopped
was the City of Chicago's Animal Control on the Southside, otherwise known as the pound.
There we found two dogs we really liked, but the choice was too hard
to make and Nicole left the building crying. How could you pick
one dog's life to save, knowing the other may be put down? We left that
day without a dog and decided we would try again when we were more emotionally
ready for it.
The following day
Nicole was volunteering for P.A.W.S (Pets Are Worth Saving) at a local area shopping center.
The organization brings dogs from local shelters to public centers in
hopes that families will adopt them. We joked that if either dog was
there that day we would have to bring him home. Of course,
Hodge was one of the dogs brought out. We filled out the paper
work and took him home with us.
Hodge lived with us on the Northwest side of Chicago for about 3 years. In 2003 we relocated to North Texas where he greatly enjoyed a large back yard, a pool and a pond with ducks. Hodge welcomed the addition of our kids to the family; Quin 2004 and Delaney late 2007. He loved to be with us and we loved being with him. Hodge was with us till early 2014.
We will never be able to fully explain the impact this mutt of mutts had on our lives. Hodge was never a family pet, he was a part of our family.
We
encourage anyone who is considering getting a pet to look into local shelters and organizations
that help abandoned and/or lost animals. You can help reduce the number of animals euthanized
every year by adopting pets from local shelters and by neutering
your pet.
Dressed as a bee for Halloween in Texas
Enjoying time in the Texas sized backyard
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