Madi (my first and often times referred to as my favorite) spent the first three and one half years of her life on a 2nd floor condo in a nearby town. We went outside in every weather condition imaginable. 3am and out in the -30 with wind index of 20 below in middle of February was the winter norm. It took me 20 minutes to ‘suit up’ for the outings and another 5 minutes to get Madi’s coat and boots on her. She was patient and a trooper. Thankfully I trained her young to be off leash reliable so she would have to move 30 feet to pee in a snow bank while I stayed on the ice-covered sidewalk.
Only child syndrome – strong-willed, independent, attention seeking and getting, leader with only a human follower, toys and tennis ball queen, reliable, sensitive, anti-conflict, traveler, hotel know it all, but most of all Madi loved having her Mom all to herself.
I wasn’t expecting to wait almost 4 years to start looking for Madi’s sister. It was a quest with one goal in mind – find the perfect sister. That’s hard for an older sibling who isn’t used to siblings. I know – my sister is 4.5 years younger than me. I got used to a perfect life that went upside down with one screaming whine from a newborn.
The only way to ‘test drive’ potential additions to our family was through rescue work – fostering, transporting, volunteering with dogs. It was a win-win for Madi and I.
We had a criteria list for Madi’s sister and no where on it was kind of dog as in purebred or Mix Breed. The outside of the dog wasn’t important. It was all about character, meshability (yes I created that word and yes spell check doesn’t like it and yes, I’m ignoring it!) personality, and the ‘it’ performance dog factor.
Moo was a 7.5 year old rescue dog – my first foster failure. I picked her up half way between us and the Aussie Rescue of Minnesota director – a truck stop parking lot on Oct 2, 2016. She got out of a backseat kennel on a leash and she was beautiful. Shy, scared, but had a glimmer of confidence and a strut that I fell for immediately.
Madi and Moo clicked immediately. Moo had no problems being the passive sibling. No problem being the follower. It was as if they were already sisters in another life. Calm, cool, comfortable, and confident in their roles. Moo opened up quickly – her playful sense of adventure was displayed as bold as the American flag at Perkin’s Bakery and Restaurant.
I tried several times to put pen to paper to create Moo’s biography as part of the ‘forever home find’ process. I couldn’t do it. Madi and Moo grew as a bonded pair so quickly, I couldn’t take that away from Madi. And I couldn’t take that away from myself.
There’s a dog bed by the front all glass door – one of Madi’s favorite spots. She took up the entire bed no matter what dog was in the house. Until Moo came along – she scooted to left side and left the right side for Moo. Together they would be on watch dog duty, squirrel duty, rabbit duty, and most importantly mailman duty!
I signed Moo’s adoption papers on December 19, 2016. I brought Madi home on December 19, 2010. They were meant to be sisters.
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