Lexie Girl

A new little girl joined our family last summer and I wanted to formally introduce her to you today. She’s a special girl with a special story.

Some of you may have seen my announcement of Lexie’s arrival on Facebook last summer.

Since it’s been one year since she joined our family on the 4th of July last year, I wanted to give you a pup update, share some recent photos of our sweet girl, and tell you her story.

I’ve said “I love you” to this face so many times that I fully expect she may start saying it back.

It’s hard to fathom that just one year ago Lexie was kept caged with over 30 Boston Terriers and used for illegal dog breeding purposes. Thankfully, someone reported the operation and the Santa Cruz police raided the home and rescued all of those sweet pups from horrendous conditions.

It was a pure moment of serendipity while driving down to Santa Barbara for Adam’s graduation last summer, that I just happened upon the story on my phone. I had lost one of the true loves of my life, my sweet Bruno, the previous November and I always knew that eventually I’d be ready to bring another pup into our lives. I emailed the animal shelter right then and there not knowing if anything would ever come of it.

And, nothing did until July 2 when I got an email that said dogs were ready for adoption but they would be seeing potential adoptive families on a first come-first serve basis the next morning.

So I set the alarm for 3am …. Just kiddin’. Sort of.

We got up bright and early and with my completely filled out application in hand, we set off over the hill to Santa Cruz.

And, then I saw this face. This face!

She has the sweetest expressions and was a complete love-bug from the first time they placed her in my arms. We had Bridget with us so that we could be sure they’d get along, which they did just fine.

They let us return the following day on the 4th of July to pick her up and bring her home.

Adopting a rescue dog is not without it’s challenges. Lexie had been kept caged and had never been properly potty trained or allowed any of the normal freedoms that all pets should have. She had also never walked on a leash and wasn’t at all sure she was going to be okay with it at first.

Since this early leash training session she has been on countless walks, visits to the dog park, and the beach. She’s definitely okay with it.

One of our first outings with Lexie was back “over the hill” to the beach in Aptos with her new sis, Bridget. If it were up to me this would be a weekly occurrence. It’s a short 35 minute drive to the Santa Cruz area beaches (Aptos and Capitola are my faves) but it is so hard to make the time.

She’s a true beach doggy, and like all of our Bostons she loves the water. But, above all else, she just loves being with us doing whatever it is that we’re doing.

The 4th of July was special this year since it was the one year anniversary of the day Lexie came home with us and we had some special guests. Lexie was very happy to spend some snuggle time with my beautiful stepmom, Bonnie.

I think she’s won her over.

But, Bridget wasn’t left out in the cold. There are always plenty of laps to go around and she did a good job of looking after Grandpa.

I was incredibly impressed with everyone we dealt with at Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. The loving care they give to their animals is outstanding. They went above and beyond to be sure all of the dogs were placed in good homes and that they got plenty of TLC and medical attention while they were at the shelter.

They made the best of this heartbreaking situation and I think that most if not all of the rescued dogs had a happy ending to their stories. I feel so thankful that they are doing this work every day over there. If you are local and looking for a new addition to your household, I strongly encourage you check them out.

Stay tuned for more of our family’s adventures with Bridget and Lexie.