The story of how Gemma came to be part of my family is a wild one - though all the best stories are. I hadn’t been looking for a dog - not seriously, anyway. I was a full time server at a restaurant in Portsmouth, a struggling actor bouncing from shoot to shoot all over New England, and I was back living with my parents. Not exactly an ideal candidate for adoption.
From the years 2016 to 2019, I had a weekly email come to my inbox - Dog’s That Match Your Search Results from Petfinder. I would skim through all the smiley faces of the dog and kid friendly, medium sized dogs that were available at shelters in my area. While I fantasized about bringing each (all) of them home, I never truly considered it. There had been one dog, a year and a half before Gemma, that I had inquired about, but reflecting back now, it was truly the best for both of us that I never heard anything back. The timing was not right, the universe had someone different coming for me.
It was a Wednesday when I received my weekly email and I casually clicked through and scrolled the results that were catered toward me… until I saw a very distinct and outrageously adorable pair of ears.
“Mom, look at this dog-”
“Nope.”
Understandably, my mom was not on Team Devon Adopting a Dog While She Still Lives At Home. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was on that team either.
So I dropped it, I knew better than to push it (surprisingly… I don’t know who I was that day!) and let the matter go… after showing her a picture, of course.
The next day, around 10pm, I was sitting in my parents’ kitchen on my laptop when I received a text from my mom. They had left for Maine the day before to visit my stepdad Bryan’s family.
Send Bryan a picture of your dog.
Why, to torture me?
Just do it.
My heart started to race as I pulled up the link to the puppy’s profile and I sent the text with shaking fingers.
I will forever be so grateful to Gemma’s (or Emma’s, as her name was in the shelter) little Yoda Ears, because as soon as my step dad saw the photo of her, I swear he fell in love too.
By the end of that night, I had emailed the shelter, reminding myself over and over that if it was meant to be, it would be, and if it wasn’t, then I was going to have to be okay with that too. This dog was incredibly, absurdly adorable. There was no way she was not already swooped up. How could a face like that remain in a shelter for long at all?
The next morning, I woke up to a response:
“...we think you sound perfect to be Emma's new mom.”
There was no way. I read that line over and over. Was it really possible that I had found my next sidekick? My first dog on my own. I hadn’t even been looking and now I was being considered for placement! That day went by in a blur, the whole day consisted of connecting the shelter with references, going back and forth with the shelter and my parents, and around noon that day, I was approved to adopt her.
It hadn’t been more than 14 hours since I even thought of applying for her as a possibility, and now we were scheduling a time for me to drive to Massachusetts to meet her and likely bring her home? They had reached out to all of my references, spoken to my parents, Google-mapped my house, and read my Rover reviews, just as eager to get the puppy into her new home as I was to take her.
On my way to my serving shift that night, I bought a crate and a tiny stuffed elephant toy, because I was now bringing a puppy home with me the next morning and had absolutely nothing to welcome her with. As the time ticked closer, I felt like everything I did or said would jinx it all, and buying those items was as close as I would get to feeling like it was really happening. I kept myself guarded until later in the night when I received confirmation that the foster family would have (G)Emma ready to be picked up in the morning and we would meet in the cabin One Tail at a Time used for introductions. I went out the kitchen door, into the parking lot, and cried. It was really happening.
I did not sleep that night. Between the late restaurant shift, being absolutely wired for the next morning, and the fact that I would need to be up around 6am to start the drive down to Amesbury, there was no turning off my brain. My dad met me the next morning and off we went together to pick up my new child.
I remember standing in that cabin trying to take it all in. I knew I’d want to remember everything about the first time I met her, but I was so overwhelmed and happy that I don’t remember much beyond her little wiggly body pushing her way into the door and immediately coming up to me. She had such confidence for such a baby, such social power, that I knew this was my kid. The adoption coordinator told me that many people had applied for this puppy - some even getting as far as being approved, before backing out. “She was waiting for you” - she told me. I still think of that often. I was waiting for her too.
There was no delay, no wonder from either party whether or not this pup would be coming home with me, and I signed the contracts, took a picture, and got Gemma in my car to start the rest of our lives together.
Because everything had happened so quickly, I had to figure out what to do with my new puppy (!!) during the time I had committed to volunteering for the local community theater at my town's yearly Apple Harvest Day Festival. I was to be sat at a booth on Central Ave for two hours, and now I had a puppy to balance with everything else. Thankfully my dad stuck around to help out, taking Gemma on little walks around the crowds while I worked. Unsurprisingly, having such a cute puppy at the booth drew many people to us, and not only was I able to tell many new people about the theater, but many of my friends (and some clients) were able to meet Gemma on the first day I got her and I was able to see what a star she was in new situations!
I could go on forever about how bringing Gemma into my life changed my world for the better, and how she came to me at the perfect time so we had each other during the pandemic, but I truly owe it all to the people at One Tail at a Time who worked so diligently to find her the perfect home. They knew that keeping her in a foster home for three weeks was worth it to find the home Gemma truly deserved, and I like to think they found it.
Please join me this month in giving back to the shelter in gratitude as I collect donations for them! Some items for collection include: leashes, treats, toys, goodies to go in their “going home” bags (mine had some Black Dog products and Gemma’s favorite hedgehog toy, along with some other goodies like treats, more toys, and a little blanket she still has in her crate to this day!), food, and monetary donations. If you’d like to donate, I will happy pick up and deliver it myself at the end of this month! Monetary donations can be sent to my venmo @DevonPadley with the subject line “Fundraiser” - I will be collecting for all of October, and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me on facebook or at devon@devonsdogsitting.com
Thanks for reading our story, and thanks for loving Gemma just as much as I do!
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