Rescue Me: Gabriel, Rescued 12/6/06

We adopted Gabriel from Save a Dog on December 6, 2006. Put simply, Gabe is my best friend. He is goofy, playful, can nap with the best of them and is so sensitive to our feelings. If we are sad or down, he is there with kisses galore. When we moved into our first house, I fell down the basement stairs the second day and bruised my tailbone so badly I couldn't sit normally for a few weeks. I was yelling for help and the first one there was Gabe, kissing my face and making sure I was okay. He was too little to help me up, but he made me feel better nonetheless.

We met Gabe on a November morning, shortly after we had to put Lady to sleep. It was at a meet and greet at Petco and there were only two dogs there and when I asked if there were any dogs all I could see was this little brown and white tail. His foster mom said "This is Gabe!" and I was so excited because I had picked him out on their website and he was one of the ones at the showing. It was fate! He was so cute. He was quite chubby but so sweet. I knelt down and he put his tiny paws (he has such skinny legs for his body) on my legs and kissed my face, after meeting me only seconds before. I have learned he does this to everyone, but still, he stole my heart. We couldn't apply for him then because we were going overseas to visit Alan's family over Thanksgiving but he certainly stuck in my mind.

While we were in Ireland, I spoke with my mom back in the U.S. a few times and I kept asking her to check the website to see if he was still available. He was, and we bought him a little green and white stuffed soccer ball toy while we were there. It was just for him and we hadn't even applied for him yet. Long story short, we adopted him shortly after we returned and he showed us a whole new world of dog! We originally thought "what have we done?". He barked a lot, played a lot, kept moving my little stuffed toys all over the house and would look at us so innocently, as if we were the ones who had moved them and just didn't remember. He never slept, and he had tons of energy! This was very different than Lady, but Gabe was only 4 and Lady was 9 when we got her.

Needless to say, we adjusted! We always tried to make him sleep on his own bed in our bedroom and we'd have to tell him to stay there a hundred times. He would eventually fall asleep and so did we, but in the middle of the night I'd feel someone staring at me, only to wake up and see this little face near mine, asking to come up on the bed. And because I am a marshmallow, I let him. It was an entirely new experience with Gabe. He was the first to sit on the couch with us or share our bed, he loves all kinds of toys and it was so fun to take him to the park and throw the tennis ball for him. Those little wheels can really go! Gabey is a little guy with a big personality and a huge heart. He loves everyone and always wants to be the first to greet him. If you're not paying attention to you he might swat you in the face! When we go on walks and he sees people walking by he lowers his ears, wags his tail so hard his whole back end goes with it, and struts his stuff. He's cute and he knows it! He is such good company and whenever I'm having a bad day I can't wait to come home to his silly little face. Sometimes he is so excited he nibbles under your chin at your neck. It hurts and takes me by surprise so I say "ouch!" and he'll pull his head back as if to say "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I hurt you" and then his face quickly closes in for more love.

Gabe is a champion kisser. I think it is his favorite thing to do (besides eat). We have entered him in numerous contests, but have never won, due to somewhat kissy dogs with Red Sox jerseys on. If I put him in a Red Sox shirt I'm sure we'll win this year, but why cheat? He's good and we know it. He also loves squeaky tennis balls and will destroy most toys within seconds. We have to watch how much he eats because when he was surrendered to Save A Dog, he weighed 33 pounds!! He weighs about 21-22 now, and in the summer usually around 19 when we walk a lot. He's a little pouchy in the underbelly area and in the chest, which we call his "uni-boob", but he's still as handsome as ever. He won third place in a Petco Halloween costume contest when we dressed him as an astronaut. He turned to stone when we tried to put it on but even though we had to pick up his paws, he still let us. It paid off! He got lots of free treats, a certificate, and a white ribbon that hangs in the kitchen. His new favorite thing in this warm weather is to lay under the futon in the guest room. It is probably nice and cool under there, since the comforter hangs down around the sides. Whenever I don't see him I say "Where's Gabey?" and I hear little jingles as he comes back out to join civilization.

Shortly after we adopted Gabe we discovered that his birthday is December 13th, the day before mine! He will be 8 this year, and last year I was very upset because 7 years old marks senior for a dog. Sometimes Gabe limps around on those skinny little legs because he can hurt a paw so easily if he jumps from too high or gets too rough playing, but other times he runs crazy dog around the house or yard and you would never believe this dog is entering old age! He is just a baby to me, and I cannot imagine my life without him.

Gabe was adopted when we lived in our 3rd apartment in MA, and then we moved to our fourth, and now we live in our own home. He is a good mover, and basically doesn't care where he is as long as he can sleep with us. We learned that Gabe wasn't too bad with other dogs, but could be a bit feisty. He would certainly put anyone in his place if they didn't recognize that he was alpha dog! Once we had relatively settled into our first home, we decided maybe it was time for a friend for him. We wanted so badly to save another dog now that there were no landlord restrictions. Who would be good company for my little buddy? Only a kind and patient dog would do.