Name: Cricket - 4.5-ish y/o
How long has Cricket been in the family? January 2013
Family Members: Deanna
Profession: Director of Marketing at Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Location: Decatur, GA.
Nicknames: Lovebug
5 of the best words/phrases that describe Cricket? Sweet, friendly, loyal, independent, impossible not to love
• Cricket loves to give kisses, even to strangers!
• She loves kids and has a special friend, Stella (age 10) who is her favorite.
• She’s never meet a creek or pond she didn’t want to play in.
• Her pastimes including napping in the sun, playing in water, playing hide-and-seek and kissing as many people as she can.
• She shies away from dogs playing too rough, but is quick to try to comfort a dog if she thinks it’s hurt.
What makes Cricket unique? She loves people more than dogs and wants to make friends with everyone she meets. She is very sweet and loyal, but also has a serious streak of stubbornness!
Holding Hands with Mom!
Rescue Story: I met Cricket by chance; my friends were watching her and her sister while the original foster family went out of town. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play with puppies, so I invited myself over. As soon as I sat down, this sweet, tiny little thing crawled into my lap.
While I was looking for a dog, I had no intention of getting a puppy. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I contacted the rescue to find out more info and the moment I heard that she was going up for adoption that weekend, I blurted out “But I want her. Yes, I want her.”
It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Cricket's first official photo in her forever home!
What if your favorite pastime as a family? Finding off-the-radar nature trails to explore. She loves being outside, and I’ve learned to love it too.
We also play hide-and-seek inside when the weather isn’t suitable for a nature walk. I hide, she seeks. It’s silly fun.
What is life like since you rescued Cricket? I have anxiety and depression and prior to Cricket would go days without leaving the house. She changed that. I’m outside more, I move more and I’ve met a lot of really great people.
She’s also shown me the importance of trusting my gut. I was a bit hesitant about adopting her when I found out she was part pit bull; they are so often depicted as vicious. But I couldn’t let her go. Little did I know that moment I met her that she was always supposed to be my dog. Oh, what I would have missed out on in my life if I’d let the prejudices of others get in the way!
Cricket is as much a part of my family as my parents. She’s made my life richer and happier.
Photographers Note (Part 2) - Once all the families had arrived at a beautiful park in East Lake, that we had to ourselves. We gave the pups a chance to play and catch up. On occasion there were some "discussions" had between each of them, which I totally get and kind of made me laugh,since I have two sisters myself! Then we jumped in and did a round robin of sorts for each of the sets of photos. Giving the ladies also a chance to catch up.
I really love Deanna's statement above about what she would have missed out on if she let other people's prejudices get in her way of adopting Cricket. Hopefully more and more of these stories will help others realize that each dog deserves the chance to be treated as an individual not as a generality.
Sisters!