Here is Tinker's story.
"Found as a stray, Tinker ended up in a high-kill shelter in the Metro Atlanta area. Luckily someone there had the sense to call The Small Dog Rescue (a no-kill shelter), which took her in. They cleaned up an ulcer on her eye and a tumor on her leg, and then crossed their fingers that her new family would materialize. They waited and waited but received no applications for a year. It looked like Tink was going to become a “forever foster."
At the time, I was finishing up my music therapy internship and exploring the idea of adding a dog to our family. I’ve always been head over heels for Bostons, as I grew up with one who was feisty, bold and a whole lot of love wrapped into a small package. Being fiercely loyal myself, other breeds just didn’t have a chance! We looked and looked until, on Christmas Eve, there, on page 15 of the Boston Terriers on Petfinder.com (yes, there were that many needing homes), we finally found her!
She was old and blind—she had been in a fight while at the shelter and lost vision in her one good eye—but she spoke to my heart. Having worked with children and adults with special needs as a music therapist, the idea of bringing a dog with a disability into our home made perfect sense. Her profile stated that, despite her past, she knew how to love and trust. Upon reading her biography I was positive that she would fit perfectly into our house and family.
I looked at my husband and with the saddest face I could muster asked, "Can we adopt her?"
My puppy dog eyes apparently worked, because in the next moment I was emailing the shelter asking if we could apply. Their policy excluded people in our area from adopting (we were too far away from their headquarters), but I thought I would try anyway.
I’m glad I wrote because we received an email on Christmas morning saying that we could apply for her! "It really IS Christmas!" I shouted as I ran down the stairs.
Being approved to apply turned out to be a double-edged sword kind of gift. Apparently two other families applied at the same time we did, so our joy quickly turned to fear and apprehension. We exchanged emails, phone calls and applications with the shelter for over a month. We walked on eggshells thinking we would lose Tinker, but after a long, difficult wait, Tink’s foster mom chose us! Upon hearing the news, my husband and I rented a car, packed a cooler full of food (we were rather broke, living on one income at the time), and made 12 hours worth of memories as we traveled to Atlanta to pick this little one up.
We made plans with Tink’s foster mom to meet at a Petco® store. I remember that waiting for them to arrive with Tink seemed like an eternity. Her foster was worried that we wouldn't like her; we were nervous that they wouldn't like us. What compounded our anxiety was that when we called to check in, someone from the rescue group told us that Tinker was going on a trip and wouldn't be at Petco®. We hoped that they were confused and that the trip she was taking was with us.
Tinker came to us as an older dog but showed us that she could still learn and grow. We taught her to beg, and when she started jumping on company, we untaught her! She eventually learned that thunder wouldn’t hurt her, and she began sleeping through the night during storms.
From the beginning, this has been an amazing journey of new discoveries every day! And while she is aging now, with her good and not so good days, she is still the most amazing dog I have ever met or owned. Her blindness doesn’t impede her, and she is not afraid to love with all she has. People do not realize this confident little lady can't see a thing as she proudly walks down the street. Tinker is my heart and I am proud to be her seeing-eye person.
By Nick and Vicki Rowe, Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue
On October 5th, 2009, Tink crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Please keep Nick and Vicki, her wonderful parents who gave her the best possible quality of life through her golden years, in your thoughts."
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