Time for Thanks – The Story of One Boxer Given a Second Chance

by Robb Sutton

Today is Thanksgiving in the US. It’s a day where we give thanks for the family, friends and good things we have going on in our lives. To celebrate, we all get fat and happy around more food than we can eat and then sleep it off in front of the TV.

What better way to give thanks for the past year than to eat great food?!

This time last year, my wife and I were contemplating getting another Boxer so our female…Hemi…could have a friend to play with throughout the day. The following story of Hans has probably been the most rewarding thing my wife and I have done over the past year.

On Boxer Given A Second Chance

This story starts with the want to get another dog. Our princess – Hemi – was starting to get a little too spoiled and we wanted another dog that she could run around with since Boxer’s have A LOT of energy. We thought, “what better way than to get her a friend?!”. After a lot of thought, we decided to rescue another Boxer instead of going through a breeder like we had previously. At first, that decision was really a selfish one…as much as we love puppies…we were hoping to get a dog that was already house trained.

Hemi and Hans

After a lot of going back and forth with various Boxer rescues in the Atlanta area, we settled on Atlanta Boxer Rescue and waited for them to match us up with a dog. Little did we know..they were going to match us up with Hans…a brindle male. Apparently, it isn’t a good thing to throw two females in one house…who would have known?!

Once they had Hans ready, we took Hemi with us and visited the foster house. Right away, Hemi and Hans started chasing and playing with each other in the foster parents backyard, so…I looked at Jenn and said…”that’s the one”. We signed all of the necessary paperwork and I put him in the truck to take him home.

Hans Hunting - BoxerNow…the back end story for Hans. Apparently, Atlanta Boxer Rescue was called on Hans’ “last day” at the pound. For those of you that don’t already know…the “last day” at the pound is not a good thing. ABR took Hans in and we was rescued pretty quickly. A guy rescued him that lived downtown who had supposedly owned Boxers his entire life growing up. Well…he brought him back 2 weeks later claiming that he just wasn’t a dog person anymore. Crazy…I know.

Anyway…then we step in and take Hans. What has proceeded to happen over the course of this year is that Hans has given back way more to our family than we could ever give in return. There is something about this dog that is incredibly special. I love my female to death, but there is something about the way that Hans looks you dead in the eye and all you feel is thanks and love. It is really crazy. To the point that everyone that comes over says the exact same thing after being around him for a little while.

It is almost as if he knows he is on borrowed time and he is 100% thankful for everything he has around him. Hans is my daily reminder to be thankful for the big and small blessings I have in my life. I have a great wife, a great house and a great family. Over the course of this year, my wife and I have had to go through some pretty hard things that have been taxing on both of us. But we are getting through and trying to enjoy the smaller things that bring brightness to every day.

On rougher days…we are able to look into the eyes of our dogs and know that everything is going to be ok. I truly believe that we were meant to have this dog in our house. It sounds weird, but everything just fits so perfectly that I think each of us had to go through certain life experiences to end up where we are to enjoy what we have. For that reason, my rescue dog has been the smartest personal and business decision I have made all year.

Related Posts

5 comments

Rob November 26, 2009 - 11:35 am

I love this post a lot. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate thanksgiving with a great family and even better your pets. Because truly they’re more as your family, than a “pet” I believe.

Have a happy thanksgiving Robb & tell your wife I said have a happy thanksgiving as well!

Reply
Robb Sutton November 26, 2009 - 1:09 pm

Thanks man! You too!

Reply
Debbie Ferm November 26, 2009 - 12:58 pm

That’s the kind of story I love to read on Thanksgiving, Robb. We have three kids and five pets (two dogs and three cats), and It’s a madhouse most of the time. We rescued our pets from a variety of places also, one right off the street:)

People may tell you that things will be different if you have kids. That’s certainly not the case at our house. They just get babied by all five of us instead of just two of us.

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend is great!

Debbie Ferm

Reply
Robb Sutton November 26, 2009 - 1:09 pm

Thanks for sharing Debbie! Two Boxers make it a madhouse around here sometimes too…but it is a madhouse we love. I can’t imagine 3 kids and 5 pets! We’ll be trying for one next year…

Reply
Ryan November 26, 2009 - 2:40 pm

Robb, There’s a reason why the little, or big 😉 guy came into your life. I’m sure that he does feel happy to be alive. Dogs pick up on energies in ways that humans can’t. Not from a level of knowing, but a level of feeling.

Reply

Leave a Comment