By Jarissa Aquinde, Positively Woof Rescue and Adoption Story Editor 
On October 19, 2013, I was sitting in my shelter crate, watching the people walk by outside as usual for the 6th month in a row when I heard someone tell a volunteer that she wanted to adopt the Pit Bull or Pit mix who needed a home the most. The volunteer immediately led her to me! I sat really nice, wagged my wiggly butt, and the lady who came said “Ok, I want her.” We had a meet and great, and though it wasn’t love at first sight for either of us, partially because I was so excited to be out of my cage and near a lot of other dogs I couldn’t focus, but that didn’t deter my new mom. In an hour, we were heading to our home, which wasn’t too far from where so many nice volunteers loved me at the shelter! On our first walk, we went right to the store where I was spoiled with a lot of toys and a new tag that said “Elizabeth”.
My new house was way up in the sky; I really enjoyed watching birds and trying to stare into the buildings close by. There were some learning curves for both of us, but after two weeks, I still remember the moment when I looked at my mom, and knew this was where I belonged. She was mine and I was hers.
My mom gets to work from home a lot, and we spent many days walking around the city where I charmed bell hops, baristas, and anyone else who appeared to want to scratch my butt and give me a treat. I know every spot in River North/Gold Coast to get a treat and a good scratch. Often, I walk back to Anti Cruelty Society to visit my old friends and say ‘thanks’! They know me as Gypsy and they’re always happy to see me! I also love to go to the park and play with all dogs, paddle board, swim, jump into fountains, and sleep in the path of the vacuum.
A couple of years after my adoption, something bad happened to my mom. Now, I get to help her out by comforting her and traveling with her wherever she goes! I am really good at airport security and love to show my obedience skills to TSA. Since mom travels for work a lot and sometimes stays away for a long time, I have gotten to live in Portland, Oregon, Los Angeles, and now I’m living in Innsbruck, Austria! We spend our mornings hiking in the Alps and then I sleep in the chair for hours; snoring and farting so mom knows how much I enjoyed our walk. We’re both pretty lucky that we get to belong to each other.
