The Story of Thunder
Thunder was a dog that I fostered as a pup, in a litter. This was while we were fostering for the all-breed group and taking in mostly litters of puppies. In this case, we split a litter with another volunteer, and I had half, four of them, and they were yellow lab mixed with Weimeraner. Most of them were yellow like the mom, and apparently they found homes for a few that were grey like the Weim, but they gave us seven yellow ones and one brindle one, and the brindle one was Thunder. He had the shape of a weim with extra big, long ears, mostly black with distinct brindle striping and a droopy, sad expression that hid a mellow dog but true heart.
We named the litter after weather, Stormy, Windy, etc., and he was the one we gave the odd little name of Thunder. Right away, we noticed that he was a nice calm pup. Because yellow is such a popular color and brindle is not, he was one of the last ones left. But Hubby and I could tell that everyone was passing on the special one. We said we knew he was destined for big things.
I finally got an application from a family who had only had one other dog in her life, a very special dog, and it had just died. They were utterly and totally devastated. Their house was totally quiet and they wanted another dog, EXACTLY like their last dog (I forget what breed it was, to tell you the truth).
Well, we didn't have a dog like their last dog. They described calm, smart, steady, all the qualities I saw in the pup I had right at my feet, Thunder. Usually I never promoted puppies when there were adult dogs to be had, but in this case, I told them I could tell Thunder was special, would they like to meet a pup? She decided what they needed in their house was noise, it was too quiet in their house with the other dog gone, and wanted something "thundering" through the house. I think Thunder was about four or five months old by then and already big and gawky.
Well, they did meet the pup, and the rest was history. Instant love on both sides. They told me that their pup would not be allowed on the furniture, etc, and right away I started recieving photos in my e-mail inbox of Thunder on the couch, on their bed, etc. They stayed in touch beautifully and I got regular Thunder updates. The owner (the lady) and I have become friends. Thunder had every luxury known to dogdom and I got to see photos of it all. He was truly loved.
Unfortunately, Thunder did not have a long lifespan. He only lived to be about four and was struck by some weird illness (I forget what it was, something weims get) and the family was devastated. They had adopted a new dog by the dog they got up the nerve to tell me Thunder had died, but later, I saw a great dog being fostered by my boss, and suggested the dog to them, and now they own Sage, as well, a beautiful shepherd I matched them with.
And their family decided to volunteer in the world of dog rescue after that, and became a part of the dog rescue group I had been volunteering with, in honor of Thunder and Sage, and they are foster homes now and Sage and their other dog help train homeless dogs to be socialized, just like my dogs do. So Thunder did have quite an impact on the world in his four short years. We knew he was destined for big things and being an inspiration is truly an important role in life. We like to think that we matched that one especially well.