Happily Ever After

So, by now, it can’t be much of a surprise that Sunny eventually became part of our family.

There was a little minor drama when I e-mailed and called Claudie after our visit and got no immediate response. Lots of panic/anxiety/paranoia on my part! I later learned they had gone through a difficult family situation and had been too consumed with it to answer messages.

When we finally made contact, Claudie was delighted to welcome us into her extended family (we now refer to her as Grandma Claudie). Once we had agreed that we would adopt Sunny, I quickly offered to send her a check as a deposit, but she didn’t need it. She trusted me—not only to fulfill my financial commitment, but, more importantly, to fulfill my lifetime commitment to Sunny.

We could barely wait until the time that we could bring Sunny home. The 10-week mark for releasing puppies conveniently fell on President’s Day weekend. I can’t remember now what it was, but there was some kind of a conflict on Saturday. My husband volunteered to make the long drive on Sunday, but I wanted the kids to have maximum time to bond with Sunny, so I took Carson out of school for the day on Friday and we drove up to pick up the newest member of our family.



Sunny whined and whimpered as we pulled away from Claudie’s house and his mom and his brothers and sisters and all the family and security he had ever known. And it just about broke my heart.

But dogs are resilient and smart and optimistic and trusting and Sunny was soon at home, settling into his Happy Ever After with his new and forever family.




The Story of Sunny, As Always, Will Be Continued…