Bailey's Story
Bailey joined our home in January 2008 at an estimated age of 2 to 3 years old. We adopted her from the Arizona Animal Welfare League. This great organization rescued her from the local dog pound in October 2007. When I viewed her picture on the website I just knew I had to go down and meet this dog. Although she was friendly she was also very detached at the same time. I can only imagine what her past 6 months must have been like. I immediately called my husband and told him he had to come down to the shelter and meet this dog. Our home was currently without any pets since our last dog had passed very suddenly in December of 2007 at the age of 10. I feel that the good spirit of our deceased dog was what drove me to look at the website that day and see Bailey available for adoption.

We met Bailey on Tuesday, debated about a day if this was the dog for us or not. I went again to the shelter on Wednesday to have another visit with her. I was convinced we had to adopt her. I called the shelter Thursday and asked if they could put a 24 hour hold on the dog since I did not want to bring her home before the weekend where I could be with her when we brought her into the home.

The shelter told me that they were unable to put a hold on her for 24 hours and another couple had been in to visit Bailey twice. If we wished to adopt her, we were going to have to adopt her and take her home. I called my husband and told him he had to stop on the way home and adopt the dog that very afternoon because someone else was looking at her.   
  
We brought her home on Thursday evening. I was so excited. I called my parents and asked them to come and spend Friday at my home so she would not be alone in our home on her first day. She learned to use the dog doors and was very polite for my parents on Friday her first day in our home. When I came home from work on Friday, Bailey was sleeping on the floor in her dog bed.
  
Her weight was indicated as being 65 pounds on her adoption paperwork but when we actually took her to the vet for her check up that Saturday, she really weighed 100 pounds.  Our vet suggested we take her to the local pet store for some obedience training since she was so large and of course she needed to lose some weight.
  
Bailey now weighs 88 pounds, a much better weight for her combination breed. I think her success in losing weight can be contributed to the NUTRO^® brand we have been feeding her.
  
During her sessions at Obedience Training we found her to be a very smart pupil and she readily picked up the commands The instructor thought that someone must have spent some time with her at one point in her life because she was doing so well with the commands. Bailey has continued to surprise us with her gentleness around children, her protectiveness of our home and family and her great disposition.
  
We have learned that she likes to play in the snow, swim in the lake when we go fishing and take naps on our couch.
She is like a huge fluffy teddy bear.
  
We were so lucky to have found Bailey! Thank you for the opportunity to have entered and won the free dog food contest! We have fed our dogs NUTRO^® NATURAL CHOICE^® dog food for years.

Keri, Rich and Bailey

Arizona