|
It wasn't a Glitch... How a dog got just the right home and a family got just the right dog (Tissue alert)
"My husband Ray was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC) seven years ago now," Jen recalls. "He was diagnosed two months before our wedding. He went in for a major reconstructive surgery two days after the wedding, so essentially our honeymoon was spent in the hospital." "After that point, he healed up well and was seemingly cancer free for two years. We had our daughter in 2010 and our son in 2013. Unfortunately, two months after our son was born the cancer came back very aggressively and it had spread quite a bit throughout his body." After countless surgeries in six years, Ray lost his battle with cancer on December 6, 2014. "My husband and I had talked about getting a dog for awhile, but with his illness we knew it wasn't a good time. When the time came, I knew I wanted to look for a poodle mix as I am allergic to dogs," Jen says. "A couple days after his passing, I saw a picture of a beautiful dog on a social media site, and out of sheer curiosity, I decided to take a look on Petfinder." She typed in her search criteria, including the range which she was willing to travel and the requirement of a poodle mix. "After looking through several pages, I stopped dead in my tracks," Jen says. She'd found a dog named RAY. And... he was a poodle mix. "I clicked the link and when I did, I could not believe what I read. The description of this beautiful pup read: His body may bear some of the scars, but his soul is unburdened by the past. "It went on to describe Ray and I felt like this was my husband, Ray, communicating with me. I honestly felt a bit of peace in that moment. It was my confirmation that he was no longer burdened by the cancer." "I knew he was meant to be with us, so the day after my husband's services, we drove three hours to get him, and now he is the perfect addition to our family. Our kids absolutely love our dog, and although he can be crazy, he is exactly what we needed at exactly the right time." The Deacon from their church was so touched by the story and believed so much that it was Ray's way of communicating with his family, that the Deacon spoke of the story during his services. The pup's description Jen saw on Petfinder.com was read in full. How'd he get a new name? "Keeping the name Ray would have been pretty hard for us, but I had a hard time thinking of another name. One day I said that, 'He is a normal dog that just has a little glitch, because he has a neurological disorder.' We thought that was a cute name, so we stuck with it," says Jen. Jen says she's happy to share their story, and she hopes her story will inspire others "to have hope that there's more to this life than we can see." |
|
|
Jen Welch and her family adopted Glitch from HSHV in January.