The Beagle Who Changed Everything

Every dog and cat has their unique story that makes them special. Everyone that has a rescue is desperate to know that story, where they came from, who loved them, how many were in their litter, how long were they looking for their forever home. Most rescue owners only know part of their fur-baby's story, especially when they come to us later in their life. We only have a piece of Bentley's story, of him wandering the streets of DC (which is very rare) looking for love, and of course, food. My wife, Rebecca, saw a little beagle crossing E street downtown and realized he was alone. She rushed into action and after asking everyone around if he belonged to them, she corralled this dog to her office. She called me and I came to drive them to the closest shelter where we found he had no microchip. They guessed he was between 5-7 years old. He was on a stray hold for 12 days and no one came forward for him. We scoured the internet checking Craigslist and Facebook for "lost dog" ads. When we came up short, we accepted that his home was with us. We have always been so curious about where he came from and what his story is. Someone helped him along his way to us and now he has been our boy for 5 years, and we are so grateful for that.

I found Lucky Dog Animal Rescue through social media and saw a little bit of Bentley in the pups looking for their forever homes. I truly believe in Lucky Dog's mission of working to give dogs and cats a life full of love and dignity. I joined the organization as the Development Officer of Events to help foster that mission through fundraising and animal-focused events. I love being able to share the joys of puppy love at Pup Parties and executing community centered benefits to celebrate all of the hard work that Lucky Dog does.

Before joining the Lucky Dog family, I never thought I would be able to foster because the thought of giving up a sweet pup always sounded so hard. That was until one day when someone returned their recently adopted puppy while I was at the office. I immediately FaceTimed Rebecca, and she agreed that this puppy needed to come home with me. We loved having Nanda in the house with us and Bentley loved having a puppy to play with. After a week of loving her we brought her to an adoption event and she found her parents! It was a hard goodbye, but seeing how happy this family was to welcome her into their life made up for it all. We exchanged information and we still receive regular updates about how she is doing. It is an honor to be a part of her story, and I feel so lucky to have been a stop on her journey in finding her forever home. Since Nanda, we have fostered a litter of puppies and another beagle mix, and they have all found their forever homes! The feeling that I am providing a safe and loving environment for these animals is a rare privilege that reminds me why I work so hard to raise funds to support this mission.