Wednesday (10.28.20) in one word was “unexpected.”
After a low-key morning, I walked into our bedroom to hear Aaron say, “MeeMaw just called me and said, ‘I just got a phone call from Animal Control and your dog was turned into them by the airpot.'”
“Uh, what?”
Aaron gave his grandma his old phone & number a few months ago. When we originally got our dogs from the animal shelter in 2017, we registered them with that phone number. Since we believed both those dogs to be long gone, we obviously never thought to update the information.
A short time later, we called the place and explained the situation. “We believe you have our dog?”
They described it as a lab-mix that had been picked up that day. I asked if it was a boy or a girl, and after some hesitance, they said “boy!” Some further research confirmed the name of the pup the day we adopted him back in 2017 and we shockingly said, “OH MY GOSH! THAT’S HIM!!!!!” Kylo was alive!?
We asked some clarifying questions, like where they were located, their hours and what the process of reclaiming him was if we chose to do so (I was honest and said we had young kids so we had to consider that in our decision to reclaim him). The gal was very nice and answered all the questions we had.
Once we hung up, we called Aaron’s mom and asked if she could watch the girls. I said, “we’ve been presented with a unique opportunity & we’d like to check it out without the girls if we can.” Michelle was happy to watch the girls for the quick 1 – 1 1/2 hours we requested. As soon as she pulled in our driveway, we were gone.
Aaron and I talked about the situation and the conditions that would have to be fulfilled for us to bring him back. Mainly limited to no serious health issues & he had to be kind (or as I described it – not gone rogue for being on the streets for over a year and a half haha).
We arrived to the shelter, showed our ID and walked back to identify him. The first cage inside the door, I saw him. Shocked, I interrupted our guide, pointed and exclaimed “THAT’S HIM!” We walked over to his kennel, where he timidly looked up at us and Aaron’s voice literally changed to pure excitement. The gentleman asked us for a photo of him, and Aaron quickly showed a photo from my Instagram from back in late-2017.
“Yup. That’s definitely him! Well alrighty then, let’s get started on the paperwork.” We walked back to the front and said we’d take him back home.
We filled out some paperwork while talking to the staff and sharing our story.
Back in March of 2019, Kylo had wandered off with another dog (not abnormal) but unlike previous times, we heard multiple gun shots. Rex (Rick & Michelle’s dog), came back with bullet wounds but Kylo never came back. We assumed the worst had happened and moved on. So you can imagine our shock when not only did we receive the call that our dog had been picked up, but that he was in a town almost an hour away from where we lived at the time he went missing.
The staff agreed it was a crazy story and shared some other noteworthy tales of dogs that had found their old home after years away.
When Kylo came out, he came up and sniffed me and rubbed himself on my legs. But when he saw Aaron, he jumped up and eagerly welcomed the attention. “You needed a Go-Pro, Bud!” I said on several occasions.
After thanking the staff again, we loaded him into the car. The whole way home he was wagging his tale and licking us. We kept commenting how happy our hearts were. “I honestly feel more excited than if we had gotten a new dog!” I said.
Aaron & I devised a plan to get him into the house (and surprise Michelle who, like us, never would guess that Kylo would be walking through the door).
We pulled in our driveway and I bolted into the house. I made Michelle + the girls sit on the floor in the living room, claiming Aaron was bringing in a surprise. I tried my best to play it off like it was furniture or a toy for the girls, but once the door opened Michelle quickly noticed it was a “P-U-P-P-Y!” Suddenly, her face transformed into pure shock as she exclaimed, “oh my gosh! is that….? Kylo??” hahahaha
Rylie’s face lit up in pure excitement as she registered that this dog was sticking around. She has been asking for a dog for months so this literally was a dream come true in her little world.
Aaron & I had plans that night with the girls, so Michelle graciously took Kylo home with her and videoed Rick’s response which was equally if not more humorous than her own (check out the video to see it – it’s worth the watch 😉 ).
After our small group, we picked our dog up and was reassured how well he did with other dogs, being on a leash and playing. Michelle handed us a gallon ziplock bag of food which would last several days until we got our own giant bag. Once home, we loved on him for a while before setting up a cushy blanket which he completely ignored as he jumped onto our bed. WHAT?
After lots of laughter, pushes and stare-offs, we ended up letting him sleep at our feet where he happily stayed the entire night.
The next day (10.29.20) started off with Aaron taking him out on a short walk while I got the girls breakfast and made a list of all the things we now needed to accommodate our new pet. After bargain hunting online and making some priority decisions, we compiled our list and got what we needed.
Previously unplanned, Aaron’s sister came over for dinner and we decided to surprise her with this “ghost from dogs past.”
Amberlyn walked in and her face immediately shifted to pure surprise and excitement as Kylo eagerly greeted her with kisses. The whole evening she kept saying, “I’m shocked!”
Overall, Aaron and I are still so shocked and so in love. We are so thankful to have our OG pup back and our home feels complete with him in it.
Here are the videos of everyone’s reactions to our unexpected blessing! If you want to skip to Michelle, Rick & Amberlyn’s reactions, start at 2:51.