My family was in a difficult position when we started to look for a new pet. I was living at home with my parents and they did not want to take on another dog after our last one passed away. However, I had a kitty who I had hand raised as a young child and she was 16 years old with cancer; I knew I wanted a new family member to help with the transition from being her fur-mother to saying goodbye.

After much consideration my parents agreed we should start looking. About a year before, I’d found Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue and felt, then, that I would want to rescue a dog who truly needed a home…so I went onto the site and saw that they had a few little dogs from Mexico and that’s when we saw Cuddles. Everyone in the house immediately agreed that if there were any dog for us, it was him – all from one little picture and a short description. I don’t think I slept from that point on, worrying if we would be lucky enough to be accepted to adopt him or not!

Then we got the good news: he was going to be ours! We started getting pictures of him by e-mail, and being that he was from Mexico, we started thinking up Spanish names for him; Chango, Cheko, Pablo. But when the day finally came to pick him up from the Sanctuary, the first thing he did when he was placed in my arms was cuddle into me – so his name had to stay as Cuddles!

He instantly knew that I was his new fur-mother, crying if he couldn’t follow me somewhere. Being from Mexico and abandoned very young, I was prepared to spend hours training him but he surprised all of us by being the most gentle, laid back little puppy we had ever met. We quickly found out he has two settings – full force and lazy. Training him was very easy, he picked up everything in no time. He has such a great temperament and continues to surprise us every day with the things he picks up on. Sometimes it’s like he even has a sense of humor. It really feels as though he was meant to be a part of our family.

His best friend is my little niece who is just a few months older than him. When he was just 6 months old, he seemed to already understand that he couldn’t rush up: he would give her space until he was invited over, and he would be very gentle with her. Now, however, he loves when she shows up and he can greet her by smothering her in kisses, which puts her in a fit of giggles. She asks to come over to Auntie’s house to have lunch with Cuddles or play with him in the yard, and tells her mom that “I want a little dog like Cuddles” all the time. He’s patient with her too, seemingly happy to be the victim of her attempts to love him – like having his bum powered.

Cuddles’ loving side doesn’t stop with my niece. He has a gentleness about him that extends to other dogs – big, small, and of any temperament – and other animals. I have an elderly rabbit who is blind, and Cuddles likes to lay next to him and clean his eyes. He has also caught a baby chipmunk last summer between his paws…I thought he would kill it, but he just nosed it before letting it run free.

It’s hard to imagine what life would be like without Cuddles. He brings so much happiness to our family…and we love to spoil him. My father is retired, so Cuddles has become the co-captain of his truck, the master of his garage, and his absolute favourite thing to do is to be out on the boat fishing with his grandpa. He really is a part of our family, and I’m so grateful for Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue for bringing him into our lives.

 

Julia Evasiuk is 25, from Fort McMurray and currently enrolled in University. She has a great passion for animals and shares her life with an elderly blind rabbit and Cuddles – an R-mar rescue from Mexico.