Our Lucky Number

August is an important month in mine and Jamie’s lives.  We met in August; we began dating in August; and most recently, Ocho came into our lives in August (2007).  It was a Sunday morning, Jamie and I had just finished breakfast in Capitol Hill when we finally came to a decision we had been mulling over for a few months: we wanted a dog. We had been looking at the Animals First Foundation web site for weeks. We even knew that we were interested in one particular pit mix puppy.  That afternoon, we hopped on a bus from downtown Seattle over to the Eastside where the dogs were boarded.

Once we finally arrived at the house, we went over to take a look at the puppies. There were three left out of a litter of ten. Shortly after they were born, the mom and ten puppies were scheduled to be euthanized at a pound in Georgia. Animals First Foundation had mom and the whole litter transported all the way from Georgia to a suburb of Seattle where they would be taken cared of and eventually adopted out.  At first, we were ogling over another pup. Then we looked over and saw a puppy that was a little smaller than the rest, Cheyenne. It was explained to us that this one is a handful.  Having been in a foster home previously, it took Cheyenne two weeks to house train while it usually takes the animals only a few days. She was the runt of the litter, but still held her own.  After meeting Cheyenne and seeing her spunk, Jamie and I decided that she was the one we needed to take home.

Because Jamie’s birthday was that following Wednesday and we had time to pick Cheyenne up, AFF was able to expedite the adoption process for us. On Wednesday, August 8th, we all drove back to Seattle to show Cheyenne her new home and help her transition into being a city dog.  A few days later, we got a call from one of the AFF volunteers, “You’ll never believe this - the web site has been down for the past few days and we've received a bunch of e-mails with interest only in Cheyenne!”  It was fate that we were the lucky new owners.

Then Cheyenne got a new name.  We wanted to name her something that was a bit more fitting to her personality.  We tested out the names: Spot and Fido, but to no avail.  Then, we were on the bus and Jamie said, "Ocheeeeenta."  Cheyenne looked up! I looked at Jamie.  We knew that Ocho, which means "eight" in Spanish (and, August being the eighth month), would be her name.

Ocho has brought so much character to our home in Seattle!  Some of her favorite activities are chasing bugs, playing at the dog park with her friends, and burrowing under our bed.  She is incredibly smart and will ‘tell’ us when she needs to go out by walking to the front door and jiggling her leash that hangs on the door knob.  She is a quick learner and enjoys playing games and facing challenges like, finding her hidden toys.  This puppy is indeed a handful.  We came home one day to find my whole herb garden knocked down and half eaten; all the while Ocho sitting, calmly wagging her tail.  Jamie and I are spunky and a bit stubborn ourselves though, so Ocho is a great fit.

It’s September and we have had Ocho for one month.  We’ve grown to love her more than we knew we could love anything.  She has been a great addition to our lives and an everyday reminder why August is such a significant month for all of us.

Julie, Jamie & Ocho

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