LEO + DENALI
“I truly believe that they know what you have done for them and they give it back to you endlessly for the rest of their life.”
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FIRST, TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF
“My name is Adrian Krueger. I’m currently living in Montana, but will be back in Florida in a couple of months. My boyfriend works at golf courses in both states, so we bought a camper to live in so we always have a home instead of worrying about trying to finding 6 month leases. It’s different, but I love it so much. It’s given me even more reason to get out with dogs since they have little room to play inside. We take them out running free all the time and I like to take them to the park a lot as well. In Montana, I work at a thrift store that raises money for their animal shelter and I also take photos of their dogs for their site. In Florida, I’m a sales associate at Z Gallerie. For those who don’t know, it’s a home decor/furniture store. We have some pretty cool things in there. As for hobbies, photography is my passion. Having two photogenic dogs is wonderful because they give me lots of practice!”
NOW, TELL US ABOUT YOUR PUPS
“I’ll start with our first pupper. Her name is Denali and she is a Black Lab mix (at least that’s what we think lol). She is the first dog my boyfriend and I got together. We looked for quite sometime. I thought we would never find one. Jake wanted to make sure we got the perfect dog for us because he knows I just fall in love with them all! I pulled up Miami Dades animal controls website and he saw the first dog on their long (LONG) list of strays and surrenders. He took one look at this black dog named Star with one ear up and gave back the computer saying, “that’s it. That’s the one.” I remember saying something like, “what?! That’s it? After all of the dogs we have seen, how can you be so sure? You’re usually so picky?”
Luckily for us, she wasn’t available for adoption yet. She was in quarantine because she had kennel cough. We weren’t able to go down to Miami until Saturday which was two days away. A cute dog like her would have been gone in an instant if she was ready for adoption. Saturday finally arrives. We get up really early so we can get there as soon as the shelter opens. Keep in mind though, we actually didn’t realize that she was in quarantine. I was checking the website probably every hour up until those doors opened. We were so excited! We went searching for her and kept coming up short. I remember we were starting to feel defeated. We finally were able to talk to a girl that worked there. She looked her up and told us about her being in quarantine due to her kennel cough which is why we couldn’t find her. She lead us to her and again, Jake took one look at her and said, “yeah she’s the one! We’ll take her!” She was taken out of her kennel so we could meet her and she was covered in ticks. There was a giant one right on her head. I felt so sorry for her. Anyway, they allowed us to take her home a day before she would have been released from quarantine. We were so happy and excited to bring her home! It was a bright new future for her and also a big step in our relationship as a couple.
I had been coming up with names for quite some time and one of the first ones I had come up with was Denali. I had a feeling Jake would really like this so I made sure to put it at the top of my list. While signing her adoption papers, I showed him the list and again, he took one look, saw the first name, and said, “That one. That’s it!” I was so surprised by all of his absoluteness in the past couple of days! So, we brought Denali home and quickly found out how loving she is and how happy she was to be with us. We also quickly found out that night how she doesn’t like any dog she doesn’t know which has been a struggle to deal with, but I finally found an affordable trainer, so hopefully that changes soon!
Now, a year later, I’m starting to want to get another dog. Not just for me, but for Denali as well. She needed someone of her own species to relate to and hangout with. I truly felt that having a second dog would really cheer her up. Don’t get me wrong, Denali was extremely happy with just the three of us, but there’s nothing like connecting with someone more like yourself, you know? Looking for dogs the second time around was a little tougher. First step was convincing Jake. That took a couple of months! After the first hurdle was conquered came the next one. Finding a dog that not only Jake and I really liked, but also Denali. Considering how picky she can be, it was going to be a challenge.
Jake found a cute, good looking pup on perfinder named Pluto. The rescue claimed he is an Australian Kelpie mix. The first photo was of him running happily towards the camera. All of his photos showed just how happy and fun he really was. We set up a time with the rescue to meet Pluto and to see how the two dogs got along. It was a little tense at first, but after maybe 5 minutes, they started playing together and for Denali, that’s a wonderful sign! We found out that rescue got him from the same Miami shelter Denali came from. Apparently he was in worse shape than Denali. He had to go through surgery for a bloated stomach I believe. Not a 100% sure. The pups were having so much together while we tried to finish the adoption process.
We brought home our new family member and after a few days of hard thinking, we finally agreed to name him Leo. We really didn’t think Pluto suited him at all! Denali had a hard time sharing a couple of times, but after two small tiffs between them, Denali showed him who was boss and it’s been heavenly ever since! They have become best friends and spend so much time together! When we adopted Leo, it was a year after Denali came into our lives. Now, Leo has been with us almost 1 year and I can see a huge difference in Denali. She is so happy with him and it’s the best decision we have made for the both of them! They LOVE running together and playing fetch. Whatever one has, the other must have it too (obviously)! They love to explore together, chase eacher other, and bother Jake while he’s fishing. They love being able to run free here in Montana and have a blast swimming in the lakes and the ocean when we are back in Florida.”
FINALLY, OUR FAVORITE PART: TELL US ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR PUPS
“When we first got Denali, I was so nervous that would screw up as a “parent” because unlike Jake, I didn’t really grow up with dogs. I had a Shih Tzu named Prince, who just recently passed sadly, when I was pretty young, but didn’t really get the chance to learn the responsibility part of having a dog since my mom moved to Ohio and my sister and I stayed in Florida with my dad. Thankfully, Jake has been really great and teaching me what it means to have a dog. The more I work with them and take care of them, the closer I feel to them. They can be a handful sometimes, but with all of the joy they have brought to me, I couldn’t be happier.
Leo and Denali have been so wonderful. They love to snuggle up with us especially when it’s time to go to bed! They have their own bed thanks to having bunk beds in our camper and they spend lots of time staring out the window watching whatever comes by. They absolutely LOVE it when we join them! They make me so proud when they are running and exploring off leash. I love seeing how happy they are to go on adventures with us. I love coming home to them! They are so happy to see us! Denali really gets herself worked up when someone she loves comes home or visits. She whines and runs all over the place! When it’s someone she hasn’t seen in while, she does this howling thing and I swear she sounds like a hound! It’s so nice to see how much love they have for you when they act like that. When we are down, they’re there. When we are sick, they’re there. No matter what happens, I know they will always be at our side.
I know both times when we adopted our pups, Jakes family found it so odd that we didn’t adopt puppies and that we got them from a rescue and a shelter. They have always gotten their puppies from farms Wisconsin. They love our pups, but will still say how it’s just something they never did in the past. I’m happy to show them that rescues can be just as great. It’s the only way I will ever get a dog. I truly believe that they know what you have done for them and they give it back to you endlessly for the rest of their life. I always encourage adoption rather than buying. Although, I believe all dogs, no matter where they come from, deserves a loving, happy, caring home.”
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