Then we moved to VA. Scott had 2 tours of duty there, Pentagon and Quantico. This is where life became interesting! We began the process of our first adoption for Lindsay June 1999. In February of 2000, we took a little trip back up to see friends in PA. We were in a terrible accident on the PA turnpike. Luckily the only real injury to my neck was bad whiplash but my poor 3 week old car had a lot of damage. I was pretty upset and depressed! Then I had a really neat thing happen to get me out of that bad place!
On February 19, 2000 I was on my way to a hair appointment in Fredericksburg. As I was driving along, I saw a car going in the opposite direction of a busy highway skid to a stop. I looked in horror as a small white dog hunched over bracing to be hit. The dog did make it across to the other side. I immediately made a U-turn (my heart took over) and headed back to where that accident almost occurred. I pulled over and got out of the car and called out "come here baby". Any other dog I have ever tried to get like that has run away. This dog came to me so submissively and let me pick it up. I put it in the car. It sat in the back seat so calmly. I couldn't tell what kind of dog it was and didn't know the sex. The dog was absolutely filthy with twigs and leaves. My heart was racing and I drove down a little side street to turn back around. I saw two elderly couples and asked them about the dog since it had a collar but no tag. They pointed to a rock house on the main highway and said they thought it belonged there. I drove to that house and parked in the driveway. I walked up stairs to the front door and knocked. A guy came to the door and I asked if that dog was his (while I pointed to the car). He said "Yea, a white poodle." I was angry because it looked so bad. I said, "Your dog almost got hit by a car and looks like it never had a bath!" Then I asked, "Do you want the dog?" He said "No" in a very calm voice. He probably thought I was nuts! I got back in the car and then I thought to get the dog’s name. I ran back up the stairs and knocked again. He came back out and I asked her name. He said, "It is a girl and her name is China." Right then, I almost fell off of his step because my husband and I were in the process of waiting for our first daughter from China! I didn't say anything to him. I just got in my car and drove away. I was kind of shaking and thrilled and worried all at the same time. I was worried that my husband was going to kill me! We already had 2 cats and a Chihuahua named Phil. I had talked to my husband about getting another dog so Phil wouldn't be so upset about the new baby (he was my big baby at 5 1/2 lbs!). Of course, my husband said “NO!”
On February 19, 2000 I was on my way to a hair appointment in Fredericksburg. As I was driving along, I saw a car going in the opposite direction of a busy highway skid to a stop. I looked in horror as a small white dog hunched over bracing to be hit. The dog did make it across to the other side. I immediately made a U-turn (my heart took over) and headed back to where that accident almost occurred. I pulled over and got out of the car and called out "come here baby". Any other dog I have ever tried to get like that has run away. This dog came to me so submissively and let me pick it up. I put it in the car. It sat in the back seat so calmly. I couldn't tell what kind of dog it was and didn't know the sex. The dog was absolutely filthy with twigs and leaves. My heart was racing and I drove down a little side street to turn back around. I saw two elderly couples and asked them about the dog since it had a collar but no tag. They pointed to a rock house on the main highway and said they thought it belonged there. I drove to that house and parked in the driveway. I walked up stairs to the front door and knocked. A guy came to the door and I asked if that dog was his (while I pointed to the car). He said "Yea, a white poodle." I was angry because it looked so bad. I said, "Your dog almost got hit by a car and looks like it never had a bath!" Then I asked, "Do you want the dog?" He said "No" in a very calm voice. He probably thought I was nuts! I got back in the car and then I thought to get the dog’s name. I ran back up the stairs and knocked again. He came back out and I asked her name. He said, "It is a girl and her name is China." Right then, I almost fell off of his step because my husband and I were in the process of waiting for our first daughter from China! I didn't say anything to him. I just got in my car and drove away. I was kind of shaking and thrilled and worried all at the same time. I was worried that my husband was going to kill me! We already had 2 cats and a Chihuahua named Phil. I had talked to my husband about getting another dog so Phil wouldn't be so upset about the new baby (he was my big baby at 5 1/2 lbs!). Of course, my husband said “NO!”
I went on to the hairdresser (late of course!) and told him that I had a dog in the car and that we would have to get together later. I told him the story and he almost fell over too! I have never had to have a dog groomed so they told me to go to PetSmart. China and I went there and I told them the whole story. They said dogs have to have updated shots etc. before getting groomed. They fit me in and did a heartworm test and I sat and prayed that it would be negative and it was. We proceeded with all the shots and they had to cut a huge piece of matted fur from next to her eye. She was in pitiful shape! I didn’t know that she was a poodle because her face was fully grown out. China was a so passive and she let everyone handle her and give her shots with not one growl. I knew that she desperately needed to be groomed and shaved down before I could bring her home to my other pets. PetSmart was booked since it was Saturday. The VetSmart people called all around giving my sob story to groomers in the phone book to try and get someone to help me. It was late on Saturday afternoon and none could. After a few minutes, one called back. She was a new vet and her groomer had already left for the day. She said to send us over and she would try to help. We went to see her and she bathed China and shaved off her coat as best she could. It was like shearing a lamb. The vet, just like people at PetSmart, told me that if my husband freaked out that they would all take her. China was just that wonderful even after all she had been through before and that day. I knew that China was meant to be my dog and that there was no way I could give her to anyone! I am convinced God put China in my path and the fact that her name was China when I found her still stuns me to this day when I really think about it.
After all that, while driving home, it hit me that my other four-legged children might not accept China. Phil, my Chihuahua, had been my baby for 7 years and Oreo and Rush, my cats, didn’t like other dogs at all. I was so inspired by finding China while waiting for my daughter from China that I began writing a story. The end result is my book Accepting China. I never planned on writing a story so I self-published and have sold it to raise money for orphans. My great friend, Amber, painted the pictures for my story. I mailed real photos of our pets to her in GA from VA. My kids still love this story. All of the characters have passed on now. We will never forget them. They were our "babies" before kids. So much for Scott not wanting cats or small dogs! What a man!
This is the last picture I ever took of China before she died in March 2008.
This is the last picture I ever took of China before she died in March 2008.
| Description of Accepting China from Back cover | ||
Have you ever wondered what your pets are thinking? Well, I have a pretty good idea of what mine thought the day I brought home a poodle named China to join our family. This story is about a family of pets coping with a new family member. Phil, Oreo and Rush were just as surprised by the unexpected addition to our family as I was when I rescued China from a busy highway. Accepting China is a fictional account of true events as seen through the eyes of my Chihuahua, Phil. The story is intended to parallel the thoughts and feelings that children have when a new baby or child comes into their family. Oreo, Phil, Rush and China are real brothers and sisters. They add a new twist to a situation that most children experience; either through birth or adoption. Finding China in February 2000 and the adoption of my daughter from China in November 2000 was the inspiration for this story. I am an adoptive mother of a daughter from China and a son from Korea. My husband and I are in the process of adopting another daughter from China and plan to adopt a second son from Korea in the future. Being a mother is the most joyful, challenging responsibility I’ve ever known. I look forward to all of the events we have yet to experience as an adoptive family. |
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