Adopting a true love Lagotto Romagnolo Rescue Puppy
A Lagotto Romagnolo Love Story
The story below tells of one of the sweetest gifts of my life.
A white standard poodle service dog visited my father who lay in a hospital hospice bed, and the chilly room warmed. He licked Dad’s worn-out hand, and for a flicker of a second Dad was young; a lump forms in my throat to remember it. In that precise moment I longed for a white standard poodle for myself, when the timing was right in our lives.
A few years flew past, as they do. Our youngest daughter left home to find her way in the world, and I yearned for the poodle to nurture (me). For months I searched high and low for the poodle who was meant to fill increasing holes in my life. For a time I was in communication with a poodle breeder therapy trainer on the east coast when my husband suggested maybe, it might be a good idea, to look a little closer to home. I reached out to a Texas standard poodle breeder, who at the time, happened to generously donate facilities and services to displaced poodles. She recommended we show up early on Saturday morning, surprisingly, she thought she had just the dog I was after. At the time it was a “first come, first served” line up. To be certain we would be the first ones there, my patient husband and I slept in a van in 32° F in the parking lot – just to be sure we were the first ones there. And we were. Other hopefuls began to arrive around 4:00 AM.
We met the puppy which was love at first sight! Geppetto isn’t the poodle I thought I needed, but dad seemed to know a Lagotto Romognolo would be better for me. A special condition of this sensitive dog’s adoption was a full time person at home. At the time, our jobs was managing a group home of functionally disabled men. Now we work there on weekends and Geppetto comes with me to work!! Geppetto has become an integral part of all of our hearts. I will always consider Geppetto a gift sent down from heaven above. My dad knew who I needed, and he was right about a lot of things in life. Dad sent down this curly, fun bundle of energy as a reminder of his love for me. I yearned for a huggable, living reminder of my father’s love for me, and my love for him, a Lagotto Romagnolo fell, “plop!” right into my lap.
Until we meet again sweet daddy, thank you for Geppetto, a precious gift.