Chelsea Gonzalez: Welcome to the family, Pearl!

HELLO PEARL!

Pearl knows a good floral wall when she sees one.

Eeeeeek! Okay guys, I'm so excited because I finally found what was missing from our family! And honestly, more like WHO was missing. So as a lot of my friends know, I used to have a beautiful Pekingese named Bella. I had her for 8 years and she was my best friend. She and I had an incredible bond. She would help me when I had anxiety attacks back in high school and I could sense when she was going to have seizures before they happened.. I was devastated when I lost her. And since she passed I've been lost.

But I grieved, and now two years later I've been feeling ready to adopt a new pup. In January we found a mixed puppy at the SPCA and I took her home.... I was really excited until 2 days later she was showing signs of parvo and I had to immediately return her because at the time I was living with my mom who had a dog. It just wasn't fair for her dog to risk being sick with parvo and it wasn't fair for me to ask my husband to pay for that kind of medical bills so I had no other choice. I was devastated and felt like I just needed a break from searching for a companion. I just couldn't deal with another heartbreak.

Her page on the SPCA.

And I really haven't looked since the day I was crying in the SPCA returning Daisy.

Until Wednesday..... So I was sitting around nursing Oliver and out of no where I felt like I HAD to look up the SPCA's website... Like HAD to. And the first dog that popped up was a Pekingese, and I started crying, (like a damn baby) but he wasn't happy and wasn't good with kids so I kept scrolling.. And then I saw the blurriest photo ever of a Newfoundland and border collie mix. Literally the two dog breeds at the top of my wish list. And of course- THERE WAS NO DESCRIPTION OR ANYTHING ON HER! I looked at the time and it was too late to call and ask about her so I had to wait until the following day. That evening at my moms house I passed my laptop around showing everyone this terrible photo of my dream dog and how I wanted to go see her so badly. Luckily for me Dillon gave me the green light to check her out and my mom and baby sister were available to go with me!!

Literally broke my heart. This is how I found her.

This is when we learned she knew commands.

So the next morning I found her sad self just moping around in a dirty kennel all alone. I found an employee and asked about her paperwork because that was nothing attached to her door.. The girl was like superrrrrr surprised that I was asking about her and I later on found out there wasn't information because she was part of a big investigation.

I can't go into detail because that investigation is in fact still ongoing, but basically someone was running an illegal "shelter" where they were hoarding an enormous amount of animals. It was so bad that a lot of them passed away, some (like Pearl) were being medicated for different things and we're going to have higher adoption fees because of it.

The worst part about it was that she has been there since the beginning of February and not one person had ever asked or shown interest in her. She had only been walked (by someone other than a volunteer) once during her stay and that was only because someone was killing time while adopting the dog she was kenneled with.

Opal loving on her at the SPCA.

This is the first time she kissed any of us, and it was a smooch to Dillon while he signed the papers.

How terrible is that? You have the kindest and smartest of all dog breeds sulking around and not one person wanted her. Now, I couldn't even get myself to ask, but if I remember correctly this specific SPCA doesn't keep dogs past 2 months due to high volumes... Meaning they're put to sleep if deemed UN-adoptable. This girl was 11 days from that 2 month mark!! DAYS.. UGH.

So anyway, after walking her for a while myself and then dragging Dillon down a couple hours later, there just was NO WAY IN HELL I was leaving this amazing dog there. I wouldn't even let her go back in a kennel. I just couldn't do that to her. She is 3 years old and they don't know anything else about her except that she was neglected and sick at the "shelter" she was seized from.

You know it was bad when the employees were crying and congratulating her (we even spotted some hugging and jumping up and down) in celebration that their favorite dog found a home! We actually were asked to be featured on their website, so I will try to find that once it is posted and share it here, too.

This was her at Petco. We all thought she deserved a proper BEFORE photo. What a mess she was!

We took her straight to the groomers at Petco who were so wonderful and squeezed her in to be seen 3 hours before closing! We decided to take all of her matted fur off and give her a fresh start to her new life. (She smelled so bad and her fur was stained with urine)! She hadn't been given a bath or brushed in WHO KNOWS how long- because the SPCA didn't do it. (So SHOUT OUT to Amanda at Petco on Herndon and 99 in Fresno, CA for giving this princess the royal treatment! 💁🏽💁🏽💁🏽💁🏽)

This was her AFTER photo. She was SO happy and you could just see her attitude change.

After a brief stop at my mom's aka Drammy (dog Grammy) we went home and omg talk about the best first night ever. She ate and spent time exploring her new beautiful backyard. She watched a movie with us and then at bedtimewe decided to try letting her sleep on the floor of our room before the crate... No accidents and actually she subtly woke me up at 430 am with her nose and off to go potty she went with Dillon. I ended up just getting up to start some chores and hang out with her while my family slept and she was so good. She listens so well, she is relaxed and patient with our babies too.

Her first night at home, she napped while we watched Inside Out.

I honestly am SO HAPPY. I was starting to feel like I was never going to find the right dog, but we did! God just keeps placing the right opportunities in front of us! I actually want to share more on God's plan for us and how He keeps guiding Dillon and I on this new chapter of our lives here in California... But that is totally for another day! 💗❤️💗❤️

She has a FOREVER home!

So if you follow me on Instagram I'm going to have to apologize now- but my feed is going to have an overload of her beautiful face! She deserves to be loved and appreciated- that is EXACTLY what I'm going to do. 😍😍😍😍