3.03.2011

My BFF Chris & Jimmy 2 Shoes

Many of you know that my BFF is Chris Hoar. Chris is an amazing animal advocate & my fellow co-founder of the facebook app, Pet Pardons. Working with Chris on Pet Pardons has truly been the most rewarding experience of my life. However, the greatest honor for me is having Christopher Christina Hoar as my friend.

I’m sure many of you have witnessed the ridiculous banter between Chris & I on facebook:
I call him a Hoar… He calls me Barbie…
I call him useless… He calls me worthless…
I call him a drug addict…
He says, “Yeah? What’s your point, Lady?”

I’m amazed that anyone other than Chris & I would find this crap to be entertaining. I’m even more amazed at the number of people who actually love watching this useless behavior go down. I get so many private messages from people saying how much they enjoy our sarcastic slander of one another. It’s so fun that we can make people laugh by launching massive verbal attacks on each other’s reputations. Wow… we are both completely useless.

However, for once, I am not writing to bash Christina Hoar. I’m actually gonna do quite the opposite tonight. While I give Chris a hard time, he is one of the most amazing people I know. And this week, he did something INCREDIBLE—he adopted a dog from death row. Yesterday, my friend, walked into the pound, and saved a life. Yesterday, my friend, reminded me exactly why he’s my very best friend in the world.

Let me tell you a little more about Chris’ new friend. Chris adopted a very scared, injured little boy, and we named him Jimmy 2 Shoes. Why the name Jimmy 2 Shoes? Well, Chris calls me One Shoe, because I can only ever find one of my shoes. I, in turn, call Chris, Two Shoes, because he manages to find both of his. Therefore, when it came time for the name, we went with Jimmy 2 Shoes… to make him part of our "Shoe" family. I’m going to let Chris tell you about Jimmy 2 Shoes in his own words. Chris, you’re welcome. That will be $50. (PS-So freakin proud of you.)

Chris’ Story
Dogs are a big part of my life. I run a facebook application called Pet Pardons with an amazing woman, Ashley Owen Hill. Pet Pardons is dedicated to saving the lives of dogs on death row in shelters across America by finding them adopters. But until yesterday, I had never personally adopted a dog.

As you all know, Ashley has spent her life rescuing dogs, and since getting to know her, she has become a huge inspiration to me. Last Friday night, we were chatting when we saw a picture of a little 2 year old Chihuahua Mix on facebook. He had no name, just a number, and he had deformed legs, apparently caused by breaks that were never set correctly. He had less than 24 hours to live, and I knew what I had to do. The next morning I got up early, picked up my weekend helper Angie, and we set off from San Diego for Orange County to rescue this little guy.

When we arrived at the shelter it was cold, there were hundreds of cages, and they were all outside. The nonstop barking was made worse by the fact that all the dogs were shivering. I have been to shelters many times over the last few years, but it never gets easier. As I walked down the path looking for cage number 300, the sad faces would look at me as if to say "Please mister, choose me, I will be good I promise". It was heartbreaking, I knew that many of these guys were not going to make it. 5 out of 10 dogs that come into a kill shelter are euthanized, which equals one every 10 seconds in America, or about 10 million a year.

And then I saw him, he was so tiny and cute, he jumped up and was craving attention as I stroked him through the bars. The name we had picked out for him fit so perfectly, "Hello Jimmy 2 Shoes" I said. We got to spend 5 minutes with him in a run to get introduced. He took to me immediately, and I of course fell in love with him. I had to wait 4 days for him to be neutered, and get his shots. Then yesterday, I finally got to go pick him up.


It took just a few minutes and about $100 and then they brought him out. When the girl handed him to me, it was such an amazing feeling, it’s hard to describe. I had saved his life, and now I got to take him out of that awful place. He clung to me so tight & pushed his head next to mine. I'm pretty sure he knew he was being freed.

When he got into the car, he was clearly scared, cowering with his head down. But he was also very curious. It was like he had never seen anything before, he couldn't stop staring out the window. He was looking up all the time as if to say "Wow, that building is ridiculously tall". The ride back home took about an hour, and by the end, he was actually sleeping on my lap. I don't think he slept much at the shelter.

Within just a few hours of arriving at the office, he had already started to change. It was dramatic. He was running after balls, jumping on to the couch and his ears were up. His tail was now wagging constantly, it was clear that he understood things were going to be very different for him. 

When I took him home he was no longer afraid, just curious. He met Mitsy & Piglet, my other 2 pups, and within minutes was running around the garden with them, before trying to mount Mitsy. Needless to say she was not impressed with any of that.

Last night he slept in my bed, under the covers and pressed up against me, and he slept like a rock. Today, he woke up for the first full day of his new life, and he is a different dog from the one I picked up not 24 hours ago. Now I can't even leave the room without him following me, and he's gaining confidence by the hour. He is filled with love and seems to have been waiting his whole life to show it.

What I have learned is this: I may have saved his life, but Jimmy 2 Shoes and all the others I have helped, are the ones who are saving mine. If you have never adopted a dog, then I suggest you do. There is nothing like it, and you will never regret it.

17 comments:

  1. OK One Shoe you are still worthless, but for that introduction i love you. The $50 has been fedexed to you, but just to make a point i sent it all in nickels. You;re welcome for that too.

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  2. Amen. I'm crying here in Mt. Pleasant. Thanks to all of the hard work you, Ashley, and Jamie do, we were able to get our Daisy. Welcoming her into our family has been such a gift. And you're right when you say, "There's nothing like it, and you will never regret it."
    Congratulations on your new family member, and thank you for all of your dedication. I'm in awe of all of you.
    Amy Mahoney

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  3. super......now i am crying as well, remembering the first time i saved a life. it's the best feeling in the world isn't in? good job you two. bravo! xoxo

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  4. Chris, I prefer quarters. You'll know better next time. Nickels have that dumb Thomas Edison guy on there or some crap. Quarters are the bomb.
    Amy, you just made my night with that sweet comment. Thank you for adopting my Daisy (now your Daisy). She's such a lucky girl to have such an amazing family :)
    Love, Ash

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  5. Yep, I'm crying too..thanks u wonderfully useless losers :)
    I looove a happy ending!
    Thanks for being useless bffs and saving the world, one j2s at a time!
    keep it up!
    Love u both!!

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  6. Crying too!!!! You are lovely beyond words. Thanks you for caring...I also care about all animals and am eternally grateful for people like you. Please keep us posted on Jimmy 2 shoes.
    There is no other feeling like adopting...rescuing...they save us!!
    Kier

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  7. I cry just reading this amazing story, I just wish I could adopt all of the dogs that never get a chance. I am so happy that there are people like you guys out in the world that it makes waking up each day worth it.
    Thanks for saving lives everyday.

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  8. I want a "Like" button. How come there's not a LIKE button??

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  9. I am sitting here crying like a baby, however, it is tears of joy, joy for Jimmy 2 Shoes, you and Misty and Piglet, and also tears of joy for me and all the other people who read this, and let it have the same positive and loving effect it has for all who adopt. Please, people, get involved, and make a difference in your life and the lives of these wonderful creatures!

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  10. Wow...amazing story! I'm so grateful that you guys are out there trying to rescue dogs, even if they aren't in your local pound or shelter. And Jimmy 2 Shoes is ADORABLE! Though shouldn't he be Jimmy Four Shoes? hehe :)

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  11. I came across your blog today for the first time and read about how you came to adopt Jimmy2Shoes! Love the name by the way! I am a person somewhat like you on the east coast here but I do the same with cats. Not to the extent that you have done but I have rescued over 250 cats over the last 8-9 years, have had 107 spayed/neutered at my expense and have found homes for many. I presently have 16 cats of my own that are all rescues! I lost my job a little over a year ago and also became homeless! I bought a 20ft camper so I had somewhere to be safe with my furbabies!! We still live in the camper and I can tell you, this past winter in the Northeast was cold and very snowy!! I am looking to find a place where I can open a no-kill animal sanctuary somewhere here on the east coast! I repect and appreciate all the work you do with and for the dogs!! I am glad I came upon your facebook page!!

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  12. wow what you guys do is amazing an i hope one day to follow in your footsteps. i wanna help save lives too . it is an amazing feeling when u take this dog with no name an no home who is so unhealthy an jus turn his life around. your story has definitley made me cry an hopefully alot of ppl feel the same an will choose to help save lives.

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  13. Are your dogs up for adoption? It doesn't look like they are from your posts, but Facebook lists them as in need of homes.

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  14. I'm crying too. What a great story and a great reminder as to why we all love helping these animals. It's so heartbreaking at times yet equally as rewarding. Many thanks for sharing.

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  15. Sir (and Mam), God Bless you Both!

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  16. tears of joy for a sad story with a happy ending

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  17. Yes, all of my dogs are up for adoption. They are listed under the "Adopt" tab on this site, and they are listed on other sites such as Pet Pardons and Adopt-A-Pet.

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