TulsaPets Magazine May 2021

May/June 2021 • TulsaPets 27 We were first introduced to Stewie through a photo on Facebook. My partner in life and dog obsession, Jim Thomason, and I run the Dalmatian Assistance League, Inc., a nonprofit breed rescue group. We have both loved Dal- matians for longer than we likely care to admit, and if there is a canine in need that is remotely spotted, we generally get word. Often, the photos we receive are of spotted Pit Bulls, bird dog mixes or adorable speckled mutts. While we do sometimes cave and take in an “un-dal” or a “close-enough,” our rescue is small, and we try to reserve our limited resourc- es for our original mission of assisting purebred Dalmatians. So, when we were notified of a baby Dal- matian at Tulsa Animal Welfare (TAW), we were skeptical, expecting a photo of a darling mixed-heritage pup. To our great surprise, we received a photo of a beautiful 3- to 4-month- old purebred Dalmatian. Though we usually stick to our “no foster fail” guns and provide temporary housing while working to rehome our spotted charges, a funny feeling hit us as we looked at photos of the little dog. Instead of contacting the shelter to do a res- cue pull of the pup, Jim made an appointment (per COVID guidelines) and went to formally pre-adopt him. TAW has a program that allows people to complete an adoption application and pay a fee for a dog that is still on stray hold. If no owners surface to claim the dog when the hold expires, the pre-adoption becomes final. I am not going to lie. We basically held our breath for three days. It was hard to imagine that anyone could lose this adorable puppy and not be turning the city upside down to find him. And honestly, we were captivated. Our professional rescue demeanor and resolve had pretty much crumbled after Jim met the puppy through the fence at the shelter. This little man was meant to be ours. And so, the puppy that would be known as Stewie came home to Tails You Win Farm to become an official member of our family. From day one, this charismatic spotted bundle had us completely charmed. He was playful, affection- ate, cuddly and even managed to win over the grumpier senior canine members of our family. Often, you would find the puppy curled up with one of his “grandma” or “grandpa” dogs, enjoying a midday nap. At night, the clever young dog always man- aged to torpedo his way into a prime sleeping spot, spooned snuggly against Jim or me. How he pushed the others out of the way is still a mystery, but they tolerated him, amazingly enough. The boy had a gift. He never met Stewie and Stormy Puppy Stewie at TAW