I didn’t choose the easy path.

I chose a dog from a shelter.

 

And honestly? The decision was easy – I followed my conscience.

I couldn’t look myself in the eye if I ever bought a dog, knowing how many tearful eyes stare through shelter bars every day.

 

I knew what kind of dog I wanted – one with the traits, energy, and size that would match me.

But more than anything, I needed a friend.

 

Truthfully, I wanted to save a dog…

but I also needed someone who would save me right back.

 

It took many long months to find “the one.”

One late night, I came across two blurry pictures on a hunting dog adoption forum –

just a dark shape caught in motion under dim light.

 

I couldn’t sleep that night.

 

At dawn, I called the number listed.

“This is my future friend,” I said.

 

I learned that the dog had been seized in an intervention.

The owner had abandoned him long ago, leaving him locked in a kennel.

He was now in quarantine at the Mysłowice shelter.

 

I don’t want to describe what those two weeks were like – waiting, worrying.

But finally, October 14th, 2012 came.

 

I drove to the shelter.

 

The man who greeted me suggested I see the dog first, to make sure I wanted him.

 

I handed him a collar and leash and said,

“That won’t be necessary.”

 

 

Then they brought him out –

a heartbreaking sight.

 

Just skin and bones, barely standing, with a face so swollen you could barely see his eyes.

 

I knelt down.

And with the last of his strength, he threw himself into my arms.

 

I carried him to the car.

 

And we went home.

 

That very first night, he started choking.

 

I spent hours on the phone with a vet, trying to clear his airways with makeshift methods.

He had a severe respiratory infection.

His post-neuter wound had split open.

He had a fever – and more.

 

We fought for his life.

 

I gave him steam baths in the bathroom.

Cooked rice porridge.

Sewed him custom dog boxers to protect the wound.

 

From the very first moment, we were in love.

The hard times only strengthened our bond.

 

 

 

Once his body had healed, it was time to heal his mind.

 

We signed up for the School of Positive Dog Training in Częstochowa.

Our mentor, Magda, helped us work through what we thought was aggression toward other dogs –

but it turned out to be fear.

 

And not just that.

 

He also had severe separation anxiety.

So he came with me everywhere – to work, to the shop, to bars, to appointments.

 

Eventually, we worked through that too.

 

Dogtrekking saved us in many ways.

Through our training group, we built a beautiful dog-human team –

a community I’m grateful for every day.

 

And from someone who once isolated herself…

I became part of something wonderful.

 

All thanks to this dog.

 

With hard work and love, I gained not just a well-adjusted dog.

I gained the perfect companion.

My best friend.

The reason I have everything I have today.

 

Are you unsure about adopting?

Worried the dog won’t be what you imagined?

Not “perfect,” like one from a breeder?

 

He will be perfect. Even if he’s not.

 

Because it’s all about you.

 

And one day, the memory of what you’ve done –

how you saved him –

will fade behind one thing:

 

His eyes.

 

The eyes that look at you with love,

every single day,

no matter how many years pass.

 

And they’ll make every bit of effort worth it.