Poppy and Tommy now live in San Jose, CA
Poppy, now known as Blazey, came to us in 2015. I had found him online on PetFinder, so my parents and I submitted an application. He is a Havanese and Maltese mixed tripod. Even though he’s missing his front right leg, he doesn’t seem to notice. I gave him the name Blaze after I saw him run for the first time. He came to our house for a visit but escaped by squeezing through the fence. Then, he started running down the street with my dad chasing after him. Blazey would have outrun him if it weren’t for his curiosity in the many different smells from the bushes and trees.
A few years later, we adopted Tommy. He had lived in a foster home where he would bark at every little noise. Since he lived in an apartment, he could hear the noises of the neighbors when they come home late at night and would bark nonstop since he didn’t know what those noises were . Meanwhile, I managed to convince my parents (a second time) that we should get a dog.
When he came, he barked at every little noise. He barked at the sound of the chair scraping against the wooden floor. He barked at the howling winds shaking the branches of the trees. He barked at my footsteps that echoed throughout the house. He was terrified and insecure because of his time on the streets.
He had also had depression and needed to take medication. Luckily, he was slowly waning off of it by the time he came to our house. We decided to adopt him to help him heal, trust, and relax with us. But we also made sure that he would feel safe in his surroundings. We live on top of a hill where the majority of the sights and sounds are just of nature: birds chirping, skies free from the haziness created by gas, hills of tall, greenish-brown grass.
It took a few weeks for him to finally calm down and learn that he was safe in our home. When he first came to visit us, he wouldn’t let us touch him, he wouldn’t lay down, and instead would be tense and alert.
But now, two years after we adopted him, I feel like he is the laziest and silliest dog I know. He jumps onto my parents’ bed at 8 and falls asleep while all of us are still downstairs. When I take out the yoga mat, he immediately pushes me away and starts rolling around. He also jumps onto the table during dinner and tries to eat our food.
Since we’ve adopted Blazey and Tommy, their lives and our lives have been full of fun, laughter, and lots of love. Thanks to One Planet Rescue for giving us these two silly goofballs!
— Ysabel Chen
One Planet Rescue 