 Chip's Story
Chip came to me as a foster Wheaten on May 3, 2003 as my first
foster dog. I was looking for a Wheaten after my precious Lucas lost
his life in February. I began looking for a rescue Wheaten in late
March.
He was brought to Longmeadow, MA by his previous owners, who felt
forced to release him to WIN for some nipping behavior with their
niece. Chip is a 5 year old, fifty pound Wheaten with a big black
nose big, sweet brown eyes. He was a previous WIN adoption, so my
house was his third ‘home.’
 He is a love who likes to cuddle. I loved him instantly…but he
and my boyfriends, Wheaten, who he would have spent a lot of time
with, were not friends at first site, both being alpha dogs.
So I began to look for the perfect home for Chip – my mission: to
find him his FOREVER home, which I felt could only be done by
placing him with the right family. I knew I would foster him as long
as it took to find the perfect home. I began going through all of
the WIN applications looking for his new home. It was a challenge at
first to find homes without children and without other dogs, but
there were several so I began calling and leaving messages. I had a
lot of calls back, but nothing felt just right for Chip until Leonor
Sheedy returned my call.
She told me about losing her own Wheaten (a previous WIN
adoptee), in December. They were still mourning his loss, but had
begun to look for their next Wheaten – they had applied to WIN and
then after a few months of not hearing back from WIN they began to
look for a reputable breeder with the thought of getting a puppy,
although they really wanted to rescue another one.
 Leonor called me about Chip and she was SO excited about him –
sight unseen! She was calling from work and after I told her Chip’s
story, she said she wanted to talk to her husband and teenager
daughter to get their approval before agreeing. I had a few other
calls that night but I felt really good about Leonor and wanted to
wait for her response. I gave her only until the next morning to
decide. She didn’t even wait that long – calling me that night
saying they definitely wanted to adopt him – still sight unseen!
Later that night I was finally able to email her a photo of Chip and
they wrote back that they had been out getting him “two new beds,
lots of toys and treats, and also a tag with his name, our address
and phone number.” They said they LOVED his picture and reminded
them of their last Wheaten, Shamus.
We agreed to meet on Saturday, May 10th – each driving about half
way – I live in Massachusetts and they live in Pennsylvania. The
Sheedy’s and I met at a Starbucks – they were waiting for me as I
pulled up. They loved him instantly, saying he reminded them so much
of Shamus. Chip loved them right away, too. They had treats, water,
and lots of love ready for him. Leonor sat in the back seat with him
all the way back to Pennsylvania so he wouldn’t be scared or alone.
I’ve received several emails since from the Sheedy’s and they say
Chip has been a perfect addition to their family. They love him and
he is doing well.
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